The WOMAN Podcast

Justice does not bring those lost back to life. But it does hold those responsible for horrific crimes accountable, and hopefully acts as a deterrent for potential perpetrators of those crimes.  

But prior to the Grace Anne Sparks Coercive Suicide Prevention Law of 2026, coercive suicide was not a crime.  

After grooming Grace Anne Sparks online from the age of 12 to 19, Hayden Jennings Berkebile strategically and methodically coerced her to commit suicide. Berkebile was convicted of criminally negligent homicide, and sentenced to just 2 years, only serving a small portion of that time.  He was released just months after his conviction.

This episode’s guest, Grace Anne’s mother, Candi, could have let the loss of her precious baby girl, and the immense sense of a lack of justice, destroy her.  But she didn’t.

Instead, she channeled the same fiery spirit that lived in Grace Anne, transforming her pain into purpose and her grief into justice by sharing her story and advocating for a new law - one that will help protect future generations of girls and spare other mothers from enduring the same unimaginable tragedy.  

Tomorrow, July 1st, 2026, coercive suicide becomes a Class D felony offense in the state of Tennessee punishable by up to 12 years in prison.  

Thank you to Tennessee State Representative Ryan Williams and Tennessee State Senator Paul Bailey for partnering with Candi to lead this bill to unanimous passage in both chambers of the Tennessee General Assembly.

Please share this episode with every parent you know. 

Thank you, Candi, for having the courage to talk about this incredibly difficult part of your life.  Grace Anne’s story and legacy is sure to save lives.

Links:

Grace Anne Sparks Coercive Suicide Prevention Law of 2026

https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default?BillNumber=HB1951&ga=114

Kids Online Safety Act

https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/about/issues/kids-online-safety-act

Kids Off Social Media Act

https://www.schatz.senate.gov/kosma 

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Do you ever get stuck in analysis paralysis? Does deciding what to keep and what to let go of completely stress you out? Same.

In this episode, my guest Beth shares practical, doable tips that will actually help you tackle the spaces you’ve been avoiding. Because clutter isn’t just stuff - it’s postponed decisions. Read that again: clutter is postponed decisions.

And listen… sometimes that junk drawer is an act of self-preservation. We need a place to delay decisions. But eventually, it catches up to us. The clutter builds, the overwhelm creeps in, and suddenly it’s affecting how we function and how we feel.

Whether you love a super simple space like I do, or you’re more comfortable with a full, lived-in home, this isn’t about doing it “right.” It’s about learning how to make decisions that work for you.

Check out these great tips from Beth's blog!

https://www.conqueringclutter.net/blog 

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A home can be a haven. A community can be a haven. Even a person can feel like a haven. A haven is a place of safety, rest, and protection—things many incarcerated women have rarely, if ever, experienced.

In this episode, Linda and Deanna share how a 12-month sober living program creates that kind of safe haven for women transitioning out of jail. It offers more than a place to stay—it provides a true home where women can rest, heal, and begin again.

Throughout their journey, Linda and her team walk alongside each woman as she slowly and steadily rebuilds her life. They address the often-overlooked barriers that can keep women stuck—things like court fees, fines, and the inability to regain a driver’s license. They also equip women with practical tools like budgeting and life skills that lay the foundation for long-term independence.

But beyond all of that, they offer something even more powerful: community. Connection. Sisterhood.

Because real healing doesn’t happen alone—and every woman deserves a safe place to start again.

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www.safehavenuc.org

Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge: https://a.co/d/0bUrxqma

Experiencing God by Henry and Richard Blackaby: https://a.co/d/0bUrxqma

Is it enabling to give someone clean needles to shoot up?  Is the best way to find God always in church?  Is the man or woman begging on the street corner lazy?  Is addiction a moral failure?  

Morgan and I confront these questions head on in today’s powerful conversation about what it really means to meet someone where they’re at.  But that begs the question - Where ARE they?  Where are the addicts in rural Tennessee?

There is a unique stigma surrounding addiction in rural communities.  Especially in the Bible belt.  There’s a lot of pushback to harm reduction, medically assisted treatment, and using anything but faith in Jesus to recover from addiction.

If reading that makes you uncomfortable, good!  As Morgan told me during our conversation, we need to “get comfortable being uncomfortable.”  And spoiler alert - Morgan is on fire for God.  She’s not here to challenge your faith, but rather the actions that follow it.

But do get comfortable while you listen to this episode.  It’s one you don’t want to miss.

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In this episode my guest and longtime friend, Tara, and I explore the narrative many women know too well - long marriage, children, financial dependence, and the ground shifting beneath us through divorce. 

Now a marriage and family counselor, Tara regularly gets an up-close look at the systems that surround families and how, for our purposes, they affect women - systems like the church, the family system, the legal system, and the broader system of culture and community.  

These systems are powerful. They can change a crisis into a transition, despair into hope, and a barrier into an opportunity. 

After listening to this episode, you might wonder how the systems around you have affected your life.  Personally, I think many of the systems surrounding me need improvement.  One of the ways I’m setting out to do just that is through this podcast.  

If after listening to this episode you feel empowered to confront or support the systems around you that are or are not working, send it to another woman you care about.  Women will change the world for women.

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In this episode with Tina and Melody we explore the often-unseen work of hospital navigators — the people who help patients struggling with alcohol or drug addiction navigate complex healthcare systems with clarity, support, and most importantly, dignity.

That moment of crisis is often a rock bottom moment - which in the world of addiction, is actually one of the most transformative moments of a person’s life.  It’s critical they be met with care and compassion.  So what better person to help them navigate next steps than someone who has been exactly where they are?  

In this conversation, Tina and Melody share their personal experiences of how they navigated through their own rock moments, and how those moments changed the course of their lives forever.

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At 19, Sherri was homeless with two young children, and over the next several years, she experienced what far too many women do - abuse.  Physical, sexual, psychological, emotional, and mental abuse became her norm.  How does a woman escape this nightmare?  How does she find it within herself to believe this does not have to be her life?  She can start by telling herself what Sherri’s friend told her:

“What I think and how I feel is important and deserves a voice.”

In this episode, Sherri and I have a raw, honest conversation about broken systems and broken people, and how women can find hope, healing, and the life of their dreams simply by finding their own voice.

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The bond between women is different than the bond between men and women.  They're both special.  But there's just something about having a woman in your life that walks with you through everything and who you know will always be there for you.  Tiffany is that woman for me.  We met during a tough time in my life and she had just come through her own tough time.  She gave me hope, put up with my shenanigans, and just stuck with me.  I'll never take that for granted.  

Women in midlife are simply the best.  We're in our "F.Era" - the freedom era, the "I don't give a f*#@" era, the fantastic, fabulous and fearless era.  I'm 41 and I hear the 50s and 60s are even better.  Don't you just love aging?

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Matty and I met just weeks after she left tent city - an encampment in a usually wooded area in which the unhoused lived.  Not long after Matty and I met, she took me to the encampment to meet the people she left behind.  We took them propane heaters and food.  It was exactly what you would imagine - dirty, smelly, and depressing.

In this episode, Matty takes us right into the heart of her story - almost entirely built of trauma after trauma after trauma.  And yet here she is, alive.  Her refusal to give up inspires me and I hope it will inspire you too.

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