When Jim Labate lost his daughter Maria just 30 days after she entered the hospital on Christmas Day, his world changed forever. A longtime teacher and writer, Jim turned to storytelling to process the unimaginable—first privately, and then publicly through his memoir Our Sweet Maria. What started as a way to document her final month became a deeply personal tribute to her entire life.

In this special live episode recorded at Northshire Bookstore in Saratoga Springs, Jim reflects on the moments that shaped Maria’s life and legacy, the quiet strength of parenting through loss, and the complicated emotions that resurface around holidays and anniversaries. He also shares how writing became a way to stay close to his daughter—and why the simple act of someone asking “Tell me about Maria” remains one of the greatest gifts of all.

Resources & Ways to Connect

Our Sweet Maria: A Father’s Story of Love, Loss, and Hope is available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Our-Sweet-Maria-Story-Loss/dp/1667878390

A Place of Yes Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aplaceofyespodcast

Heather’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathersstraughter

Jake’s Help from Heaven Website: http://jakeshelpfromheaven.org/

Jake’s Help from Heaven Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jakeshelp

Jake’s Help from Heaven Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jakeshelpfromheaven

Our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aplaceofyespodcast

Kim “Rooster” Rossiter knows what it means to live through unimaginable loss. After the death of his daughter Ainsley, the retired Marine turned his pain into purpose—founding Ainsley’s Angels, an organization that promotes inclusion by empowering people with disabilities to experience endurance events like races and triathlons. What started as a tribute to Ainsley’s life has become a national movement, helping families across the country feel seen, included, and celebrated.

In this episode, Rooster shares how running with Ainsley transformed both of their lives, what he’s learned about advocacy, and how love and grief continue to propel him forward. He speaks candidly about parenting through illness, the moments of connection that carried them through, and how Ainsley’s spirit continues to guide his work. It’s a powerful reminder that grief doesn’t just break us—it can move us.

Resources & Ways to Connect

Ainsley’s Angels Website: https://www.ainsleysangels.org

Ainsley’s Angels Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ainsleysangels

Ainsley’s Angels Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AinsleysAngels

APOY Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aplaceofyespodcast

Heather’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathersstraughter

Jake’s Help from Heaven Website: http://jakeshelpfromheaven.org/

Jake’s Help from Heaven Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jakeshelp

Jake’s Help from Heaven Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jakeshelp

Our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aplaceofyespodcast

Grief doesn’t end — it changes. In this episode, Heather sits down with her husband, Brian, to talk about what life looks like fifteen years after losing their son, Jake. Instead of a structured interview, they let a jar of questions guide the conversation — questions written to spark honesty, memory, and the kind of storytelling that only happens when two people have lived the same loss.

They talk about the night everything changed, the routines and rituals that still keep Jake woven into their everyday lives, and how grief has shaped their marriage, their parenting, and the family they’ve built around Ethan. From laughter to anger to the moments that knock the air out of them even now, this episode is both tender and brutally real — a rare look at what long‑term grief actually feels like inside a family.

Resources & Ways to Connect

APOY Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aplaceofyespodcast

Heather’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathersstraughter

Jake’s Help from Heaven Website: http://jakeshelpfromheaven.org/

Jake’s Help from Heaven Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jakeshelp

Jake’s Help from Heaven Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jakeshelpfromheaven

Our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aplaceofyespodcast

It’s the week of Thanksgiving, and instead of a regular episode, Heather is taking a moment to pause, reflect, and share what’s on her mind. In this short solo message, she talks about the complicated feelings that come up around the holidays — the mix of gratitude and grief, the presence and the absence — and reminds us that it’s okay to feel all of it.

She also shares a preview of next week’s special episode with her husband Brian, recorded just before the 15th anniversary of their son Jake’s passing. It’s one of the most personal conversations they’ve shared — a tender, unscripted reflection on love, loss, and the questions we don’t always ask each other out loud.

Thank you for being part of this show, this space, and this community. We’re so grateful you’re here.

Resources & Ways to Connect

Email Heather: [email protected]

Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aplaceofyespodcast

Jake’s Help from Heaven: http://jakeshelpfromheaven.org/

Jake’s Help on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jakeshelp

Jake’s Help on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jakeshelpfromheaven

Watch More Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@aplaceofyespodcast

Grief doesn’t follow a neat timeline—and for Rebecca Feinglos, it took stepping away from her career to finally step into it. After losing both of her parents and navigating a divorce, Rebecca committed to what she calls a grieve leave—a year dedicated to processing her pain and exploring what it really means to mourn. That time turned into a movement.

In this episode, Rebecca shares how Grieve Leave was born, why she believes grief deserves intentional space, and how hosting “Sad Hours” gatherings has become a powerful way for people to show up for their emotions—and for each other. Whether you’re grieving a recent loss or still carrying something from years ago, this conversation offers both permission and possibility.

Resources & Ways to Connect

Grieve Leave Website: https://www.grieveleave.com

Grieve Leave Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grieveleave

APOY Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aplaceofyespodcast

Heather’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathersstraughter

Jake’s Help from Heaven Website: http://jakeshelpfromheaven.org/

Jake’s Help from Heaven Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jakeshelp

Jake’s Help from Heaven Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jakeshelpfromheaven

Our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aplaceofyespodcast

When Molly Pearson asked her father to fill out 75 birthday cards before he died, she didn’t know it would become a project that would touch so many lives. In this conversation, Molly shares the story behind Birthdays from Beyond—a service born from anticipatory grief and a deep desire to keep meaningful connection alive. What began as a personal ritual between a daughter and her dad has grown into something much bigger: a way for people to reflect, remember, and stay present through love, storytelling, and intention.

We talk about how different people have used these cards to process miscarriage, preserve family history, and reconnect with memories once thought lost. Molly also opens up about her evolving relationship with mortality, what it means to track your own path through life, and why we all deserve rituals that help grief feel a little less lonely.

Resources & Ways to Connect

Visit Birthdays from Beyond: https://www.birthdaysfrombeyond.com

APOY Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aplaceofyespodcast

Heather’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathersstraughter

Jake’s Help from Heaven Website: http://jakeshelpfromheaven.org/

Jake’s Help from Heaven Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jakeshelp

Jake’s Help from Heaven Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jakeshelpfromheaven

Our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aplaceofyespodcast

Grief doesn’t always look the same—especially for fathers. In this powerful episode, Heather sits down with Chuck Allen, father of Olivia Allen, for a heartfelt conversation about what it means to grieve as a dad. Chuck opens up about the small rituals that still connect him to Liv, how he copes with the weight of loss, and why he's more comfortable with his own mortality since her passing. They talk about father-daughter bonds, the moments that still bring Liv’s presence into his everyday life, and the founding of the Live Like Liv Foundation—an organization devoted to supporting the entire family through pediatric illness, especially siblings who are often left out of the conversation.

Resources & Ways to Connect

Live Like Liv Foundation: https://www.livelikeliv.org

Jake’s Help from Heaven Website: http://jakeshelpfromheaven.org/

APOY Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aplaceofyespodcast

Heather’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathersstraughter

Jake’s Help from Heaven Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jakeshelp

Jake’s Help from Heaven Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jakeshelpfromheaven

Our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aplaceofyespodcast

Grief changes, but it never disappears. For illustrator and author Jordan Sondler, losing her dad at 14 shaped both her art and her understanding of what it means to carry loss through life. In this conversation, she shares how creativity became a language for grief, how memory shifts over time, and why she co-founded Dead Parent Club, an audio-only community where people can show up just as they are. Jordan’s story is honest, thoughtful, and full of the kind of connection that reminds us we don’t have to grieve in isolation.

Resources & Ways to Connect

Dead Parent Club (via Clubhouse): https://www.clubhouse.com (search “Dead Parent Club”)

Jordan Sondler (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/jordansondler

APOY Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aplaceofyespodcast

Heather’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathersstraughter

Jake’s Help from Heaven Website: http://jakeshelpfromheaven.org/

Jake’s Help from Heaven Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jakeshelp

Jake’s Help from Heaven Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jakeshelpfromheaven

Our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aplaceofyespodcast

Austin Wolfe lost his younger brother, Devin, in a car accident — a moment that changed everything. In this conversation, he reflects on that day, the strange quiet that followed, and how saying yes to volunteering at Experience Camps helped him begin to live with his grief instead of around it. Austin shares what it’s like to hold space for kids navigating the same kind of loss, the mix of heartbreak and joy that unfolds in a week of camp, and how that experience is shaping the way he wants to move through the world. His story is open, vulnerable, and filled with the kind of hope that comes only from living it.

Resources & Ways to Connect

Experience Camps: https://experiencecamps.org

Jake’s Help from Heaven Website: http://jakeshelpfromheaven.org/

APOY Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aplaceofyespodcast

Heather’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathersstraughter

Jake’s Help from Heaven Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jakeshelp

Jake’s Help from Heaven Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jakeshelpfromheaven

Our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aplaceofyespodcast

Grief is never simple, and for musician Jeff Brisbin, the loss of his son Josh continues to shape his life, his art, and his purpose. In this powerful conversation, Jeff shares what it means to carry his son’s memory forward—the hard days, the unexpected signs, and the music that keeps him connected. From navigating family milestones to finding healing on stage, Jeff’s story is both heartbreaking and hopeful.

• Jake’s Help from Heaven Website: http://jakeshelpfromheaven.org/

• APOY Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aplaceofyespodcast

• Heather’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathersstraughter

• Jake’s Help from Heaven Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jakeshelp

• Jake’s Help from Heaven Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jakeshelpfromheaven

• Resources & Ways to ConnectOur YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aplaceofyespodcast