Evangelist, Dr. Kiena Hackworth has stayed steadfast in her dedication to God throughout her life. She wrote the book, The Will to Live: My Testimony following the loss of both her husband and her son. Dr. Hackworth serves as the 1st lady of the Unity Church of God in Christ in Elkhart, Indiana, the president of the Women's Department of Unity Church, and serves as jurisdictional president of the Young Women's Christian Council. Dr. Hackworth shares her story of loss, faith, and her perseverance to share her story and the word of God through unimaginable grief.

Note: The content of this podcast may be emotionally challenging for some as suicide is discussed.

Justin Clifford is the CEO and cofounder of Bereave (beareave.io), after two of his friends lost their parents prematurely. They all learned that the system of loss can be more harmful than helpful. They supported each other and realized that it was clear that way people experience death, particularly in the workplace, needs an overhaul. This is an important conversation for employers and employees seeking to change the status quo.

Heather Tracy (she/her) is a travel agent by day, and a masked copy editor and writer by night.

As a travel agent, she plans Nerdventures—travel for the nerd in all of us. These can be anything

from visiting New Zealand to see Lord of the Rings filming locations to visiting castles in Europe to

following in the footsteps of your favorite author.

As a copy editor, she’s found hundreds of typos, comma splices, and other grammatical nitpicks

for Space Wizard Science Fantasy since before 2016. With over 30 titles copyedited, she’s now

turned her hand to writing a short story in Fiery Deeps, and her first novel, Only a Chapter which

features some of her personal journey surviving breast cancer.

Heather lives in Raleigh with her husband of over twenty years, William C. Tracy, where they have

two cats and several beehives. They enjoy taking their own Nerdventures, and cosplaying at various

markets and cons throughout the year.

Heather Schilling is a lifelong educator, with over three decades of teaching at the high school and collegiate levels. The greatest gift of teaching is the opportunity to empower others - empower them to realize that regardless of the situation, their mindset matters.

Heather loves to travel with her son and his fiancée as well as students. She is actively engaged in her community, serving on several professional boards and committees including the Community Foundation of Wabash County Scholarship committee. She and her ex-husband raised two amazing children, Elizabeth and Lucas (Indianapolis). Heather’s focus, however, changed in 2014 when her daughter was diagnosed with a stage two brain tumor. In 2019, Elizabeth developed a second tumor, a glioblastoma, and was diagnosed with a rare cancer of her spinal fluid. On December 21, 2021, Elizabeth died at home surrounded by the people and animals who loved her most.

Since Elizabeth’s death, Heather gathered family and Elizabeth’s best friends to create the Elizabeth Schilling Adjust Your Sails Foundation, INC., a non-profit focused on raising funds for brain tumor and brain cancer research. Based on Elizabeth’s mantra “She stood in the storm and when the wind did not blow her away, she adjusted her sails,” the foundation also works to empower others facing life’s most difficult challenges. You can find more info about the foundation here: https://www.adjustyoursailsinc.com/.

To honor Elizabeth and Brain Tumor Awareness month, in May, we will donate 50% of our substack subscriptions brought in that much to the foundation. You can subscribe at movingforwardwithmiaandjulia.substack.com.

Sarah Annese is a writer who lives with her husband in California. Sarah was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in 2022. Sarah is raising funds for the National MS Society through Walk MS, an event happening in April in San Francisco. If you're able to make a donation, you can do so here: https://shorturl.at/UTgLH.

Additionally, we will be donating $2 from each of our books that we sell in April to this cause as well.

Marcee Doherty is a full-time healthcare analytics professional, a full-time PhD student, a part-time professional actor, and a full time dog mom.

Both Dr. Mia Johnson and Dr. Julia Porter are adjunct professors in the PhD program in Global Leadership, where Marcee is a student. Once she heard their presentation on Grief, Trauma, and Leadership at a residency weekend, she realized she fell into the category of compound grief, or a "grief cluster," where multiple things happen at once. Following the loss of her dog, Marcee also got divorced and lost her father. In this episode, she candidly shares her story and how all of this grief combined affected her.

Mina Starsiak Hawk is a real estate agent, HGTV star, and co-founder of the home renovation company Two Chicks And A Hammer, known for her work on the show "Good Bones" . She has also appeared on several other network shows including "Rock the Block" and "A Very Brady Renovation". Mina is married to Steve Hawk and they have two kids; Jack (6) and Charlie (4). While navigating a life in the public eye, Mina and her family have experienced many life changing events including infertility, the passing of several family members, the opening and closing of a brick and mortar and struggling family relationships. With the slate now wiped clean (or as clean as it can get) she is figuring out how to move forward and navigate her new normal.

oday, we are joined by journalist, Allison Gilbert, who shares more about her work with connection.

Allison Gilbert is an Emmy Award-winning journalist and one of the most influential writers and speakers on how to find the inner resources to overcome life’s biggest challenges. Through research and lived experience, Allison helps audiences transform grief and loss and find connection amid the growing public health crisis of social isolation and loneliness. She is co-author of Dr. Ruth Westheimer’s final book, The Joy of Connections: 100 Ways to Beat Loneliness and Live a Happier and More Meaningful Life.

Allison writes regularly for The New York Times, has been interviewed on the Today Show, Good Morning America, and NPR, has presented hundreds of talks to audiences at Amazon, Google, Hearst, Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, and many other wellness retreat centers, companies, and organizations.

Allison is the author of numerous books and hosts “Making Connections,” a monthly conversation series with Reimagine on overcoming loneliness, and previously hosted “Passed and Present,” named after her beloved book, about death and maintaining family bonds. Allison lives in New York with her family. You can connect with her on Facebook and Instagram. Visit her website at AllisonGilbert.com.

This week, on Moving Forward with Mia and Julia, Cara Bastone joins us to talk about grief in her new book, Promise Me Sunshine.

Cara Bastone is a full time writer living and writing in Brooklyn with her husband, sons, and an almost-goldendoodle. Her goal with her work is to find the swoon in ordinary love stories. 

She's been a fan of the romance genre since she found a grocery bag filled with her grandmother’s old Harlequin Romances when she was in high school. She's a fangirl for long walks through Prospect Park and love stories featuring men who aren’t hobbled by their own masculinity.