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This episode includes honest discussion of addiction and legal consequences.

What does recovery look like when the compulsion won’t let go? In this conversation, I am privileged to sit with Kelli Bauer, who lives with kleptomania—an often-hidden addiction—and has paid steep personal and legal costs. This conversation is brave and vulnerable. We talk about the difference between “shoplifting” and a clinical compulsion, how shame and secrecy keep us sick, what (actually) helps day-to-day, and why, for Kelli, hope looks like refusing to give up—one hour, one errand, one decision at a time.

We cover:

• Kleptomania vs. “casual shoplifting” (compulsion, not character)
• Consequences: arrests, career loss, media fallout—and rebuilding anyway
• Supports that help: meetings, service, meds, accountability
• Real-life tactics: don’t shop alone, stay in the same aisle, phone-in support
• Triggers everywhere (stores on every route) and how to plan around them
• Redefining hope when relapse happens

Resources & Links

• CASA (Kleptomania & Shoplifters Anonymous) — weekly meeting info
• Terry Shulman’s counseling/resources for theft & compulsive behaviors
• Instagram and TikTok: @twoliveswithkel

If you or someone you love is struggling, please reach out to a licensed professional or a local support line.

Thank you for listening to Hope Comes to Visit. If this conversation helps, follow the show, share it with someone who needs hope today, and leave a review - it helps others find their way to these conversations.

New episodes drop every Monday, so you can begin your week with a little light and a lot of hope.

For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit

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Gentle note: we talk honestly about grief and child loss—please listen with care and kindness for yourself.

What does healing look like when the unthinkable happens? In this episode, I’m sitting with Melissa Hull—author, speaker, coach, fierce advocate, and Drew’s mom. After losing her son in a tragic drowning, Melissa has worked to choose a different ending for herself: love in motion, faith as a daily practice, grief as a path that can still lead to purpose.

In this conversation, we get real about:

• why presence over platitude matters when you don’t know what to say
• practical water safety Melissa teaches in classrooms (and why it saves lives)
• the letter that became her lighthouse—and how choice + agency help us heal
• self-forgiveness as parents, especially around the holidays
• tangible ways to support grieving friends (and how to ask for what you need)

If you’re in a tender season, consider this a steady hand to hold.

Resources & Links for Connecting with Melissa
Guest: melissahull.com
Book: Dear Drew: Creating a Life Bigger Than Grief
Earlier memoir: Lessons from Neverland

Thank you for listening to Hope Comes to Visit. If this conversation helps, follow the show, share it with someone who needs hope today, and leave a review - it helps others find their way to these conversations.

New episodes drop every Monday, so you can begin your week with a little light and a lot of hope.

For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit

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Gentle heads-up: mentions of grief and loss.

If you’re new—welcome, I am so grateful you are here. If you’re back again for hope to visit—welcome home.
In this episode, I'm delighted to be chatting with K.T. Jay—the Amazon bestselling author of Inkbound Inheritance—to talk about imagination, healing through story, and the courage it takes to begin. We explore how grief shapes us, why stories can steady us, and what it’s really like to indie-publish a debut that lands on the charts.

In this episode

• The spark behind Inkbound Inheritance (a storyworld you can inherit!)
• Grief as a teacher: what young K.T. learned vs. adult K.T. carrying others
• Practical creative tools: finding your why, building a support circle, starting small
• Indie publishing 101: timelines, control, and the long game
• Hope, defined—when it feels like the ocean keeps crashing over you

Guest: K.T. Jay — Website: KTJAuthor.com | IG: @KTJAuthor
Book: Inkbound Inheritance (Amazon) & on (Barnes & Noble)

Share this episode with a friend who’s been meaning to start, but needs a little light.

Thank you for listening to Hope Comes to Visit. If this conversation helps, follow the show, share it with someone who needs hope today, and leave a review - it helps others find their way to these conversations.

New episodes drop every Monday, so you can begin your week with a little light and a lot of hope.

For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit