
Hosted by Brian D. Smith · EN
"Transform your grief into growth with Brian Smith, an empathetic life coach, certified grief educator, public speaker, and author who has walked the treacherous path of profound loss. Grief 2 Growth unravels the intricacies of life, death, and the spaces in between, offering listeners a new perspective on what it means to be 'Planted. Not Buried.'
Join Brian and his compelling guests—bereaved parents, life coaches, mediums, healers, near death experiencers, and experts in various fields—as they discuss topics like survival guilt, synchronicities, and the scientific evidence supporting the existence of the afterlife. You'll come away with actionable advice, renewed hope, and the comforting knowledge that love and life are eternal.
One of the most powerful ways we know what awaits us and where we came from is Near Death Experiences. Much of Brian's knowledge is derived from extensive study of this phenomenon, along with interviewing dozens of near death experience experiencers.
Brian knows the soul-crushing weight of loss; his journey began with the sudden passing of his fifteen-year-old daughter, Shayna. It's not an odyssey he would have chosen, but it has been an odyssey that has chosen him to guide others.
Grief 2 Growth is a sanctuary for those grieving, those curious about the beyond, and anyone eager to explore the fuller dimensions of life and death. Each episode delves into topics that matter most—how to cope, grow, and connect with loved ones in the afterlife. If you ask: “Where did I come from? Why am I here? Where am I going?” this podcast is for you.
This isn't about forgetting your loss or simply 'moving on'; it's about growing in a new direction that honors your loved ones and your spirit. It’s about finding joy and purpose again.
Grief 2 Growth is more than a podcast; it's a community of souls committed to supporting one another through the darkest valleys and highest peaks of human existence. Listen today and start planting seeds for a brighter, more spiritually connected tomorrow."

What happens when grief doesn't just visit once—but keeps coming back? In this deeply honest conversation, Vanessa May shares how she navigated losing her son Harry, then her husband Anthony, and father during the pandemic, all while battling COVID and later a cancer diagnosis.Vanessa doesn't sugarcoat. She doesn't spiritually bypass. She tells the truth about what it's like when the ground keeps getting ripped out from under you—and how she's found her way forward anyway.In this episode, we explore:The unique pain of compounded grief—losing a child and a spouseHow trauma lives in the body and can manifest as illnessWhy "resilience" can feel like pressure instead of praiseSoul planning, earth school, and making meaning from lossThe loneliness of widowhood in the middle yearsHow Vanessa still feels Harry and Anthony guiding herThe six women featured in her new book and what they have in commonFinding the balance between spiritual hope and raw human griefAbout Vanessa May:Vanessa is a holistic grief coach, certified grief educator, nutritional therapist, and author of three books including Love Untethered: How to Live When Your Child Dies and her newest release, When Grief Takes Everything: A Survival Guide to Devastating Loss.Connect with Vanessa:Website: VanessaMay.co.ukInstagram: @may.wellbeing.griefsupportWhat resonated with you in this conversation?I'd love to hear your thoughts. Join the discussion at grief2growth.substack.com, leave a comment, and connect with others walking this road.Visit the Grief 2 Growth store for FREE items as well as other tools to help you along your journey:Guided MeditationsMy book GEMS of Healing (signed copy)My Oracle deck to help you connect with your loved onesMini-coursesMini-guidesCheck 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-deckSupport 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 ReviewThanks so much for your support

Some struggles don’t make sense.You do the work.You try to heal.And yet the same emotional patterns, grief, anxiety, or disconnection keep resurfacing.In this special Grief 2 Growth episode, Brian D. Smith welcomes back Dr. Lotte Valentin, medical doctor, psychotherapist, ancestral healer, and two-time near-death experiencer, for a profound conversation about inherited emotional patterns and why some challenges may not have started with you.Dr. Lotte shares how grief, trauma, and unresolved experiences can be passed down through generations—encoded not only in DNA, but in the nervous system, language, and subconscious. These patterns, she explains, often surface when someone in the family line finally has the awareness and capacity to heal them.✨ That may be why this conversation found you.🌟 Special Free Event with Dr. Lotte (Highly Recommended)Dr. Lotte is offering a free online experience this Tuesday, February 3:Healing Inherited Patterns Through the Kindraya™ Method Activate Superconscious Senses to Transform Ancestral WoundsDuring this event, you’ll: • Learn the LIGHT Mapping System™ to identify inherited patterns • Experience a guided ancestral healing meditation • Understand how the body holds ancestral memory • Discover how emotionally charged language reveals lineage wounds • Explore healing through presence—not force—in a trauma-informed way👉 Register for the FREE event: https://shiftnetwork.isrefer.com/go/hepBS/a22175/🔗 Resources & Links• Dr. Lotte Valentin’s Website: https://drlotte.comVisit the Grief 2 Growth store for FREE items as well as other tools to help you along your journey:Guided MeditationsMy book GEMS of Healing (signed copy)My Oracle deck to help you connect with your loved onesMini-coursesMini-guidesCheck 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-deckSupport 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 ReviewThanks so much for your support

In this deeply moving episode of Grief to Growth, Brian Smith is joined by writer and seeker Alexis Lee, author of Pain Is a Portal to Beauty, for a courageous conversation about grief, trauma, and radical self-healing.Alexis shares the moment that changed her life — hearing a voice while walking in the woods that told her her life would have been a tragedy if it ended that day. That message became the beginning of a profound journey into grief she had buried since childhood, including the loss of her mother and generational trauma carried in the body.Together, Brian and Alexis explore what happens when we stop running from pain and instead listen to it.This episode isn’t about fixing yourself. It’s about remembering who you are beneath the pain.🌱 In This Episode, You’ll Explore:Why avoiding pain may be keeping you stuckHow grief can live in the body for decadesWhat “parts work” and Internal Family Systems teach us about self-compassionThe role of psychedelic-assisted healing (MDMA, psilocybin, ayahuasca) in trauma recoveryHow pain can become a portal to beauty, authenticity, and loveWhy healing doesn’t require having a plan — only honesty📖 About Today’s GuestAlexis Lee is a writer, seeker, and advocate for radical self-healing. Her book, Pain Is a Portal to Beauty, explores grief, trauma, spirituality, and the courage it takes to turn toward what hurts.🌐 Learn more about Alexis and her work: 👉 https://alexislee.com📘 Pain Is a Portal to Beauty is available wherever books are sold.🤍 Continue the ConversationAnd if you’re wondering where you are in your own grief journey, you’re invited to take the Grief Check-In — a gentle, judgment-free way to understand how grief may be showing up for you right now.👉 https://grief2growth.com/check-inVisit the Grief 2 Growth store for FREE items as well as other tools to help you along your journey:Guided MeditationsMy book GEMS of Healing (signed copy)My Oracle deck to help you connect with your loved onesMini-coursesMini-guidesCheck 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-deckSupport 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 ReviewThanks so much for your support

Before the microphones were turned on, Richard Ashworth asked Brian for his birth information. What followed was an unexpected and deeply personal moment—Richard identified a pivotal event at age seven that reshaped Brian’s view of life.He was right.In this episode of Grief 2 Growth, Brian and Richard explore how grief, destiny, and choice intersect—and how ancient systems like Bazi can help us understand the moments that quietly define us.This is a conversation about:Childhood loss and lifelong impactFate vs free willHealing heartbreak without bypassing painWhy grief is not something to “fix,” but something to listen toGuest InformationRichard Ashworth 🌐 Find him online: Search Richard Ashworth Feng Shui 📘 Book: I Talk to the Animals 📧 Email: richardashworthfengshui@gmail.comListener Reflection Prompt 💬Was there a moment in childhood that changed how you see the world?How do you relate to the idea that grief can be a teacher?👉 Join the conversation at https://grief2growth.substack.comVisit the Grief 2 Growth store for FREE items as well as other tools to help you along your journey:Guided MeditationsMy book GEMS of Healing (signed copy)My Oracle deck to help you connect with your loved onesMini-coursesMini-guidesCheck 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-deckSupport 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 ReviewThanks so much for your support

What if your voice could continue to guide the people you love—long after you’re gone?In this deeply moving episode of Grief 2 Growth, Brian D. Smith is joined by Cristian Cibilis Bernardes, founder and CEO of Autograph AI, for a conversation that sits at the crossroads of grief, technology, memory, and meaning.Cristian shares the personal loss that inspired the creation of Walter, an emotionally intelligent AI designed to listen, remember, and preserve life stories—in your own voice. Not as a replacement for human connection, but as a bridge between generations.Together, Brian and Cristian explore how storytelling becomes legacy, why voice matters so profoundly in grief, and how AI—when used with intention—can help us feel more human, not less.This episode invites you to reflect on powerful questions:What stories of your life might be lost if you don’t share them?What wisdom do you wish you could still hear from those you’ve lost?How do we honor the past while guiding the future?🌱 In This Episode, You’ll Discover:Why voice carries emotional meaning that text alone cannotHow Autograph AI helps families preserve memories across generationsThe surprising role AI can play in vulnerability, empathy, and healingHow legacy isn’t about perfection—but presenceWhat it means to live in alignment with your “higher self”🔗 Learn More:Autograph AI: https://autograph.aiJoin the ongoing conversation: https://grief2growth.substack.com💬 Let’s Make This Interactive:After listening, take a moment to reflect:If someone could hear your voice years from now, what would you want them to know?Whose story do you wish you had recorded?Share your thoughts, reflections, or questions in the comments or join the community discussionVisit the Grief 2 Growth store for FREE items as well as other tools to help you along your journey:Guided MeditationsMy book GEMS of Healing (signed copy)My Oracle deck to help you connect with your loved onesMini-coursesMini-guidesCheck 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-deckSupport 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 ReviewThanks so much for your support

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 suicideStruggled with faith after lossFelt silenced, blamed, or misunderstood in griefWondered if hope is still possible🧠 In this episode, we discuss:Why suicide is not a failure of love or faithHow grief becomes more complicated when faith communities cause harmThe difference between religion and faith in healingRachel’s concept of the “black box” of suicidal thinkingWhy suicide prevention must include helping people save their own livesHow hope can still grow — even after devastating loss💬 A gentle note to listenersThis 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 ResourcesRachel Powell – Hope Speaker: https://hopespeaker.comChristian Widow Community: https://hopestronghold.comInstagram & Facebook: Hope Speaker / Rachel Powell📝 Helpful Resource from BrianNot sure where you are in your grief? Take the GrieVisit the Grief 2 Growth store for FREE items as well as other tools to help you along your journey:Guided MeditationsMy book GEMS of Healing (signed copy)My Oracle deck to help you connect with your loved onesMini-coursesMini-guidesCheck 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-deckSupport 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 ReviewThanks so much for your support