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What does it look like to grieve openly, honestly, and without hiding the hardest parts?

This week on Hope Comes to Visit, I’m joined by Brittany Wiederin—a wife, mother, advocate, and founder of the Handle Hard Better Foundation.

After losing her husband, Cory, to a rare and aggressive form of kidney cancer, Brittany finds herself navigating the unimaginable: raising two young boys, carrying profound grief, and learning how to move forward while still honoring the love that changed her life.

What struck me most about this conversation is Brittany’s willingness to live—and grieve—unmasked.

Together, we talk about love, loss, parenting through heartbreak, caregiving, resilience, faith, and the reality that grief isn’t something we move on from. It’s something we learn to carry.

We also talk about the intentional choices Brittany and Cory made after his diagnosis, including playing catch with their boys every single day, creating legacy videos, and finding ways to build beautiful memories in the midst of a devastating reality.

This conversation is heartbreaking and hopeful all at once.

One of Brittany’s most powerful reminders:

“For as hard as it is, it’s worth it. Being vulnerable takes courage. But if we aren’t vulnerable, someone may never feel seen.”

If you have experienced loss—or love someone who has—I hope this conversation reminds you that you are not alone.

💙 If you get a chance - take the time to watch the video version of this episode and stay through the end. Brittany graciously shared personal family footage of Cory, their boys, and the beautiful life they built together. We share some throughout the episode, but there are extra special moments as our conversation closes. It is a moving tribute to a husband, father, coach, and man who continues to impact the lives of those who love him.

Connect with Brittany on Instagram and keep an eye out for the Handle Hard Better Foundation.

If this episode resonates with you, please share it with someone who may need it. You never know when a story of hope might arrive at exactly the right moment.

00:00 Introduction
01:35 Meet Brittany Wiederin
03:42 Who Was Cory?
05:35 How Brittany and Cory Met
06:45 Cory as a Coach and Father
08:43 The Cancer Diagnosis
11:19 Playing Catch Every Day
13:09 Creating Intentional Memories
14:51 Facing an Uncertain Future
17:04 Living With Grief
18:47 Parenting Through Loss
23:06 Caring for Yourself While Grieving
25:10 Grieving Unmasked
29:42 How the Boys Are Doing
31:22 Preserving Cory’s Legacy
36:04 What Cory Wanted His Boys to Remember
37:49 The Gift of Legacy Videos
40:07 The Handle Hard Better Foundation
43:33 How Brittany Defines Hope
46:20 Connecting with Brittany
47:27 A Message for Caregivers and Widows
49:06 Final Reflections

I’m so grateful you spent this time with us today.

If Hope Comes to Visit has become a bright spot in your week, I’d love for you to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode.

And if this conversation resonated with you, sharing it with a friend, leaving a review, or simply telling someone about the show helps more than you know.

Until next time, take good care of yourself. And remember—your story matters.

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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For decades, Dr. Durga Larkin's identity was deeply connected to her work as a cataract surgeon.

Then one unexpected fall changed everything.

After fracturing her dominant arm and facing the possibility that she might never return to surgery, Dr. Durga found herself confronting a question many of us eventually face:

Who are we when the role we've built our life around begins to change?

In this thoughtful and deeply human conversation, we talk about aging, identity, purpose, perfectionism, burnout, rest, and what it means to create a vision for the future—even when life doesn't unfold according to plan.

Dr. Durga shares the inspiration behind her book, Timeless Vision, the lessons she learned from patients who continued to live vibrant, meaningful lives well into their 80s, 90s, and beyond, and how her own unexpected injury became an invitation to reimagine what came next.

We also explore:
• Why so many women struggle with aging and identity
• The labels we carry throughout our lives
• How purpose impacts our health and well-being
• Why rest is often harder than we realize
• The connection between meaning, longevity, and fulfillment
• Learning to release perfectionism
• Creating a vision for your next chapter

One of my favorite moments came when Dr. Durga shared that her injury ultimately gave her permission to do what she had been feeling deep inside all along.

If you've ever found yourself standing at a crossroads, navigating change, or wondering what comes next, I think you'll find a lot of wisdom in this conversation.

Connect with Dr. Durga on her website - durgalarkinmd.com

And find her book - Timeless Vision

If Hope Comes to Visit has become a bright spot in your week, I'd be so grateful if you'd subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who might need it.

Your story matters. And so does theirs.

Chapter Markers

00:00 Introduction
01:32 Meet Dr. Durga Larkin
01:54 Why She Wrote Timeless Vision
05:46 Why We Fear Aging
09:43 The Power of Having a Vision for Your Life
12:10 Blind Spots, Labels & Identity
14:29 The Injury That Changed Everything
18:04 When Life Makes You Walk the Talk
19:17 Purpose, Meaning & Longevity
20:46 Why Rest Matters More Than We Think
24:44 Learning to Sit Still
26:15 Reinvention After a Career Change
29:18 Craving Peace
30:00 Perfectionism & High Achievement
31:25 Advice for Anyone Facing Change
33:54 Meditation, Reflection & Self-Awareness
36:21 Dr. Durga's Timeless Vision
38:12 How Dr. Durga Defines Hope
39:17 Where to Find Dr. Durga & Her Book
40:16 Final Thoughts

I’m so grateful you spent this time with us today.

If Hope Comes to Visit has become a bright spot in your week, I’d love for you to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode.

And if this conversation resonated with you, sharing it with a friend, leaving a review, or simply telling someone about the show helps more than you know.

Until next time, take good care of yourself. And remember—your story matters.

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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This week on Hope Comes to Visit, I’m joined by Michelle Valiukenas — founder of the The Colette Louise Tisdahl Foundation and mother to Sweet Pea, Colette, and Elliott.

Michelle’s story begins with what she believed would be a typical pregnancy. Instead, at just 21 weeks pregnant, she was diagnosed with severe preeclampsia and hospitalized immediately. Three weeks later, her daughter Colette was born at 24 weeks and 5 days and spent nine days in the NICU before Michelle and her husband lost her.

What Michelle created in the aftermath of that loss is extraordinary.

On Colette’s due date, Michelle launched a nonprofit dedicated to helping families facing high-risk pregnancies, NICU stays, and pregnancy and infant loss — particularly the financial realities that exist outside the walls of the hospital. Since then, the organization has provided more than $2 million in direct assistance to thousands of families nationwide.

But this conversation is about more than grief.

It’s about what happens when women finally begin sharing the stories they were taught to whisper about.

It’s about how common pregnancy complications and loss truly are — and how isolating silence can become.

It’s about motherhood, advocacy, survival, healthcare, and the powerful reminder that telling the truth about our experiences helps other people feel less alone.

Michelle’s honesty, compassion, and strength moved me deeply, and I’m so grateful she trusted me with this conversation.

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.

The Colette Louise Tisdahl Foundation

00:00 Introduction
02:08 Michelle’s nonprofit background
03:20 A normal pregnancy until everything changed
06:26 Severe preeclampsia diagnosis at 21 weeks
08:50 The financial realities families face
13:31 Delivering Colette at 24 weeks
15:18 Hearing Colette cry for the first time
16:08 Losing Colette after 9 days in the NICU
17:25 Turning grief into purpose
21:23 “Director of Hugs” and family healing
25:47 Why sharing our stories matters
27:12 How the foundation helps families
32:30 Financial crisis and medical trauma
35:59 Pregnancy loss statistics and isolation
37:37 Reproductive healthcare and Roe v. Wade
46:41 How Michelle defines hope
47:52 Where to find the foundation
48:45 The power of storytelling

I couldn’t agree more.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

I’m so grateful you spent this time with us today.

If Hope Comes to Visit has become a bright spot in your week, I’d love for you to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode.

And if this conversation resonated with you, sharing it with a friend, leaving a review, or simply telling someone about the show helps more than you know.

Until next time, take good care of yourself. And remember—your story matters.

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