From Heaven & Hope: Recent Episodes
Nicole Fraser
Sharing conversations and encouragement from those who have experienced grief and found a way to move through it.
Amber Jackson, widow, influencer and mom extraordinaire joins the podcast today to share about her journey through grief both during her husbands terminal cancer diagnosis and following his passing. She is the epitome of strength and grace as she navigates this journey alongside her 4 kids. If you're looking for someone who can give you hope in this darkness, Amber is your girl.
Naomi Brickel, author of "Not to Spoil the Ending but...Everything is Going to be Okay" is on the podcast today. She shares her whole heart in this episode as she walks us through her grief journey following the very sudden death of her son Adam. Naomi has an ability to see light through the dark and a perspective that is unmatched. She has created a wonderful and supportive outlet and community for other grievers in her blog space and online presence.
Carla Garrett is on From Heaven & Hope today. Following her seven-year-old son Xavier passing away, she decided to try and help other families with a child facing death. She wrote a children’s book for those sick children and maintains a lifestyle that helps families while honoring her son. I hope you love this conversation as much as I did.
Widow and life coach, Kari Driskell joins the podcast today to discuss the beautifully broken life she has created for herself and her family following the sudden loss of her husband.
Kelsey Bobka joins the podcast today to share her grief journey following her son Baine's passing. Kelsey has dedicated a large part of her life following his passing in 2017 to creating awareness for Urea Cycle Disorder (the same disorder that took Nicole's sons Brady and Levi) and encouraging others along the way.
Janice Scicluna Alves joins the podcast today. She shares the unimaginable story of her first born daughter, Scarlett who, due to a lack of care during labour paid the ultimate price. Listen to Janice talk about Scarlett, her family and how they stuck together in spite of everything.
Tara Storch is a sought after author, speaker and advocate for organ donation. Coining the phrase "outlive yourself" she is here on the podcast to share her own experience with grief following the sudden loss of her oldest daughter, Taylor.
WELCOME BACK! Today we are kicking off a new and improved website and podcast episode with my guest, Jessica Hill. Jessica is a yoga teacher specializing in serving mamas of all kinds and in all seasons. She also happens to be an angel mama herself. Jessica and her husband had to endure the bittersweet task of raising a twinless twin. Jessica’s twin daughters were born together and one of her girls had to go on ahead of her twin sister before anyone was ready. Jessica has a wealth of experience in the areas of healing and nurturing a mama’s heart and I’m so thrilled she has shared her healing journey with us today.
Christa Couture is an award-winning performing and recording artist, non-fiction writer, and broadcaster. She is also proudly Indigenous , queer, disabled, and a mom. Her book How to Lose Everything chronicles her grief journey from losing her leg to cancer at only 11 years old, multiple child losses, divorce and more. She has been forced to navigate some extraordinary losses and has become a true leader walking that journey. I am incredibly humbled to have been able to have this conversation with her and be able to share it with you. So, please join me as I chat with, the amazing, Christa Couture.
Determined to live a happy life following the sudden loss of her daughter Stella, Kristina Preece and her family have managed, not only to pursue a joy filled life but, honour Stella in the process. Kristina shares her tips to making it through such a tragedy and the joys of telling Stella’s story to the world.
Kim Erickson is on the podcast today. Kim is a sought after author, speaker, encourager and woman of God who, like most of us here at From Heaven & Hope, has been touched by grief. She is on the podcast today to share the story of how she found her faith following the tragic loss of her son Austin. If you are struggling in your faith, family and strait up grief, I encourage you to listen to Kim’s story. It took extreme tragedy for her to find extreme freedom. What a powerful message!
From Heaven & Hope is THRILLED to welcome Rachel Awtrey. Rachel is an amazing online encourager, podcaster and in a round about way, the person responsible for From Heaven & Hope. Today Rachel is sharing her journey with grief after losing her dad in a totally random accident when she was a teenager. She has built a life that truly exudes happiness, even though the journey there has been tough. I hope that you find the encouragement you are looking for in this amazing episode.
Elizabeth Foil joins the From Heaven & Hope family today as she shares her journey following the loss of her dad. Beth’s faith is truly remarkable and it was clearly learned by example from her very faithful dad. She shares all about the goodness of God even in times of great struggle and leaves us with beautiful messages of faith and hope.
Christine Murray is on From Heaven & Hope today. Her very busy Mama and photographer schedule was abruptly changed when her oldest son Rhys was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis and subsequently lost his hearing, his developmental skills and was diagnosed with autism in one swift swoop. While her grief isn’t that of a person, of which she is continually grateful, it is the loss of what once was. Christine shares openly about her journey with her son(s), her marriage and her own expectations as she navigates this varied journey with grief.
Audrey Ford of She Mountaineers joins Nicole today on the podcast. She has walked through a journey of infertility and pregnancy loss over the past couple years and continues to approach struggle with a beautiful perspective and faith. She has founded a beautiful company that attempts to tackle those emotionally hard things in life by conquering physical obstacles. Thus, creating a perfect metaphor for healing.
Aditi Loveridge joins the podcast today to share her journey with pregnancy and infant loss and how her own story changed the trajectory of her life. She is the founder of the Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support Centre in Calgary, Alberta.
Today I get to introduce you to some of my favourite people on the planet, my dance girls. This whole group amounts to twelve women but, today you’ll get to hear from six of us. We chat all about what it looks like to support each other through struggle, how it feels as the person who is struggling, how it feels to be the friends and a few fun little anecdotes so you can gain a little insight into what it is to be a part of this group and how they truly are life giving friends.
At a time when we’re all feeling isolated, especially if you are grieving, I hope this friendly chat gives you hope and maybe even a little smile today. Please welcome: Jenn, Mallory, Laura, Amy and Vanessa.
Dr. Carly Wendler joins Nicole today to share her own journey through grief and offer some real tips to assist you in your journey. She offers her opinions on which homeopathic modalities could positively impact your grief journey, infertility and nutrition.
Crystal Partney joins Nicole on this episode of From Heaven and Hope to share her grief journey following her sister’s suicide. Crystal has managed to not only survive but, alter her own life path to honor her own grief and the memory of her sister by using her experience to found not one but, two companies that aim to prevent suicide and support those grieving someone who has taken their own life. She shares all about her initiatives and experiences and how you can help yourself if you are struggling. Such a taboo topic yet, such a warm and inviting conversation.
Tracey Fast of Boo Boo’s Beanie’s joins Nicole on the podcast today. Tracey’s youngest daughter was diagnosed with cancer when she was just 9 years old and fortunately, she has had a positive outcome and is thriving today. But, during her time in the hospital with her daughter, Tracey and her family were surrounded by friends who were facing devastating outcomes. So, today we’re focusing on how to support your grieving friends. We chat through her time in the hospital, her methods of coping, tactical gift ideas for friends and the little idea that turned into a major passion project that is currently helping pediatric oncology patients in Canada and the United States.
Monika Schneider joins the podcast today to share her experience with pregnancy and infant loss. Her baby son, Zachary was lost on Christmas day 2016. And, since then, Monika and her family have maintained an amazing perspective and found some great meaning and purpose amid such tragedy. She shares her favourite resources, her outlook and general tips for surviving after such an incredible loss.
Jackie Ang is a meditation and yoga instructor, and family doctor with specialization in mental health. And, she’s joining the podcast today to shed a bit of light on how meditation and yoga can serve us as we face the mental (and physical) struggles following a loss. She gives some practical tips, resources and poses that can support you on your journey and in your practice.
Margaret Wallace joins the podcast today to share her journey of healing from terrible loss. Margaret lost her mother and then less than a year later her six year old son was lost in the most random and tragic way. She shares some wonderful anecdotes about her community, her marriage, her son and even Coldplay if you can believe it. Through her journey, she’s found a way to find peace and joy in every day.
This is a special week. Today, April 20 is Nicole’s second son, Levi’s birthday (and heavenly birthday). April 22 is the heavenly birthday of another very special angel Addison Leigh, and on April 24th, Nicole’s husband Neil, celebrates his birthday. So, today is a special memorial / birthday episode of the podcast. Today Nicole is joined by Sherri Bocchini Vice President, Development at Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation (HHS). Sherri talks about the needs at McMaster Children’s Hospital, what the foundation is responsible for within the walls of the hospital and how you can help.
Nicole’s husband, Neil joins Nicole on today’s episode of From Heaven and Hope. They discuss their journey to today and how they navigated the ups and downs of marriage following the loss of their child / children.
Elizabeth Walen joins Nicole to discuss the passing of her Mother in-law & Father-in law from the same disease, at different times and both with very short notice. She shares how she supported both her husband and her children while managing her own grief. She manages fear, family and living a life of joy even after such traumatic loss.
Rachael Turza joins Nicole to discuss the issue of pregnancy and infant loss and how she navigated her own experience through it. Rachael has found a way to navigate an epic storm to reveal the rainbow at the end.
Join Nicole as she shares her story of life during and after the loss of her FIVE kids and/or pregnancies.
Join Nicole as she shares the heartbeat behind creating From Heaven & Hope, the podcast and a little bit of how it will run.