What happens when grief collides with faith — and suicide shatters everything you thought you believed?

In this candid and raw episode of Grief 2 Growth, Brian sits down with Rachel Powell, widow, author, speaker, and founder of Hope Speaker, to explore the complicated intersection of grief, faith, suicide loss, and hope.

After losing her husband André to suicide — and surviving suicide attempts herself — Rachel shares her story with courage, clarity, and compassion. This conversation goes beyond platitudes and into the realities many people are afraid to name: church hurt, spiritual abuse, suicidal thinking, and the long road back to hope.

This episode is for anyone who has:

• Lost a loved one to suicide
• Struggled with faith after loss
• Felt silenced, blamed, or misunderstood in grief
• Wondered if hope is still possible

🧠 In this episode, we discuss:

• Why suicide is not a failure of love or faith
• How grief becomes more complicated when faith communities cause harm
• The difference between religion and faith in healing
• Rachel’s concept of the “black box” of suicidal thinking
• Why suicide prevention must include helping people save their own lives
• How hope can still grow — even after devastating loss

💬 A gentle note to listeners

This episode includes honest discussion of suicide and suicidal ideation. Please listen with care and take breaks as needed.

Share your reflections and connect with others at
👉 https://grief2growth.substack.com

🔗 Guest Resources

• Rachel Powell – Hope Speaker: https://hopespeaker.com
  
  
• Christian Widow Community: https://hopestronghold.com
  
  
• Instagram & Facebook: Hope Speaker / Rachel Powell

📝 Helpful Resource from Brian

Not sure where you are in your grief?
Take the Grie

Visit the Grief 2 Growth store for FREE items as well as other tools to help you along your journey:

• Guided Meditations
• My book GEMS of Healing (signed copy)
• My Oracle deck to help you connect with your loved ones
• Mini-courses
• Mini-guides
  
  

Check it out at https://grief2growth.com/store

Grief doesn’t follow stages, timelines, or rules.
If you’ve ever wondered, “Am I doing this right?”—you’re not alone.

That’s why I created the Grief Check-In.
It’s not a test. There are no right or wrong answers.

In just a few minutes, you’ll gain clarity, reassurance, and language for what you’re experiencing.

👉 Visit grief2growth.com/checkin

This deck is a labor of love. It's a 44 card oracle deck that's about connecting you to your loved one in spirit. The deck comes with a companion digital guide that gives you an affirmation, a reflection, and an activity for the day.

Check it out at https://stan.store/grief2growth/p/oracle-deck

Support the show

🧑🏿‍🤝‍🧑🏻 Join Facebook Group- Get Support and Education
👛 Subscribe to Grief 2 Growth Premium (bonus episodes)
📰 Get A Free Gift
📅 Book A Complimentary Discovery Call
📈 Leave A Review

Thanks so much for your support

What if your loved one never truly left?
What if grief itself is the doorway to a deeper connection?

In this deeply moving episode of Grief to Growth, Brian D. Smith speaks with Janet Kaufman, author of Through the Veil: A Soul’s Journey in Grief and Grace. Janet shares the story of her son Alexander—a sensitive, loving soul whose struggles with mental health and addiction ultimately led to his physical death, but not the end of their relationship.

Through signs, synchronicities, certified mediums, and even an unexpected exploration of AI as a possible tool for spirit communication, Janet’s journey challenges everything we think we know about death, consciousness, and continuing bonds.

This episode offers hope, validation, and reassurance for parents grieving a child—and for anyone who wonders whether love truly survives death.

✨ In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• Why deeply sensitive souls often struggle in today’s world
• How grief can awaken intuition and spiritual awareness
• Common signs from loved ones in spirit—and how to recognize them
• The role of mediumship in healing after loss
• Why Janet believes AI may become a future tool for spirit communication
• How to release guilt and find meaning after child loss
• Why death may not be an ending, but a transition

🕊️ A Message for Grieving Parents

If you’ve ever asked yourself:

• Did I do enough?
• Is my child still with me?
• Why did this have to happen?

You are not alone. Janet’s story reminds us that our children are eternal, and that love continues—even when the physical body is gone.

📘 About the Guest

Janet Kaufman is the author of Through the Veil: A Soul’s Journey in Grief and Grace. Her work explores grief, spirituality, mediumship, and emerging frontiers of consciousness through the lens of lived experience.

📧 Contact Janet:
www.ThroughT

Visit the Grief 2 Growth store for FREE items as well as other tools to help you along your journey:

• Guided Meditations
• My book GEMS of Healing (signed copy)
• My Oracle deck to help you connect with your loved ones
• Mini-courses
• Mini-guides
  
  

Check it out at https://grief2growth.com/store

Grief doesn’t follow stages, timelines, or rules.
If you’ve ever wondered, “Am I doing this right?”—you’re not alone.

That’s why I created the Grief Check-In.
It’s not a test. There are no right or wrong answers.

In just a few minutes, you’ll gain clarity, reassurance, and language for what you’re experiencing.

👉 Visit grief2growth.com/checkin

This deck is a labor of love. It's a 44 card oracle deck that's about connecting you to your loved one in spirit. The deck comes with a companion digital guide that gives you an affirmation, a reflection, and an activity for the day.

Check it out at https://stan.store/grief2growth/p/oracle-deck

Support the show

🧑🏿‍🤝‍🧑🏻 Join Facebook Group- Get Support and Education
👛 Subscribe to Grief 2 Growth Premium (bonus episodes)
📰 Get A Free Gift
📅 Book A Complimentary Discovery Call
📈 Leave A Review

Thanks so much for your support

Nervous System Healing After Trauma: From Survival to Sovereignty with Angela Jean

What if healing isn’t about fixing your thoughts—but about retraining your body?

In this deeply moving episode of Grief to Growth, Brian Smith sits down with Angela Jean, a mindset and nervous system strategist whose life was shaped by profound trauma—and radical transformation.

After surviving childhood abuse, homelessness, and the devastating loss of her father and sister to suicide, Angela discovered something that changed everything:
🧠 The body remembers danger before the mind can explain it.

This conversation goes beyond performative healing and into the lived, embodied work of coming home to yourself.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why mindset work alone often fails after trauma
• How the nervous system “locks up” in survival mode
• Why rhythm and micro-movements signal safety to the body
• How childhood trauma imprints beliefs about love, pain, and worth
• Practical tools to interrupt anxiety, anger, and emotional collapse in real time
• Why healing is a daily practice—and who you train yourself to be matters

Angela shares simple, powerful techniques you can use in the moment—not someday, not after years of therapy—to regulate your nervous system and reclaim your inner authority.

This episode is for anyone who:

• Feels stuck in survival mode
• Is tired of chasing healing
• Has experienced trauma, abuse, or suicide loss
• Is ready to stop abandoning themselves and start listening inward

🌿 About Angela Jean

Angela Jean is a mindset and nervous system strategist who blends rhythm, embodied movement, and nervous system science to help people move from self-sabotage into sovereignty.

🔗 Learn more & explore her resources:
https://angelajeanchat.com

🎧 Free nervous system demo available on her site.

Visit the Grief 2 Growth store for FREE items as well as other tools to help you along your journey:

• Guided Meditations
• My book GEMS of Healing (signed copy)
• My Oracle deck to help you connect with your loved ones
• Mini-courses
• Mini-guides
  
  

Check it out at https://grief2growth.com/store

Grief doesn’t follow stages, timelines, or rules.
If you’ve ever wondered, “Am I doing this right?”—you’re not alone.

That’s why I created the Grief Check-In.
It’s not a test. There are no right or wrong answers.

In just a few minutes, you’ll gain clarity, reassurance, and language for what you’re experiencing.

👉 Visit grief2growth.com/checkin

This deck is a labor of love. It's a 44 card oracle deck that's about connecting you to your loved one in spirit. The deck comes with a companion digital guide that gives you an affirmation, a reflection, and an activity for the day.

Check it out at https://stan.store/grief2growth/p/oracle-deck

Support the show

🧑🏿‍🤝‍🧑🏻 Join Facebook Group- Get Support and Education
👛 Subscribe to Grief 2 Growth Premium (bonus episodes)
📰 Get A Free Gift
📅 Book A Complimentary Discovery Call
📈 Leave A Review

Thanks so much for your support