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A single confession at a kitchen counter can flip a life. Stephanie McBrayer joins us to trace the fault lines of family—how a young mom’s near‑abortion, a church VHS, and a daughter yet to be born braided into a conviction that still lives in her bones. From there, we step into Nashville’s CCM hallways where Stephanie turned an interior design brain into A&R instincts, where album shoots became storytelling, and where Avalon’s Jody—her husband—shows how a voice means more when it tells the truth.

Then the conversation deepens. We walk through the day her stepdad collapsed at Vanderbilt while her mother awaited cancer surgery—two crises on two floors, one daughter signing the form to relieve brain pressure and then screaming in a stairwell. Gary survives with a brain injury that made him hilarious, tender, and often childlike; the family learns new rhythms of care, dignity, and patience. Not long after, Stephanie’s brother Wade goes missing, and the worst news arrives on a roadside. She brings us into the unscripted hours: the senior recital that still needed to be sung, the funeral moments that were both sacred and darkly funny because Wade would have laughed, and the nights when sleep evaporated and breathing felt like work. It’s grief without varnish—and community without clichés—as teenagers fill a kitchen with flowers, fold laundry, and tape courage onto mirrors.

We talk about surviving a business collapse during COVID by selling masks, the quiet wars with Lyme disease, heart procedures, and the brutal honesty of opioid and tramadol withdrawal. Stephanie doesn’t preach; she documents—what helped, what didn’t, and what she’d tell anyone facing the same road. And there’s hope that doesn’t flinch: her daughter, Sarah Clayton, charting a path in pre‑law and intelligence after seeing The Sound of Freedom, finding purpose on the far side of heartbreak.

If you’ve ever carried a secret, sat in an ICU, or tried to laugh on a day that didn’t deserve it, this conversation will meet you where you are. Listen, share with someone who needs courage for the next hard thing, and leave us a review with the moment that stayed with you most.

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The podcast world has been turned upside down as Jennifer takes the helm from Jeremy in this transitional episode that quickly moves from lighthearted banter about podcast ownership to profound reflection on national tragedy. After Jeremy explains his decision to hand over the microphone after 50 episodes, the conversation shifts to the shocking assassination of Charlie Kirk that occurred just hours after their previous recording.

Jennifer and Jeremy share their raw, unfiltered reactions to witnessing the news unfold in real-time - from initial reports to the devastating realization of Kirk's death. This leads to a thoughtful exploration of parasocial relationships and why we feel genuine grief for public figures we've never personally met. Jennifer vulnerably shares her connection to Kirk's content and the strange grief that comes from losing someone who felt like family despite never having met.

The pair navigate challenging territory as they discuss the politically polarized responses to the tragedy, media coverage concerns, and the search for truth amid competing narratives. Rather than settling for easy answers, they wrestle with how to process collective grief in a divided nation while honoring the deceased. Jeremy offers the powerful suggestion to "lean into tenderness rather than bitterness" as a pathway through national trauma.

What emerges is a timely conversation about finding beauty amid tragedy, how significant events become generational touchstones, and the possibility of meaningful revival following devastating loss. Their willingness to engage with difficult emotions while maintaining respectful dialogue models how we might process our own reactions to public tragedies.

The episode concludes with practical plans for the podcast's future, including guest appearances and a call for listener topic suggestions. Join Jennifer and Jeremy as they demonstrate that even the most painful national moments can become opportunities for authentic connection and meaningful conversation.