A Light In the Darkness

This is a bonus episode of my A Light In the Darkness Podcast.  It has been 12 long years since my younger sister Brooke Jarrett left this earthly life. This episode is airing on her Angelversary. I wanted to talk about my sister’s story for a few reasons.  First of all, she suffered through mental health challenges for a lot of her life and ended up dying by suicide. Since that time I have wanted to honor her by trying to help end the stigma of people suffering from mental health issues, and also open up about how suicide affects family members, so that hopefully if I know anyone who is feeling suicidal, they can think of me and how HARD my life has been without my sister here with me, and know that they have someone in their life who would feel the same way. Secondly, I understand that each trial that I have been through has shaped me into who I am.  As I talk on this podcast, I draw upon my experiences to relate to my guests and my audience, and also offer thoughts and advice on how to face difficult things.  So by sharing my story I hope that those of you listening will be able to face the difficult things you are going through in your own lives as well.

To read the article Zach talked about, discussing the Atonement, and get a handout about how to discuss pornography with your kids, go to my website here: https://carlyrobison.org/2020/10/28/1713/

Find out more about Zach's coaching a program, get some free tools, and even find extra support for wives who are dealing with a husband who is overcoming pornography use, click here: https://www.zachspafford.com

Listen to Zach's Podcast here: https://www.zachspafford.com/podcast

Heidi was raised by wonderful parents, Dan & Patricia Potts in West Jordan, UT. She has 3 sisters, and they adopted her brother when she was about 15. Heidi went to Snow College after high school and met her husband, Jason Hamilton, who had just returned from his mission. They got married in the Salt Lake City Temple in May of 2000.  Heidi graduated from the University of Utah in 2002 with a degree in communications and business. She worked for the Forest Service for 8 years before she had my first baby, and then became a stay-at-home mom. Heidi and Jason now have 6 children. She enjoys being a mother and wife. She also enjoys reading, trail running, hiking, triathlons, family history, digital scrapbooking, and traveling.

In this episode Heidi Hamilton then tells us about her sweet son Link.  She talks about all of the tender mercies that came from his short life, and shares about him ultimately passing away suddenly due to Sudden Unexplained Infant Death, or SIDS. Heidi gives us some of the strategies she uses in her life as she has dealt with grief and heartache over losing her sweet baby boy, and trying to help her family heal from such a devastating loss.

You can reach out to Heidi through her email at [email protected]

To read more about Link's story read Heidi's blog here: http://jhhamiltonhappenings.blogspot.com/p/links-story.html?m=1

To learn more about SIDS or support their research efforts, click here: https://www.sids.org/

The talk Heidi shared that changed her perspective: https://devotionalarchive.byuh.edu/node/332.html

To learn more or donate to the Ronald McDonald house in Utah click here: https://connect.clickandpledge.com/w/Form/abf36fa8-4e83-4397-b7f5-062090a878ec

To learn more or donate to the Ronald McDonald House in Philadelphia click here: https://www.philarmh.org/donate/

To learn more about the Family History Work the Hampton's do on Link's angelversary click here: https://www.familysearch.org/en/

Tiffany Jarrett grew up in Orem Utah as an active member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Her dad is a convert, and her mom has 7 kids in her family and is one of only 3 active members. Tiffany feels super lucky that they were able to stay active and give her that in her life. Although Tiffany did not attend college, she did put 2 husbands through so that should count for something!

Tiffany shares with us the story of her first marriage to a BYU football player who used steroids to help him "fit in" with the other talented players, which eventually ended up with him being addicted to meth and in and out of jail.  She tells of the difficult times throughout the next 6 years, that ultimately ended in divorce.

Tiffany is currently married to an amazing man (MY BROTHER) whom she plans to keep forever. Together they have 3 miracle children that are their world, and 2 golden doodles that are part of the family too! She gets to stay at home with her kids which is a dream come true, and also does lots of designing, staging, woodworking on the side! Nick and Tiffany just built a new home in Mapleton Utah, and are loving their new area and home! 

If you want to get in tough with tiffany she can be reached at [email protected]

The book that was life changing for Tiffany to read: He Did Deliver Me From Bondage

The LDS Addiction Recovery program can be found HERE

David Chatterton was born and raised in Murray, Utah, and is the 4th of 5 children. David is married to Lindsy Chatterton and together they have  3 children, Tate, Niya, and Zoey; with losses of baby Mack, Arie and Liam. Their family lives in South Jordan, Utah and enjoy the outdoors, yard work, managing their rental properties, and spending time together. David has worked for University of Utah Health for 18 years, with more than 15 of those years in progressive management. He is a licensed Registered Nurse and has a Master’s of Science Degree in Nursing. 

David shares with us in this extended episode a story full of heartache, fear, strength, hope, faith, and miracles.  When he was a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints he was kidnapped at gunpoint and held for ransom for 3 days.  He shares lessons and strategies he has learned throughout his experiences that have shaped him into the man he is today.  

David is a humanitarian with a special interest in healthcare for the immigrant populations, and is an active board member with Healing Hands for Haiti.  He and his wife also have their own non-profit "Haiti's Heart" and together have spent over 18 years dedicating  heart, faith, time and family serving those in need. 

https://www.haitisheart.org

http://www.healinghandsforhaiti.org

Nathan Ogden has taught thousands how to conquer their fears and move from paralysis to progress through eliminating excuses in their lives. He is a wheelchair athlete, co-creator of the non-profit Chair The Hope, and author of the book Unfrozen and co-authored Resilience and Leadership In Trying Times, both #1 Bestsellers. Nathan is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, trainer, and coach.

If you want to contact Nathan for a speaking engagement, or to speak with him personally, you can connect with him at https://nathanogden.com

If you want to learn more about, or donate to, his nonprofit organization Chair The Hope, you can find information here: https://chairthehope.org

Today we are doing things a little differently.  I am speaking with Laura Woodruff, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, about the importance of taking our mental health seriously, and how to deal with grief and trauma in our lives. Laura got her Bachelors and Masters Degree in Social Work from Brigham Young University and has been a therapist for 22 years. She specializes in working with anxiety, depression, PTSD, and grief work and works with teens, couples, individuals and families. Laura has been trained in EMDR, and has enjoyed utilizing this tool to help people with PTSD. For the first ten years of her career Laura worked with teens and families at a crisis center for youth, as well as various residential treatment centers for youth. Then for ten years she worked at Family Services for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and for the last 2-3 years Laura has had her own practice situated in West Jordan, Utah. Laura has been married for 24 years, and has five kids.  In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, photography, and spending time with her family and two dogs.

The talk Laura shared from President Russell M. Nelson:  Drawing the Power Of Jesus Christ Into Our Lives

Brandie Paterakis graduated from the University of Utah with her Masters Degree in Social work.  She has a true love for life and it is apparent in her larger than life positive attitude, and her ability to make her home an energetic environment. Brandie enjoys spending time with her husband of 22 years, and her four dramatic teenage daughters. They enjoy being fun and crazy, while always looking for projects and activities to do together as a family. 

Brandie shares with us the story of her father, Fire Fighter Robin L. Pilcher.  Captain Pilcher passed away due to pancreatic cancer, which he got due to breathing in toxins while being a part of Utah's Task Force 1, who were sent to New York to help with recovery efforts after September 11th.  Brandie talks about how her dad taught her to use humor and laughter to get through difficult times. She shares amazing stories from his experiences, and really helps us to remember there are people who are STILL suffering from the effects of the attacks that day.

You can learn more about Captain Pilcher and other heroes here: https://heroslastcall.wordpress.com

You can contact Brandie at South Point Counseling Services, or on social media @BrandiePilcherPaterakis

You can learn more about the FealGood Foundation and how to help other first responders here: https://fealgoodfoundation.com

You can see the pictures Brandie mentioned of her father and their family in a blog post I wrote about this episode here:

Heidi Totten is an eclectic wife and mother of two relatively normal children. She spent her early career building technical teams around the world during the dot com era, and ten years ago launched her own business helping entrepreneurs and small businesses go global by embracing social media and online marketing.

Heidi has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs over the past 3 years. She runs Heidi Totten Consulting (www.heiditotten.com) and The Eclectic Entrepreneurs (www.eclecticentrepreneurs.com) as a way to help the most people possible during her one crazy life. In her spare time, she is the Executive Director of 100 Humanitarians International, (www.100humanitarians.com) a grassroots non-profit that focuses on mentoring families in economic development in Kenya, Africa. She has taken over 200 people on 18 expeditions. 

Her happy place is hauling down roads in Kenya in dusty jeeps, but she is also known for her love of tacos, guacamole, and chocolate.