Hope Comes to Visit

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There are moments in life when choosing yourself can be one of the most courageous things you can do.

In this deeply moving episode of Hope Comes to Visit, I was privileged to sit down with Deborah Santana—author, activist, and voice for women’s empowerment—to explore what it means to step out of the shadows and fully into your own life.

Through her new memoir Loving the Fire: Choosing Me, Finding Freedom, Deborah shares her journey of transformation after decades of partnership, public life, and self-evolution. Together, they talk about identity, grief, growth, and the quiet courage it takes to ask: What is out of alignment—and what am I ready to change?

This conversation is for anyone standing at a crossroads, navigating loss, or wondering what it might look like to truly choose themselves.

💙 You’re not alone. I'm so glad you are here.

Connect with Deborah Santana on her Website.

Order her book - Loving the Fire: Choosing Me, Finding Freedom.

00:00 — Choosing yourself + episode introduction
01:15 — Deborah Santana’s work and new memoir Loving the Fire
02:00 — Living in someone else’s story vs. becoming yourself
03:00 — Evolution, identity, and stepping out of the shadow
04:45 — Feeling unseen + recognizing your value
05:55 — The decision to leave + choosing yourself
06:25 — Fear, courage, and asking what’s out of alignment
08:45 — “Little deaths” and navigating life transitions
10:30 — Grief, silence, and finding light
11:30 — Activism and the Do a Little Foundation
13:45 — Ancestry, identity, and passing belief to the next generation
17:00 — Raising curious, open-minded children
18:15 — Standing fully on your own + freedom
19:40 — Letting go of the past + living in the present
20:30 — Compassion, judgment, and “being the rainbow”
21:50 — Family, support, and generational impact
22:15 — Defining hope
23:00 — Who this book is for
24:15 — Growth, reflection, and taking ownership of your life
25:10 — “Shed the old, walk through the fire…”
25:30 — What’s next + where to find Deborah
26:30 — Closing

I’m so grateful you spent this time with us today.

If Hope Comes to Visit has become a bright spot in your week, I’d love for you to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, YouTube, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode.

And if this conversation resonated with you, sharing it with a friend, leaving a review, or simply telling someone about the show helps more than you know.

Until next time, take good care of yourself. And remember—your story matters.

New episodes drop every Monday, so you can begin your week with a little light and a lot of hope.

For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit

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The people who make us laugh the hardest often carry the deepest stories.

In this episode of Hope Comes to Visit, Danielle sits down with comedian and storyteller Kelly MacFarland for a conversation that moves seamlessly between humor and heartbreak.

From navigating profound loss to finding joy again, Kelly shares what it looks like to live fully—even when life feels heavy.

This is a conversation about resilience, perspective, and the quiet ways hope finds its way back in.

What You’ll Hear:

•  How humor can help us process life’s hardest moments 
•  Kelly’s experience navigating grief and loss 
•  The reality of living with intrusive thoughts and OCD 
•  What it means to evolve in relationships and in life 
•  Why feeling seen matters more than we think 
•  The story behind her comedy special Hot Gnome
  
  

This episode will make you laugh. It may make you tear up. And it will absolutely remind you that you are not alone.

Listen now—and share it with someone who might need a little light today.

00:00 Introduction & Welcome
 03:25 The Power of Making People Laugh
 06:15 Finding Your Voice & Being “The Funny One”
 08:45 How It All Started in Comedy
 10:20 Relationships, Habits & Relatable Humor
 14:30 Love, Growth & Evolving Together
 18:45 The Reality of Long-Term Relationships
 22:30 Anxiety, Control & Real-Life Stress
 27:00 Grief & Losing Both Parents
 31:30 OCD & Intrusive Thoughts
 35:30 “We Can Do Hard Things”
 39:00 Growth, Confidence & Aging
 42:30 Joy, Presence & Perspective
 45:00 Comedy, Boundaries & Staying Relatable
 46:00 Creating Hot Gnome
49:30 What Hope Means
51:00 Taking Risks & Saying Yes
53:00 Mental Health & Daily Check-Ins
55:00 Closing & Where to Find Kelly

Connect with Kelly:
Website: https://kellymacfarland.com

 Watch Hot Gnome on YouTube

I’m so grateful you spent this time with us today.

If Hope Comes to Visit has become a bright spot in your week, I’d love for you to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, YouTube, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode.

And if this conversation resonated with you, sharing it with a friend, leaving a review, or simply telling someone about the show helps more than you know.

Until next time, take good care of yourself. And remember—your story matters.

New episodes drop every Monday, so you can begin your week with a little light and a lot of hope.

For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit

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What if the signs you’ve been noticing… aren’t coincidence?

In this powerful and deeply personal episode of Hope Comes to Visit, I am joined by Barbra Banner—a no-nonsense psychic, evidential medium, and transmedium known for delivering messages with clarity, humor, and heart.

Together, we explore what happens when we open ourselves to the possibility that those we’ve lost are still with us—just in a different way.

Barbra shares her unexpected journey into mediumship, what it means to trust your intuition, and how connection to spirit can help us move through grief—not by letting go, but by understanding love never leaves.

I also share a bit about my own experience of loss, signs, and the moments that changed everything.

This episode is for anyone who has ever wondered:

• Are the signs real? 
•  Can I trust what I feel? 
•  And what if they’re still with me?

 Because sometimes… hope arrives in ways we never expected.

Connect with Barbra on her website.
On Instagram. And on her YouTube Channel.

I’m so grateful you spent this time with us today.

If Hope Comes to Visit has become a bright spot in your week, I’d love for you to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, YouTube, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode.

And if this conversation resonated with you, sharing it with a friend, leaving a review, or simply telling someone about the show helps more than you know.

Until next time, take good care of yourself. And remember—your story matters.

New episodes drop every Monday, so you can begin your week with a little light and a lot of hope.

For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit

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One of the most beautiful forms of hope arrives in shape of young people destined to make their mark on the world in a powerful way. This conversation shares just that form of hope.

This week on Hope Comes to Visit, I sat down with someone incredibly special to me — Sydney Moore, a high school senior at St. Joseph’s Academy in St. Louis who has spent her young life rooted in service, justice, learning, and compassion.

I have known Sydney since she was just a little girl, and this conversation is both deeply personal and deeply inspiring. Sydney shares her heart for social justice, her desire to become a human rights attorney, and the experiences that have shaped the way she sees the world — from interning with a judge to traveling to the border to learning how to listen before trying to lead.

In this episode, we talk about:

• what gives me hope about the next generation
• how confidence is shaped by the people who believe in us
• why teenagers are more thoughtful, engaged, and justice-minded than many people assume
• what it means to lead without needing to be the loudest person in the room
• how burnout, pressure, and perfectionism show up even in young leaders
• why real change begins with listening, learning, and walking alongside others
• how hope is tied to love, accountability, and the belief that things can be better

Sydney is the kind of young woman who reminds us that the future is not lost. It is being shaped, every day, by people willing to learn, question, serve, and care deeply.

This episode is full of wisdom, heart, and the kind of hope that stretches across generations.

If it moves you, please share it with someone you love.

00:00 Welcome to Hope Comes to Visit
01:49 Sydney Moore on wanting to become a human rights attorney
03:47 What gives Danielle hope about the next generation
06:10 Social media stereotypes vs. who young people really are
11:11 Family influence, confidence, and believing in yourself
16:12 Advice for teens who want to make a difference
19:31 Burnout, pressure, and panic in high school
24:23 Learning when to say yes — and when to say no
26:12 Sydney’s definition of hope
27:37 Does she have hope for America?
30:59 Amanda Gorman, patriotism, and holding the country accountable
34:52 The border trip that changed everything
39:59 Why solidarity matters more than “saving” people
41:23 Danielle on why Sydney gives her hope

I’m so grateful you spent this time with us today.

If Hope Comes to Visit has become a bright spot in your week, I’d love for you to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, YouTube, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode.

And if this conversation resonated with you, sharing it with a friend, leaving a review, or simply telling someone about the show helps more than you know.

Until next time, take good care of yourself. And remember—your story matters.

New episodes drop every Monday, so you can begin your week with a little light and a lot of hope.

For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit

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There are stories that don’t just move us — they change the way we see the world.

In this episode of Hope Comes to Visit, I was grateful to sit down with educator, speaker, and author Dr. Stuart D. Jones to explore a deeply personal story about dignity, disability, and the extraordinary value of every human life.

Dr. Jones shares the story of his brother Stephen — a boy born in 1954 with significant intellectual and physical disabilities during a time when resources, services, and understanding were almost nonexistent. Doctors labeled Stephen “deficient.” Institutions were recommended. But Stephen’s parents chose a different path — one rooted in fierce love, hope, and belief in their son’s humanity.

In his memoir For the Love of Stephen (with a foreword by Temple Grandin and now housed in the Library of Congress), Dr. Jones tells the story of a life that many misunderstood — and a family who refused to see Stephen as broken.

This conversation explores:

• How society often responds to disability with fear or pity
 • Why dignity begins with truly seeing one another
 • The role of siblings as protectors and advocates
 • How parents can teach children to approach difference with curiosity and kindness
 • Why hope is often something we choose — not something that simply arrives

As Stuart says, “Different is not less.”

This is a conversation about love, advocacy, belonging, and the quiet power of recognizing the worth of every life.

Connect with Dr. Stuart D. Jones here.

Find his book: For the Love of Stephen - here.

If this episode moved you, please share it with someone who needs to hear it.

I’m so grateful you spent this time with us today.

If Hope Comes to Visit has become a bright spot in your week, I’d love for you to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, YouTube, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode.

And if this conversation resonated with you, sharing it with a friend, leaving a review, or simply telling someone about the show helps more than you know.

Until next time, take good care of yourself. And remember—your story matters.

New episodes drop every Monday, so you can begin your week with a little light and a lot of hope.

For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit

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Sometimes hope doesn’t arrive loudly.
Sometimes it shows up in the quiet presence of someone willing to sit beside us in our hardest moments.

This week on Hope Comes to Visit, I’m joined by Kelly Karavousanos — licensed professional counselor, certified thanatologist, licensed funeral director, and one of the people I credit with helping guide me through some of the darkest grief of my life.

Kelly brings a rare combination of clinical expertise and lived humanity to this conversation. We talk about what grief actually looks like, why our culture struggles so deeply with death and loss, and what it truly means to support someone who is hurting.

In this episode, we discuss

• what thanatology is and why it matters
• how grief changes us, but doesn’t mean something is wrong with us
• what to say when someone is grieving
• why silence can feel louder than words
• why the depth of grief is tied to the depth of connection
• the difference between trying to fix someone and simply being willing to sit with them
• how community, therapy, and conversation help lighten the darkness

Kelly also shares how her own losses have shaped her work and her perspective, and why she believes grief is love in a different form.

This is one of those conversations I hope you’ll not only listen to — but share.

Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn

Learn more about the HeartLight Center

If this episode touches you, please share it with someone who may need it, and take a moment to rate and review the show. It helps more than you know.

I’m so grateful you spent this time with us today.

If Hope Comes to Visit has become a bright spot in your week, I’d love for you to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, YouTube, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode.

And if this conversation resonated with you, sharing it with a friend, leaving a review, or simply telling someone about the show helps more than you know.

Until next time, take good care of yourself. And remember—your story matters.

New episodes drop every Monday, so you can begin your week with a little light and a lot of hope.

For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit

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Some stories remind you that it’s not too late. Not for the dream you tucked away. Not for the creative spark you thought you missed. Not for the reinvention you quietly crave.

In this episode I’m joined by Julie Whitney — a self-employed PR professional who, in the middle of the pandemic, found herself standing in a hangar beside a plane she’d never even flown in… and feeling something crack wide open.

When Julie’s husband, “Captain Dan,” unexpectedly lost his job as chief corporate pilot in 2020, the loss wasn’t just professional — it was emotional. Julie personified the Gulfstream jet he flew (Astra), imagining her alone in a dark hangar… and that single moment became the beginning of a brand new chapter.

That night, Julie started writing Astra the Lonely Airplane — and what began as a surprising, heart-led idea became a published children’s book series, award recognition, school readings that move her to tears, and now… the dream of an animated streaming series built around kindness, hope, and helping others.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Reinvention and second acts (especially when life forces a pivot)
• The publishing process and rejection resilience (Julie sent 60–70 queries!)
• What it’s like to read your book to hundreds of kids and watch your message land
• How hope becomes a practice: “It only takes one yes.”
• Why Julie defines hope as never giving up
• Leaving a legacy rooted in goodness, kindness, and non-cynical joy

If you’ve been asking yourself, “Do I still have time?” — let this be your reminder: yes. You do.

Connect with Julie + Astra:
Website: AstraTheLonelyAirplane.com
Email: [email protected]

Get the Books - Astra the Lonely Airplane- Amazon....and look for them in the airport when you travel :) 

If you loved this conversation, please share the episode, and take a moment to rate + review the show — it helps more than you know.

I’m so grateful you spent this time with us today.

If Hope Comes to Visit has become a bright spot in your week, I’d love for you to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, YouTube, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode.

And if this conversation resonated with you, sharing it with a friend, leaving a review, or simply telling someone about the show helps more than you know.

Until next time, take good care of yourself. And remember—your story matters.

New episodes drop every Monday, so you can begin your week with a little light and a lot of hope.

For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit

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What if hope isn’t a feeling… but a skill?

This week on Hope Comes to Visit, I’m joined by my longtime friend Ann Imig — MSW, certified coach, and founder of the storytelling phenomenon Listen to Your Mother. Fifteen years after giving motherhood a microphone on stages across North America, Ann now helps burnt-out women retrain their brains for clarity, calm, and joy.

We talk about:

• Why your stress brain dominates your decisions
• How to literally rewire your brain for hope
• The myth of “I’ll be happy when…”
• Achievement addiction and burnout
• Why curiosity is the antidote to anxiety
• How 10-second sensory practices can change your day
• Staying sober, staying open, staying a learner

Ann explains that hope doesn’t require you to feel hopeful first.

You can take hopeful action — and the feeling will follow.

This conversation is practical, grounding, and incredibly timely. Especially if you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, stuck, or unsure of what comes next.

✨ Connect with Ann at listenlifecoaching.com
✨ Take the saboteur assessment at positiveintelligence.com

If this episode resonates, please share it with someone you love and leave a review. It helps more than you know.

I’m so grateful you spent this time with us today.

If Hope Comes to Visit has become a bright spot in your week, I’d love for you to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, YouTube, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode.

And if this conversation resonated with you, sharing it with a friend, leaving a review, or simply telling someone about the show helps more than you know.

Until next time, take good care of yourself. And remember—your story matters.

New episodes drop every Monday, so you can begin your week with a little light and a lot of hope.

For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit

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What if you don’t have to like someone to love them?

In this powerful and deeply honest conversation, I was honored to sit down down with mindfulness coach, yoga teacher, and master storyteller Oneika Mays to explore what it means to practice loving kindness in the hardest places — including Rikers Island and how these experiences inspired her new book: Sit with Me: A No BS Journey to Mindfulness & Meditation.

Oneika spent years teaching meditation and yoga inside one of the most notorious jails in the country. What she discovered there reshaped her understanding of agency, boundaries, spirituality, and hope.

Together, we discuss:

• Why mindfulness belongs in places we overlook
• The radical power of choice in environments with no agency
• Loving people you disagree with
• Leaving work that no longer aligns with your body
• Grief, hope, and the moment Onika’s father died
• Writing through rejection (15 no’s before a yes)
• And why loving yourself is the first act of activism

Onieka’s new book Sit With Me is part memoir, part field guide, and part meditation on meta — the Buddhist practice of loving kindness. It’s a deeply human invitation to embrace the messy, clunky parts of ourselves.

This episode is a reminder that hope doesn’t require perfection. It requires presence.

✨ Connect with Oneika:
 Instagram: @OneikaMays
Substack: Oneika Mays

If this episode moved you, share it with someone you love — and leave a review. It means more than you know.

I’m so grateful you spent this time with us today.

If Hope Comes to Visit has become a bright spot in your week, I’d love for you to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, YouTube, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode.

And if this conversation resonated with you, sharing it with a friend, leaving a review, or simply telling someone about the show helps more than you know.

Until next time, take good care of yourself. And remember—your story matters.

New episodes drop every Monday, so you can begin your week with a little light and a lot of hope.

For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit

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Season 2, Episode 5

A Missouri girl in a New York world on founding Combs & Company, honoring her father’s legacy, and why hope is the only thing greater than fear.

This week I’m joined by Susan L. Combs—president of Combs & Company, bestselling author, and daughter of Major General Roger E. Combs. We talk about the moment “Pancakes for Roger” was born, the quiet heroism of caregivers, what the military gave her family (and took), and how a single story can ripple into grants, breakfasts, and thousands of tiny acts of hope every February.

What we get into:

• The kitchen-table moment that sparked Pancakes for Roger
• How Susan turned grief into a living legacy (and a nonprofit)
• Mentorship, “slaying dragons,” and finding the lesson in the hard thing
• Caregiving, oxygen levels, and the strange quiet after loss
• Veterans, VA claims, and why tiny actions scale change
• What hope sounds like when you say someone’s name—again and again

About Susan:
Susan L. Combs is the president of Combs & Company, a full-service insurance brokerage in NYC. She launched the Pancakes for Roger book and foundation to honor her father, Major General Roger E. Combs (USMC/Army/Air Force). Every February, thousands post pancake photos to raise funds for veterans’ legal aid and home grants. Missouri roots, New York hustle, heart-first leadership.

Links & ways to support:

• Pancakes for Roger: share your pancake pic + tag @pancakesforroger (feed posts > stories)
• Donate: pancakesforroger.org (button : 
• Combs & Company -for her day-job brilliance
• Susan on LinkedIn 

Call to action:
Have pancakes this month. Tag your post. Say Roger’s name out loud. Then share this episode with one person who needs a little light.

Chapters
 00:00 Intro
 02:00 Meet Susan + her dad, Major General Roger E. Combs
 07:00 “Pancakes for breakfast” — the spark
 12:30 From post to movement to nonprofit
 18:20 What the military gave (and cost)
 24:50 Mentorship: finding the lesson + slaying dragons
 31:30 Hope, grief, and saying the name
 39:30 How to join Pancake Month
 45:00 What Susan’s building next

I’m so grateful you spent this time with us today.

If Hope Comes to Visit has become a bright spot in your week, I’d love for you to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, YouTube, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode.

And if this conversation resonated with you, sharing it with a friend, leaving a review, or simply telling someone about the show helps more than you know.

Until next time, take good care of yourself. And remember—your story matters.

New episodes drop every Monday, so you can begin your week with a little light and a lot of hope.

For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit