Podcast

Natasha Smith is a Grief Advocate, speaker, and podcast host. She shares from a place of 30-plus years of lived grief experience, research, academic and biblical study. Her work has appeared in Guideposts, Propel Women, Influence Magazine, HerBible, and elsewhere. She and her husband, Clinton, have four children and live outside of Raleigh, NC. Her new book Can You Just Sith With Me? Healthy Grieving for the Losses of Life is now available wherever books are sold. Connect with her at imnatashasmith.com.

Thelizabeth Boyd was born and raised on a farm in the small town of Whitney, Texas. Her unique name is derived from her grandmothers—Thelma and Elizabeth. In middle school, her classmates nicknamed her Theo. It stuck! Theo grew up writing poems with her daddy, learned faith through hardship from her momma, and finished college late in life to become a high school English and Creative Writing teacher. She was awarded Rookie Teacher of the Year her first year in the classroom while continuing to write as a guest columnist for several local newspapers.

In 2019 a sudden and traumatic loss set the scene for her debut memoir, My Grief Is Not Like Yours. It was also the catalyst for her podcast, Think Theo, where she discusses complicated grief and the many layers of loss. When she’s not writing, Theo can be found with her dog Manly by her side, walking the fields on the farm, planning her next podcast with a glass of wine, or enjoying an evening out with close friends. She and Manly currently live on the lake in her hometown of Whitney. Connect with her at https://thinktheo.com/.

Rachel Marie Kang is a New York native, born and raised just outside New York City. She is a writer of poems, prose, and other pieces, and she is the founder of Fallow Ink. A mixed woman of African American, Native American (Ramapough Lenape Nation), Irish, and Dutch descent, she is a graduate of Nyack College with a Bachelor of Arts in English with Creative Writing and a minor in Bible. Her writing has been featured by Christianity Today, Charlotte Magazine, and (in)courage. Rachel lives and writes just outside Charlotte, North Carolina, with her husband and two children.

Sarah Bell is a Grief Educator and creator of Life, Loss & Hope. Her experiences of personal loss, faith and working as a Hospice Chaplain with terminally ill, end of life and bereaved families informs and inspires her work. Her hope is to inspire and deepen your understanding of how to grieve in a healthy way and to heal the pain of loss. Connect with her at https://lifelosshope.co.uk/.

Chuck and Ashley Elliott are content creators who have partnered with YouVersion, RightNow Media, and an array of other national organizations. They serve as advisory board members for the AACC’s International Christian Coaching Association. Frequent speakers and popular workshop leaders, their numerous certifications in psychoeducational programs equip them to help others build relational success. In addition to speaking and writing, Chuck is a pastor at Bethel Church in Evansville, Indiana, and Ashley is a licensed counselor at Auxilium Psychological Services. Learn more at chuckandashley.com.

Whitney K. Pipkin lives with her husband, three children and a dog named Honeybun in Northern Virginia, where she works as a journalist. After losing her mom to the cancer she wrestled with for 20 years, Whitney has written a book she prays will serve others walking similar roads. We Shall All Be Changed: How Facing Death with Loved Ones Transforms Us came out this week on Feb. 6. You can find her on Instagram @whitneykpipkin and sign up for her newsletter at whitneykpipkin.com.

Recognized as one of today’s foremost experts on grief, Claire Bidwell Smith is a licensed therapist, international speaker, and the author of five books published in 22 countries. Led by her own experience in grief and fueled by her work in hospice and private practice, Claire strives to provide support for all kinds of people experiencing all kinds of loss. www.clairebidwellsmith.com

Aubrey Sampson (M.A. evangelism and leadership), is the author of several books on grief, lament, and hope including The Louder Song: Listening for Hope in the Midst of Lament, Known: How Believing Who God Says You Are Changes Everything, and a brand new best-selling kids book on hard things, heavy emotions, and Jesus’s Love, Big Feelings Days. Aubrey is a church planter and teaching pastor at Renewal Church, a multiethnic congregation in the Chicagoland area, the co-host of the Nothing is Wasted Podcast, and leads The Louder Song Community, an online gathering for grievers and those walking with the hurting. Find out more at aubreysampson.com or on instagram @aubsamp.  

Quantrilla Ard, PhD, lives in the Atlanta area along with her husband and three littles. A passionate behavioral scientist and lived experiences expert, Dr. Ard holds a doctoral degree in Health Psychology and is an advocate and champion for social and reproductive justice with a focus on Black maternal and infant health and mortality. She uses her social media platforms to engage, educate, and inform others about her doctoral research and lived experience with preeclampsia. In addition, she provides subject matter expertise on the same in various print and online media outlets. Quantrilla also humbly stewards a grief and loss community and podcast, both entitled It’s All Grief to Me, as a coach and liaison for individuals navigating their loss journeys. You can find her sharing stories of triumph as well as follow her and the work she is involved in at www.thephdmamma.com. 

Leanne Friesen is the author of the new book Grieving Room: Making Space for All the Hard Things After Life and Death, as well as the curator of the popular Instagram page @grieving.room, which has gathered 35,000 followers. She is also an ordained minister and mother of two, who lives in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Emily Lawson is the Communications Director at her church, where her husband has served as the worship pastor since 2016. Amidst the pandemic, they welcomed three children under the age of two into their home — two through foster care and adoption, and one biologically. Just as they were finding their footing as parents, they were thrust into a new and unwanted season: navigating the unexpected loss of a parent.

Emily and her husband lead a foster care and adoption support group in the suburbs of Chicago where they live with their children, dog, and handprint-smeared home. Emily speaks to the church regularly, encouraging a better way to follow Jesus into the broken and hard places, and model Biblical Community in an isolated world. For free tips and more, follow @emilyannelawson on Instagram.

There is nothing Liv Dooley loves to talk about more than the Word of God. She is a Bible teacher and the podcast host of The Best Kept Secret with Liv Dooley, which has featured some of the leading teachers and burgeoning ministry leaders of our day. Liv is passionate about helping people enjoy greater intimacy and authority in Christ Jesus through prayer. She is featured as a contributor with She Reads Truth and the YouVersion Bible app.

In 2023, Liv published Selah: A Study of 1 and 2 Samuel and you can connect with her blog at livdooley.com or follow her on Instagram @candidliv to connect with her.

Jodi H. Grubbs is the podcast host of Our Island in the City and a slow-living advocate. She is the author of a children’s book, The Island Adventures of Lili and Oliver, and coauthor of a Bible study called The Friendship Café. Jodi, her husband, Dean, and their daughter, Lili, live in Garner, North Carolina.