Grief & Happiness

What brings you happiness? Try expecting to be happy and see where that takes you. 

Let's Connect:

• You can join the Grief and Happiness Alliance which meets weekly on Sundays by clicking here
• You can order the International Best Selling The Grief and Happiness Guide by clicking here.
• You can order Loving and Living Your Way Through Grief by clicking here at Amazon:
• You can listen to my podcast, Grief and Happiness, by clicking here
• Request your Awaken Your Happiness Journaling Guide here

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If you've ever wondered whether grief is something you get over — or simply learn to carry — episode 414 of the Grief and Happiness podcast is for you. Poet and survivor Sarah Hanson reframes grief not as something to be fixed, but as a scar that proves you survived — and shares why still sharing "cosmic jokes" with her late best friend is one of grief's greatest gifts.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(00:52) Sarah's journey as a poet and trauma survivor

(01:41) Why trauma made poetry the only way to tell her story

(03:10) How to tell hard stories without re-traumatizing your reader

(04:29) Why everyone is grieving — and why forgetting that matters

(07:56) Why people fear talking about grief — and why they shouldn't

(08:41) Sarah's honest guide to navigating early 

(12:46) Cosmic jokes and staying connected to those we've lost

(15:01) Why the most meaningful objects left behind are never the obvious ones

(19:57) Why getting grief down on paper — even imperfectly — helps

(22:20) The power of haiku for overwhelming feelings

(25:12) How joy quietly grows back in the grief garden

(29:06) Fragmented memory, complex PTSD, and the power of writing it down

Sarah Hanson is a Minneapolis-based author, poet, and truth-teller whose work sits at the intersection of trauma, resilience, and the ongoing journey back to oneself. Her debut memoir-in-verse, Conjuring the Hurricane: The Best Way to Save Your Life Is Any Way You Can (April 2026), weaves together stories of domestic violence, childhood trauma, grief, and hard-won healing — earning praise from Elizabeth Gilbert, among others. A graduate of the University of Chicago with a Master of Arts, Sarah writes with the candor of someone who has walked through the storm and wants to show others the way out. 

In this episode, Sarah brings the perspective of a survivor and poet to a conversation about grief, healing, and the transformative power of writing. She explains why she chose the nonlinear structure of poetry over traditional memoir — trauma fractures memory in ways that resist linear storytelling, and the form allowed her to honor emotional truth without getting tangled in factual precision. She also offers a tender reframe of healing: rather than expecting to recover as though the wound never happened, she encourages listeners to understand they will heal with the scar — carrying both the proof of survival and the new self built around it. Sarah and Emily find deep common ground on journaling and poetry as grief tools, with Sarah championing longhand writing and poetry as particularly accessible mediums for people in pain.

Connect with Sarah Hanson:

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Book: Sarah Hanson - Conjuring the Hurricane

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The Grief and Happiness Alliance

Book: Emily Thiroux Threatt - Loving and Living Your Way Through Grief

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This is the time to discover your new life’s purpose. What will you do now?

Let's Connect:

• You can join the Grief and Happiness Alliance which meets weekly on Sundays by clicking here
• You can order the International Best Selling The Grief and Happiness Guide by clicking here.
• You can order Loving and Living Your Way Through Grief by clicking here at Amazon:
• You can listen to my podcast, Grief and Happiness, by clicking here
• Request your Awaken Your Happiness Journaling Guide here

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you've ever wondered whether healing from loss is truly possible, Episode 412 of Grief and Happiness is for you. After the tragic death of his wife, Barry Hoffner set out to visit all 193 countries on Earth — and discovered that grief, when you let it move you, can lead you to a belonging that spans the entire world.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(00:48) From investment banking across eight countries to Sausalito

(02:31) Why North Korea is his final country — and what the goal really meant

(04:03) How travel revealed that people everywhere share more than divides them

(07:04) How grief and travel became one story worth writing

(08:06) The power of speaking someone's language — and seven years of Arabic

(13:17) The countries that surprised him most — including a birthday party in Damascus

(16:42) How an open heart changes everything about what you find

(17:50) A near-deportation in Suriname and the midnight connection that followed

(19:46) How Jackie's kindness quietly guided him across the world

(25:47) The Bourse Jackie scholarship supporting young women in West Africa

Barry Hoffner grew up in a middle-class Jewish-Iraqi household in Southern California, where a spontaneous backpacking trip to Europe at 18 ignited a lifelong passion for the world. After earning his MBA from Columbia University, he spent sixteen years in investment banking across Buenos Aires, Paris, Tokyo, Singapore, London, and Moscow alongside his wife, Jackie. Following Jackie's tragic death in 2017, Barry channeled his grief into visiting all 193 countries on Earth — a journey chronicled in his memoir, Belonging to the World. He is also the founder of Caravan to Class, a nonprofit that has built 18 schools across West Africa, and established the Bourse Jackie scholarship program in Jackie's memory to support young West African women in higher education, with all book proceeds going directly to these programs.

In this episode, Barry shares how Jackie's death became the unexpected catalyst for a mission that was, at first, an escape — but ultimately became a profound path toward healing through human connection. Repeatedly stepping into places the media labels dangerous, from Syria and Yemen to Sudan and Afghanistan, he found people of extraordinary warmth and generosity that dismantled every assumption he'd carried. Whether navigating a near-deportation in Suriname that turned into a midnight friendship, or being thrown a surprise birthday party in Damascus, Barry's stories illustrate his guiding belief: that grief, when we allow it to, can crack us open to a belonging that spans the entire world.

Connect with Barry Hoffner:

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Book: Barry Hoffner - Belonging to the World

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The Grief and Happiness Alliance

Book: Emily Thiroux Threatt - Loving and Living Your Way Through Grief

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Let's Connect:

• You can join the Grief and Happiness Alliance which meets weekly on Sundays by clicking here
• You can order the International Best Selling The Grief and Happiness Guide by clicking here.
• You can order Loving and Living Your Way Through Grief by clicking here at Amazon:
• You can listen to my podcast, Grief and Happiness, by clicking here
• Request your Awaken Your Happiness Journaling Guide here

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you've ever questioned whether your loved ones are still with you after they're gone, Episode 410 of Grief and Happiness is not to be missed. Architect and artist Ksenia J. Merck shares how losing her husband Bill led her to complete his lifelong dream — finishing his science fiction novel Ghost Flower and authoring its companion journal. Through art, philosophy, and soul-searching questions about purpose and time travel, Ksenia shows how grief can become the unexpected catalyst for your greatest creative work.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(00:55) Ksenia's introduction as architect, artist, and author

(01:49) The story behind Ghost Flower and Bill's hospital bed sketch

(04:04) Feeling her husband's presence through the creative process

(04:38) Inside the Ghost Flower Companion Journal and how it works

(07:14) Would you time travel to save humanity? The book's soul-searching questions

(11:02) Purpose as one of the most powerful tools for grief

(12:35) How this project pulled Ksenia through her darkest chapter

(14:22) Emily's journey from caregiving and loss to purpose-driven living

(16:49) Turning the most painful experience of your life into something meaningful

(19:29) Soul contracts, twin flames, and why this project was always meant for her

(21:32) The oak tree story — and why Ksenia believes Bill guided it down

Ksenia J. Merck, AIA, NCARB is an architect, artist, and author with over four decades in the industry and a Bachelor of Architecture from Virginia Tech. By day, she serves as a Program Manager for large-scale Airport Capital Programs in Orlando; by calling, she bridges architectural precision with visionary artistry through her sketchbook and canvas. Fueled by a deep love of art history, travel, and the cosmic mysteries of the universe, her work explores themes of life, the afterlife, and the wonders that lie beyond. Her latest illustrations appear in Ghost Flower, a science fiction novel by her late husband William F. Merck II — for which she painted the cover and authored the companion journal. Originally from Arizona, she now calls Florida home.

In this episode, Ksenia opens up about how grief became the doorway to profound purpose. After losing her husband Bill in March 2024, she channeled her loss into completing his lifelong dream — painting the cover of his science fiction novel Ghost Flower and authoring the Ghost Flower Companion Journal, a collection of illustrations and philosophical questions designed to deepen the reader's experience of the book. She shares how the project gave her direction at her most vulnerable, and how she believes Bill has remained a guiding presence every step of the way. Together, Ksenia and Emily explore the power of soul contracts, twin flames, and the idea that grief — when met with openness — can become the foundation for a meaningful new chapter.

Connect with Ksenia J. Merck:

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Facebook

Let's Connect: 

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The Grief and Happiness Alliance

Book: Emily Thiroux Threatt - Loving and Living Your Way Through Grief

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Let's Connect:

• You can join the Grief and Happiness Alliance which meets weekly on Sundays by clicking here
• You can order the International Best Selling The Grief and Happiness Guide by clicking here.
• You can order Loving and Living Your Way Through Grief by clicking here at Amazon:
• You can listen to my podcast, Grief and Happiness, by clicking here
• Request your Awaken Your Happiness Journaling Guide here

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you've ever lost someone and felt the crushing irony of wanting to call them about their own death, episode 408 of Grief and Happiness is for you. Bestselling ghostwriter Samantha Rose joins Emily to share how losing her mother to suicide forced her to write the story she never expected — including the unconventional practice of writing her mother back to life to answer the questions she left behind. Raw, surprising, and darkly funny, this conversation will change the way you think about grief and healing.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(00:54) Samantha Rose's journey from ghostwriter to first-time author

(01:54) Losing her mother Susan to suicide — and the shock that followed

(04:41) The painful irony of losing her one person to call

(06:04) How writing her mother back to life shaped her memoir

(07:22) What the page revealed that therapy could not

(09:04) Why surrendering to grief is the only way through

(12:27) Channeling grief out of your body: writing, movement, and beyond

(16:29) Why talking openly about suicide and grief is freeing

(18:21) Emily's Sunday grief writing community and the happiness practice

(21:55) Why Samantha never wants to stop missing her mother

(25:24) The rare friend who can witness grief without fixing it

(27:02) What grieving people actually need — and what to stop saying

(28:23) Why sharing memories of the lost is the greatest gift

Samantha Rose is an Emmy Award–winning television writer and New York Times bestselling ghostwriter whose nearly twenty collaborations include Reese's Book Club picks and titles featured in the Wall Street Journal and Harper's Bazaar. As principal of Yellow Sky Media, she has spent two decades helping others tell their stories — and in 2025, stepped into the spotlight to tell her own with Giving Up the Ghost: A Daughter's Memoir (Sibylline Press), winner of the San Francisco Book Festival's Best Memoir honor.

Samantha joined Emily to discuss the raw, compounded grief of suicide loss — specifically, losing her mother Susan, a vibrant journalist and feminist, the same morning they had spoken. She shared how working with a grief counselor sparked her memoir, and how writing evolved into channeled conversations with her mother on the page, unearthing buried truths along the way. Together, she and Emily explored grief's relentless presence, the importance of surrendering to it, and the healing power of community and open conversation about those we've lost.

Connect with Samantha Rose:

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Facebook

Get Samantha Rose’s books!

Let's Connect: 

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The Grief and Happiness Alliance

Book: Emily Thiroux Threatt - Loving and Living Your Way Through Grief

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Let's Connect:

• You can join the Grief and Happiness Alliance which meets weekly on Sundays by clicking here
• You can order the International Best Selling The Grief and Happiness Guide by clicking here.
• You can order Loving and Living Your Way Through Grief by clicking here at Amazon:
• You can listen to my podcast, Grief and Happiness, by clicking here
• Request your Awaken Your Happiness Journaling Guide here

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you've ever worried about what happens to your family when a loved one passes, episode 406 of the Grief and Happiness podcast is essential listening. Inherited property expert Alexa Rosario reveals why 1 in 3 siblings never speak again after going through the inheritance process — and shares the framework she built after losing her own father to help families protect both their legacy and their relationships.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

(00:58) Alexa's story: losing her father and the probate nightmare 

(04:56) Why inherited property is never logical — and attachment styles 

(10:12) The four "power vacuums" that open when a parent dies 

(15:02) How to start legacy conversations without the death talk 

(15:28) Why recipes and traditions are the real inheritance 

(20:50) Storyworth: capturing a loved one's memories 

(23:27) Discovering hidden family history through love letters 

(28:36) Inside Heirloom: from closure to legacy coronation 

(34:43) How to access Heirloom and find a trained agent

Alexa Rosario is a South Florida-based real estate professional and founder of Heirloom, a platform that helps families navigate inherited property and senior transitions with both emotional intelligence and logistical precision. Licensed since 2013, it was the sudden loss of her father in 2018 — followed by a grueling probate process and the loss of her grandmother less than a year later — that set her on a mission to transform the way America inherits property. Her work has been featured in Yahoo Finance, Women of Influence, and SFBW, and she is actively training agents across the country to bring Heirloom's heart-led approach to more families nationwide.

In this episode, Alexa and Emily explore what Alexa calls "the long grief" — the emotional and logistical weight that descends on families after a loved one passes. Alexa introduces four "power vacuums" that open during inheritance: the provision vacuum (financial systems that vanish with the person who managed them), the soul vacuum (loss of the family's tradition-keeper), the legacy vacuum (loss of the person who gave the family its identity), and the secrets vacuum (revelations that surface after someone is gone). She also connects attachment styles to sibling conflict during grief, and shares her six-part Estate Transition Framework — moving families from emotional closure through curation and the property decision, to a final "coronation" that helps carry traditions forward — all rooted in her belief that the true inheritance is never the property, but the memories and identity passed from one generation to the next.

Connect with Alexa Rosario:

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Substack

Instagram

LinkedIn

Book: Alexa Rosario - The Legacy Year

Let's Connect: 

Website

LinkedIn

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Pinterest

The Grief and Happiness Alliance

Book: Emily Thiroux Threatt - Loving and Living Your Way Through Grief

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.