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Remembering Hurricane Helene – Composting Loss Into Aliveness and Connection with Heather Laine Talley
Episode 23: Remembering Hurricane Helene – Composting Loss Into Aliveness and Connection with Heather Laine Talley
It has been one year since Hurricane Helene struck Western North Carolina. In this anniversary episode, Kenna Brooke returns to the story of her dear friend, Heather Laine Talley, who first joined Endless WONDR in Rising Waters – A Journey Through the Storm, the Surrender and the Strength Within.
Together, we reflect on what has unfolded since that conversation — not only Heather’s personal journey, but also the grief, resilience, and creativity alive in the Asheville community. Heather shares how the storm became both devastation and initiation, composting loss into fertile soil for grief, creativity and deeper connection.
This episode begins with a new conversation marking the one-year threshold, followed by a replay of the original episode to honor and remember the story in full.
✨ Key Takeaways from the New Conversation
✨ How grief shifts over time — from survival mode into deeper feeling
✨ The role of creative practice (writing, ritual, soup-making) in metabolizing loss
✨ Reclaiming aliveness through joy, play, and everyday ritual
✨ The freedom found in interdependence and community care
✨ The truth that recovery is uneven — privilege shapes who heals more quickly
Resources Mentioned
📚 Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power by Audre Lorde
📚 Center for Conscious Living and Dying (Asheville, NC)
📚 Whether the Weather: An Evening of Stories on the Anniversary of Hurricane Helene | Sunday, September 28, 2025 | 6-830pm at Story Parlor | RSVP at [email protected]
📚 Support Ongoing Recovery in Western NC: Swannanoa Communities Together - http://SwannanoaCommunitiesTogether.org
💫 Guest Info - Heather Laine Talley is a writer, mother, auntie, strategist, and sacred space holder based in Asheville, North Carolina. Her work centers around storytelling, compassionate systems change, and deep presence. She is currently writing a book about mothering through climate collapse, shaped by her lived experience of surviving Hurricane Helene.
Website: http://www.heatherlainetalley.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heatherlainetalley/
💫 Connect with Kenna Brooke - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kennabrooke.wondr/
💫 Support the Podcast
If this episode moved you, please consider sharing it with a friend, leaving a review, or supporting the work of healing and remembrance through donation or presence. Your presence nourishes the current of WONDR we are weaving together.
View all episodes
By Kenna BrookeEpisode 23: Remembering Hurricane Helene – Composting Loss Into Aliveness and Connection with Heather Laine Talley
It has been one year since Hurricane Helene struck Western North Carolina. In this anniversary episode, Kenna Brooke returns to the story of her dear friend, Heather Laine Talley, who first joined Endless WONDR in Rising Waters – A Journey Through the Storm, the Surrender and the Strength Within.
Together, we reflect on what has unfolded since that conversation — not only Heather’s personal journey, but also the grief, resilience, and creativity alive in the Asheville community. Heather shares how the storm became both devastation and initiation, composting loss into fertile soil for grief, creativity and deeper connection.
This episode begins with a new conversation marking the one-year threshold, followed by a replay of the original episode to honor and remember the story in full.
✨ Key Takeaways from the New Conversation
✨ How grief shifts over time — from survival mode into deeper feeling
✨ The role of creative practice (writing, ritual, soup-making) in metabolizing loss
✨ Reclaiming aliveness through joy, play, and everyday ritual
✨ The freedom found in interdependence and community care
✨ The truth that recovery is uneven — privilege shapes who heals more quickly
Resources Mentioned
📚 Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power by Audre Lorde
📚 Center for Conscious Living and Dying (Asheville, NC)
📚 Whether the Weather: An Evening of Stories on the Anniversary of Hurricane Helene | Sunday, September 28, 2025 | 6-830pm at Story Parlor | RSVP at [email protected]
📚 Support Ongoing Recovery in Western NC: Swannanoa Communities Together - http://SwannanoaCommunitiesTogether.org
💫 Guest Info - Heather Laine Talley is a writer, mother, auntie, strategist, and sacred space holder based in Asheville, North Carolina. Her work centers around storytelling, compassionate systems change, and deep presence. She is currently writing a book about mothering through climate collapse, shaped by her lived experience of surviving Hurricane Helene.
Website: http://www.heatherlainetalley.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heatherlainetalley/
💫 Connect with Kenna Brooke - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kennabrooke.wondr/
💫 Support the Podcast
If this episode moved you, please consider sharing it with a friend, leaving a review, or supporting the work of healing and remembrance through donation or presence. Your presence nourishes the current of WONDR we are weaving together.