Hope Comes to Visit

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There are moments in life when choosing yourself can be one of the most courageous things you can do.

In this deeply moving episode of Hope Comes to Visit, I was privileged to sit down with Deborah Santana—author, activist, and voice for women’s empowerment—to explore what it means to step out of the shadows and fully into your own life.

Through her new memoir Loving the Fire: Choosing Me, Finding Freedom, Deborah shares her journey of transformation after decades of partnership, public life, and self-evolution. Together, they t...

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The people who make us laugh the hardest often carry the deepest stories.

In this episode of Hope Comes to Visit, Danielle sits down with comedian and storyteller Kelly MacFarland for a conversation that moves seamlessly between humor and heartbreak.

From navigating profound loss to finding joy again, Kelly shares what it looks like to live fully—even when life feels heavy.

This is a conversation about resilience, perspective, and the quiet ways hope finds its way back in.

What You’ll Hear:

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What if the signs you’ve been noticing… aren’t coincidence?

In this powerful and deeply personal episode of Hope Comes to Visit, I am joined by Barbra Banner—a no-nonsense psychic, evidential medium, and transmedium known for delivering messages with clarity, humor, and heart.

Together, we explore what happens when we open ourselves to the possibility that those we’ve lost are still with us—just in a different way.

Barbra shares her unexpected journey into mediumship, what it means to trust your intuition, and how connection t...

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One of the most beautiful forms of hope arrives in shape of young people destined to make their mark on the world in a powerful way. This conversation shares just that form of hope.

This week on Hope Comes to Visit, I sat down with someone incredibly special to me — Sydney Moore, a high school senior at St. Joseph’s Academy in St. Louis who has spent her young life rooted in service, justice, learning, and compassion.

I have known Sydney since she was just a little girl...

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There are stories that don’t just move us — they change the way we see the world.

In this episode of Hope Comes to Visit, I was grateful to sit down with educator, speaker, and author Dr. Stuart D. Jones to explore a deeply personal story about dignity, disability, and the extraordinary value of every human life.

Dr. Jones shares the story of his brother Stephen — a boy born in 1954 with significant intellectual and physical disabilities during a time when resources, services, and understanding were almost nonexistent. Doctor...

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Sometimes hope doesn’t arrive loudly.
Sometimes it shows up in the quiet presence of someone willing to sit beside us in our hardest moments.

This week on Hope Comes to Visit, I’m joined by Kelly Karavousanos — licensed professional counselor, certified thanatologist, licensed funeral director, and one of the people I credit with helping guide me through some of the darkest grief of my life.

Kelly brings a rare combination of clinical expertise and lived humanity to this conversation. We talk about what grief actually looks...

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Sometimes hope doesn’t arrive loudly.
Sometimes it shows up in the quiet presence of someone willing to sit beside us in our hardest moments.

This week on Hope Comes to Visit, I’m joined by Kelly Karavousanos — licensed professional counselor, certified thanatologist, licensed funeral director, and one of the people I credit with helping guide me through some of the darkest grief of my life.

Kelly brings a rare combination of clinical expertise and lived humanity to this conversation. We talk about what grief actually looks like...

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Some stories remind you that it’s not too late. Not for the dream you tucked away. Not for the creative spark you thought you missed. Not for the reinvention you quietly crave.

In this episode I’m joined by Julie Whitney — a self-employed PR professional who, in the middle of the pandemic, found herself standing in a hangar beside a plane she’d never even flown in… and feeling something crack wide open.

When Julie’s husband, “Captain Dan,” unexpectedly lost his job as chief corporate pilot in 2020, t...

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What if hope isn’t a feeling… but a skill?

This week on Hope Comes to Visit, I’m joined by my longtime friend Ann Imig — MSW, certified coach, and founder of the storytelling phenomenon Listen to Your Mother. Fifteen years after giving motherhood a microphone on stages across North America, Ann now helps burnt-out women retrain their brains for clarity, calm, and joy.

We talk about:

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What if you don’t have to like someone to love them?

In this powerful and deeply honest conversation, I was honored to sit down down with mindfulness coach, yoga teacher, and master storyteller Oneika Mays to explore what it means to practice loving kindness in the hardest places — including Rikers Island and how these experiences inspired her new book: Sit with Me: A No BS Journey to Mindfulness & Meditation.

Oneika spent years teaching meditation and yoga inside one of the most notorious jails in the country. What...

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Season 2, Episode 5

A Missouri girl in a New York world on founding Combs & Company, honoring her father’s legacy, and why hope is the only thing greater than fear.

This week I’m joined by Susan L. Combs—president of Combs & Company, bestselling author, and daughter of Major General Roger E. Combs. We talk about the moment “Pancakes for Roger” was born, the quiet heroism of caregivers, what the military gave her family (and took), and how a single story can ripple into grants, breakfasts, and thousa...

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This week on Hope Comes to Visit, I’m joined by my long-time friend Jessica Ashley—the Divorce Coach for Moms (CDC Certified Divorce Coach®), award-winning writer, and pink-haired powerhouse helping women move through divorce with clarity, community, and yes… a little cussing. We talk about identity, grief that resurfaces in tiny moments, and how to be “amicable” with yourself when co-parenting isn’t collaborative.

I have so many favorite moments from this episode - but Jessica helps women move through divorce with grace, creativity, and community. We talk about what it...

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Season 2, Episode 3

What does it look like to love someone through addiction—without losing yourself? My dear friend Tina Hamby shares the messy middle of her marriage: the years her husband Adam was drinking, the boundaries that kept her safe, the moment everything changed, and the daily practices that keep their extraordinary family grounded now. We talk faith, community, parenting through guilt, and why “nothing changes if nothing changes.”

Listen for:
 • The difference between fixing and loving
 • Boundaries that protect you (and your relationship)
 • Finding your recovery “thing...

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When the marriage ends but the season isn’t over, what does it look like to stay on the same team? In this candid conversation, I sit down with my ex-husband (and friend) Jeff Smith to share the co-parenting playbook that’s worked for us: kids-first decisions, private huddles + public alignment, respect over ego, and informed support through recovery. No trick plays—just fundamentals we run every day.

Today’s game plan

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This year, my word of the year is Audacity—not the loud kind, the tender kind that says: I’m still here, and I’m going to live like it.

If you are here right now and/or planning to press play today, thank you. You’ve taken a chance on me—and on this new season.

I’m choosing Audacity for its tiny brave steps, presence over perfection, and hope that shows up.

Season 2 starts officially starts here...

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Content note: This episode includes candid discussion of traumatic loss, suicide, and grief.

In this final Hope Comes to Visit episode of 2025, I sit down with award-winning Texas author, grief educator, and podcaster Theo Boyd.

Every story has a turning point and she joins me to talk about hers...including her new USA TODAY bestselling book Hope All the Way—and the life behind it. Theo shares the day everything changed: her mother’s tragic death in a farm accident, the unraveling of her...

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Content note: This episode includes candid conversation about aging, dementia, and caregiver stress.

What’s the right time to talk about senior care—and how do you even begin? In this episode of Hope Comes to Visit, I sit with Shona McIntyre, a senior care advisor, social worker, and certified dementia practitioner with nearly two decades of experience helping families navigate complex decisions with clarity, compassion, and confidence.

We unpack the messy middle: noticing early signs of change, starting “the talk” without stripping dignity, and why plan...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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I love conversations that make you want to show up for people. This is one of them.

Today’s guest is Danni Eickenhorst, the heartbeat behind Hustle Hospitality and some of St. Louis’ most beloved spots: Steve’s Hot Dogs, Steve’s Meltdown, The Fountain on Locust, and The Stardust Room.

Danni and I talk about what it really means to be “a neighborhood place”: paying people with dignity, creating spaces where everyone belongs, and...

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If you’re new—welcome. If you’re back—welcome home. Today I’m sitting down with my friend Melissa Clayton, founder & CEO of Tiny Tags—the personalized jewelry brand born at a kitchen table and now beloved by moms, worn by Meghan Markle, sold in Target stores nationwide, and (pinch-me) featured on Oprah’s Favorite Things 2025. 

We talk about the quiet courage behind the milestones: bootstrapping for 15+ years, saying no to shiny objects, building a values-first team, and telling real stories of moth...

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If you’re new here—welcome. If you’re back—welcome home. Today I’m sitting with my dear friend of 12+ years, Amanda Willson, a life coach and anxiety expert who has walked this road and now teaches the rest of us how to find steadier ground. This isn’t theory; it’s real tools for real life.

We talk about simple practices that change the moment you’re in: 4-7-8 breathing to settle your nervous system, the 5-4-3-2-1 senses reset to get you out o...

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A gentle heads-up: In this conversation, we name some hard things — including suicide and sexual assault. If that’s tender for you today, please listen with care, skip ahead, or come back when you’re ready. If you need support in the US, call or text 988.

Sometimes hope is a laugh you didn’t expect.
 
At 10:44 PM on November 2, 2015, Ron “Blake” Blake was ready to end his life. A split-second laugh during The Late Show with Stephen Colbert inter...

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Hope isn’t the absence of fear—it’s the light that keeps you moving when fear won’t leave.
In this tender, no-fluff conversation, I sit with Sam Bonizzi, co-author of The Losses We Keep, as she shares how two missed miscarriages upended everything: the shock of hard news in an ultrasound room, the moment she fired a clinic that wouldn’t test her partner, and how she built a real support web—REI + acupuncture + therapy + a circle of women who “got it.”

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Some seasons of my life, loneliness wasn’t a passing mood—it was the air I breathed. I didn’t always call it by name, but my body did: tight chest, racing thoughts, that sense of being “with people” and still feeling alone. In this conversation, I sit down with Lucy Rose, founder of The Cost of Loneliness Project, to talk honestly about what chronic loneliness does to us—and how we can gently stitch connection back into our days.

We weave together science and story: cortisol and inflammation, yes—but also...

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If you’ve ever been told “it’s normal” when you knew it wasn’t—this episode is for you. I’m joined by Dr. Deb Muth—naturopathic doctor, functional medicine expert, and founder of Serenity Health Care Center—to talk about being seen at last: how to advocate for yourself, ask better questions, and get to root causes instead of living on prescriptions that never explain the “why.”

We dig into:

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Pull up a chair and take a breath—then ask the question most of us avoid: who gets a seat at your table, and why? In this solo episode, I treat your table as a living metaphor for your energy, time, and love—and names what it takes to protect that sacred space without apology.

We get practical fast. You’ll hear clear, compassionate scripts for late-night crisis friendships, boundary-pushing relatives, and overflowing workloads, plus a four-part framework to sort who stays, who stands, and who

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Humor doesn’t just make us laugh—it hands us the mic. In this episode, Dr. Gina Barreca—award-winning professor, cultural critic, and bestselling author of Gina School—shows how wit turns grief into agency and outsiderhood into belonging. From losing her mother young to pioneering gender-and-humor studies, Gina traces the path where jokes become bridges and stories transform shame into connection.

We dig into how many women use humor differently—not as a weapon, but as an invitation—and why inclusive laughter thrives in everyday places (yes, even the women’s restroom). G...

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Content note: candid discussion of cancer diagnosis, surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and recovery.

What if hope isn’t “it’ll be fine,” but “I can handle what comes”? That shift changed everything for Candice Suarez. In this conversation, Candice takes us inside a whirlwind season: a misread ulcer during COVID, a tongue-cancer diagnosis, surgery removing over half her tongue, a forearm graft, and weeks of radiation and chemo. She walks us through recovery’s gritty middle—managing pain, relearning to swallow, and returning to public speaking with a voice that invit...

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What happens when you treat curiosity like a business plan and community like your bottom line? Maxine Clark—founder of Build-A-Bear and the force behind St. Louis’s Delmar Divine—talks about creating brands that hold people, not just products. We explore the question that keeps opening doors for her: “How can I help?” and the multiplier that guides her work—1+1=100.

We don’t run the play-by-play; we sit with the pivots: listening to children, translating insight into action, and building places where families can a...

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Content note: pregnancy loss and medical trauma.

Entrepreneur and dad Richie Treadway joins me to talk about becoming a parent later in life, the moment everything fell apart—and the choice to keep going. 

We don’t relive every detail; we sit with what it took to advocate, to grieve, and to try again. 

Richie names the kind of love that “changes the way your heart works,” and defines hope as the resilience to not quit against all odds. 

If you’re s...

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Actress Bellamy Young, from the hit TV shows Scandal and Brilliant Minds, joins Danielle to share the story behind her advocacy for liver disease—and the caregiving journey with her dad that began when he was diagnosed with cirrhosis and later hepatic encephalopathy (HE). Bellamy speaks candidly about shame, stigma, and the moment everything changed: realizing liver disease can affect the brain, memory, personality, and daily life.

Together, we talk about the hypervigilance of caregiving, why community matters as much as treatment, and the essential practice of as...

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“I was doing what everybody told me to do… he can make eye contact and have a conversation—he can’t be autistic.”

Today, certified Master Life Coach and writer Karen Kossow gets real about the three-year journey to her son’s diagnosis—and what it means to parent neurodivergent kids while discovering your own neurodivergence. As part of the sandwich generation, Karen is supporting her children, noticing patterns in older family members, and learning herself—often all at once.

This conversation is practical and deeply compassionate. Karen reframes se...

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What happens when a woman’s pain is dismissed at one of the most vulnerable moments of her life?

For Jenny Hoffman, it nearly cost her everything. Just hours after giving birth to her daughter, Jenny hemorrhaged internally while medical staff brushed off her repeated cries for help. “I kept saying it really hurt,” she remembers, as Motrin was offered while she was losing over two liters of blood.

In this raw and powerful conversation, Jenny and I uncover the haunting parallels in our own birth experiences — moments...

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For Brian Franklin, loss came in waves — the suicide of a childhood friend, a colon cancer scare, the discovery of a benign brain tumor, his wife’s breast cancer diagnosis, and the sudden heart attack of his closest confidant. At times, the weight of it all was nearly unbearable.

Yet Brian’s story isn’t defined by tragedy. It’s defined by his remarkable capacity to reinvent. Music became his therapy, his guitar a lifeline when words failed. A bowling league offered unexpected silliness and community. And eventually, he and his wi...

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The road through addiction and recovery is rarely straight — and for Jamie Felton, it’s been marked by both unimaginable loss and profound resilience.

By age 24, Jamie had accumulated three DUIs and found herself walking home from a blackout at 3:30 AM. That was the breaking point that led her to seek help — and on November 7, 2006, she began a journey that has kept her sober for nearly 19 years.

But sobriety didn’t shield her from heartbreak. Jamie’s sons, Jack and Sam, both struggled with substance use. She p...

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What if the most difficult chapters of your life were actually preparing you for unexpected gifts?

In this moving episode of Hope Comes to Visit, award-winning writer Maria de los Angeles shares how caring for her parents with Alzheimer’s taught her the very resilience, humility, and compassion she would later need to face her own esophageal cancer diagnosis.

Maria speaks candidly about the sacred and heartbreaking realities of caregiving — from changing her parents’ diapers to sitting with the grief of loss. “It was the most beautiful and hard...

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Grief doesn’t end with goodbye. For many, it’s followed by a quiet, exhausting weight no one talks about — the paperwork, the phone calls, the endless “to-do’s” that come when your heart has already been broken.

When Adria Ferrier lost her mother after a five-year battle with cancer, she not only faced the deep ache of missing her, but also the overwhelming burden of navigating the practical aftermath. From transferring accounts to hours on hold with companies that had no clear process, she found herself spending precious time and ene...

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“Hope has to evolve and change.”

These powerful words shaped the extraordinary journey of Martha Sharkey, Founder & CEO of Today is a Good Day — a nonprofit creating a lifeline for families navigating the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

When Martha and her husband, Paul, welcomed identical twin daughters at just 23 weeks, their world turned upside down. Claire weighed barely over a pound. Mary, only slightly more. Two weeks later, they faced the devastating loss of Mary, while continuing to fight alongside Claire through 103 days in intensive care before...