Host Angela welcomes international writer, actor, and producer Nikki Borger, who moved to the U.S. in 2018 to pursue film acting but soon faced cascading losses: her mother’s sudden death, her stepdad’s pancreatic cancer and passing, both grandfathers’ deaths, her mother-in-law’s cancer returning, and caring for her biological father until he died earlier this year amid the pandemic, housing instability, visa pressure, and Hollywood strikes. Nikki shares how repeated grief affected her sense of safety, health, and relationships, and how stabilizing daily life while sitting with emotions led her to reframe her story through creativity. She discusses her book, “In Between: Eight Gender-Neutral One Act Plays Between Life and Death,” its inclusive casting, themes of death, purpose, disability, and humor, and offers hope that healing and meaning can return.

https://nikijborger.com/

https://www.facebook.com/NikiJBorger/

Angela welcomes guest Hakeem Bourne‑McFarlane, who shares how a childhood marked by addiction, instability, and the death of his younger brother, shaped his anger, identity, and later self-sabotage. Sports became his mask as he moved through Division I to Division III football, but injuries, five knee surgeries, substance use, and incarceration ultimately forced him into sobriety, honesty, and accountability. In jail, he began therapy, read personal development books and the Bible, and started writing his book, concluding that while trauma may not be one’s fault, healing is one’s responsibility. Hakeem explains the “Choose Yourself” process and Foundation Framework, emphasizing systems, boundaries, filtering sensory inputs, community accountability, and a sacred nighttime and morning routine to build integrity, resilience, and sustainable change.

https://chooseyourself.info/

https://www.facebook.com/keem.dreeam/

https://www.youtube.com/@ChooseYourselfChannel

https://www.instagram.com/bigdreamhakeem/

https://www.tiktok.com/@bigdreamhakeem

Podcast host Angela welcomes Steve Ferrara, author of From Grief to Gratitude: A New Paradigm on Death, who shares how the death of his 23-year-old son in a car accident led him to journal daily for 20 years, later turning those journals into a book with an editor over several years. Steve describes key shifts in healing, including moving from anger and “why” questions toward acceptance, viewing the loss from his son’s perspective, and developing an ongoing inner relationship through journaling and meditation. He discusses seeking deeper understanding through spiritual teachers, books, retreats, and near-death experience research, rather than focusing on sympathy or grief groups. Steve also reflects on later losses, including his wife’s death, selling his business, and building a life centered on gratitude, compassion, forgiveness, and conscious choice.

https://www.stevenferrara.com/

Angela interviews science teacher and memoirist Katie Rizzo, who lost her firstborn son Nicholas to addiction on September 17, 2024 after years of opioid dependence, and describes how Al‑Anon and grief support groups helped her survive. Katie explains her framework from her forthcoming memoir, The Trimesters of Grief (Kohler Books), comparing mourning to pregnancy: early nausea and disorientation, a numb second stage where others “return to normal,” and a third stage where grief becomes visible as she shares openly and begins writing poetry to reach her son. She discusses Nick Cave’s idea of letting grief sit beside you, tending it through daily poetry, exercise, community, creativity, and saying yes to connection, while also addressing stigma around addiction and the ongoing reality of living with a permanent hole.

https://katierizzo.com/

https://www.facebook.com/rizzoboysandagirl/

https://www.instagram.com/katierizzo007/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-rizzo-098978280/

https://www.tiktok.com/@katie.rizzo007

Angela welcomes author and ICU nurse Theresa Evans to discuss her book, "Choosing to Die: A Daughter's Story of Supporting Her Mother's End of Life Through Assisted Death." Theresa shares how witnessing death as a nurse shaped her views, and how her perspective deepened when her mother, after years with end-stage heart failure and COPD, chose medical assistance in dying (MAID) on her 80th birthday. They explore the importance of having end-of-life conversations early, the complexities and empowerment involved in MAID, and the emotional toll of anticipatory grief when a date and time are known. Theresa describes tending her mother’s garden as a healing metaphor for life and death, explains her mother’s Catholic faith and clarity about her choice, and outlines her advocacy and outreach through podcasts, Compassion and Choices, and her website.

http://theresaeevans.com/

https://www.facebook.com/StonePathPress/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresa-evans-rn-ryt-500-03171757/

https://substack.com/@theresaeevans

Angela interviews Sylvia Worsham, a three-times bestselling author, spiritual transformation coach, and host of the Release Doubt, Reveal Purpose podcast, about anticipatory grief, daily surrender to God, and finding joy during profound loss. Sylvia shares her complicated relationship with her father, how writing her memoir helped her forgive and heal before his terminal brain tumor diagnosis in 2023, and how surrender brought peace as he died. She also recounts surviving life-threatening pulmonary embolisms and a vena cava clot in 2012, which deepened her faith and later led her to leave a corporate career. Sylvia explains practical steps to let go of control—turning inward through journaling or nature, addressing fear-based identities, seeking prayer and support—and describes small, sensory moments of joy while grieving. https://www.sylviaworsham.com/

Angela interviews Jody Hudson, author of My Promise to Alex, motivational speaker,

and founder of the Alex Hudson Lyme Foundation about her daughter Alex’s years-long

medical mystery that began with joint pain in fifth grade, escalated in high school, and

was finally diagnosed as Lyme disease after 40 doctors in 2017. Jody describes the

emotional toll of dismissal by the medical community, the complexity of Lyme treatment

and co-infections, and balancing cross-country care while working full time as a single

mother. She shares how faith sustained them, the moment of Alex’s death and the

“parting gift” Jody received, and how donations helped launch the foundation in 2018 to

support treatment costs. Jody explains how writing her book aided her grief and offers

guidance on support, faith, and honoring a child’s legacy.

https://www.alexhudsonlymefoundation.org/

https://www.facebook.com/jody.hudson.16/

https://www.instagram.com/jkutahudson/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jody-hudson-20a7963a

Angela interviews Kristen Swan, a former business coach now devoted to life and spiritual guidance, about the power of story, curiosity, and self-discovery. Kristan describes three “buckets” of story—stories we tell ourselves, inherited stories, and stories we share—and compares storytelling to visual art as a way to reveal universal human truths and reduce isolation. They discuss vulnerability, using journaling prompts to begin, and how consistent pen-to-paper reflection helps identify patterns, joy, and the nuances of connection, especially for introverts. Kristen explains how reflecting on past outcomes can restore hope amid a heavy world, and she explores anger, grief, acceptance, and letting go through personal examples involving family relationships and divorce.

https://kristanswan.com/

https://www.instagram.com/kristan.swan/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristanbrowne/