How Writing Can Heal Grief | John DeDakis on Loss, Resilience & Hope
Broken Beautiful Me - Stories of Hope, Gratitude & Resilience
Release Date: 08/25/2025
She Discovered the Truth 35 Years Later: Lisa Sugarman on Grief, Healing, and Hope
Broken Beautiful Me - Stories of Hope, Gratitude & Resilience
What if the truth you discover decades later changes everything you thought you knew about your life, your loss, and your identity? In this moving episode of Broken Beautiful Me, Kelly sits down with Lisa Sugarman, an author, crisis counselor, and three-time survivor of suicide loss who has transformed profound grief into purpose, community, and healing. Lisa’s story begins in childhood with the loss of her cousin at nine years old and the sudden death of her father just a year later. For 35 years she believed he died of a heart attack. In her mid forties, she learned the truth that he died...
info_outline
Addiction, Resilience and the Human Spirit | Dr. Carolyn Larkin Taylor
Broken Beautiful Me - Stories of Hope, Gratitude & Resilience
What if the key to healing is not just in the body but in the soul? In this powerful episode of Broken Beautiful Me, Kelly sits down with Dr. Carolyn Larkin Taylor, a neurologist who has dedicated more than three decades to understanding the connection between the brain, emotion, and spirit. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Hahnemann Medical College, Dr. Taylor completed her neurology residency at the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned the Humaneness in Medicine Award and was recognized as one of Philadelphia’s Top Docs for Women. She recently published Whispers of...
info_outline
How Sick Children Healed a Doctor’s Soul With Dr. Robert Macauley
Broken Beautiful Me - Stories of Hope, Gratitude & Resilience
In this profound episode of Broken Beautiful Me, Kelly sits down with Dr. Robert Macauley — one of only a few hundred physicians in the United States to specialize in pediatric palliative care. Robert’s memoir, Because I Knew You: How Some Remarkable Sick Kids Healed a Doctor’s Soul, is the first book to share the stories of children receiving palliative care — showing that this field is far more about how you live than how you die. Through the courage of these children and their parents, Robert found healing for deep wounds from his own past — and a new understanding of love, faith,...
info_outline
Escaping the Iron Curtain: Christine Sadry’s Journey to Freedom & Inner Peace
Broken Beautiful Me - Stories of Hope, Gratitude & Resilience
What happens when a nine-year-old girl leaves communist Poland for the “land of freedom”… and instead walks straight into 13 years of silence, fear, and abuse? This week on Broken Beautiful Me, Kelly sits down with Christine Sadry — award-winning author, former UN peacekeeper, and survivor of unimaginable childhood trauma. At just nine, Christine was promised a new life in America. Instead, she arrived alone at JFK Airport… and no one came to meet her. The next morning, every belonging she had was gone. What followed were years of cruelty and isolation that could have broken anyone....
info_outline
How a Midlife Promise Sparked a New Chapter | Margie Zable Fisher (The Cabernet Club)
Broken Beautiful Me - Stories of Hope, Gratitude & Resilience
What happens when a woman in her late forties makes a promise to her dying mother… and ends up changing the entire trajectory of her life? This week on Broken Beautiful Me, Kelly sits down with Margie Zable Fisher — co-author (along with her late mother) of The Cabernet Club, published on January 31, 2025. Margie’s story is one of reinvention, resilience, and love. Before becoming a full-time writer after 50, she ran a successful P.R. agency for 20 years, with her work appearing in The New York Times, AARP, Fortune, Next Avenue, and more. She’s a wife, mother, Cabernet lover,...
info_outline
From Denial to Awakening | Greg Vorst & Michael Nolan on Rethinking Recovery
Broken Beautiful Me - Stories of Hope, Gratitude & Resilience
What if addiction isn’t something to fix… but a portal to awakening? This week on Broken Beautiful Me, Kelly Buckley sits down with Greg Vorst and Michael Nolan — co-founders of Embodied Recovery, a pioneering treatment centre in Silicon Valley helping people transform addiction and mental health struggles into soul growth and empowered living. Greg and Michael are doing recovery differently. Their Empowered Living Teachings weave together psychology, ancient wisdom, and embodied practices. Drawing from therapy, 12-Step recovery, and Sundo — Korean Taoist breathwork, they guide clients...
info_outline
Finding the Courage to Be Seen | Angie Hawkins
Broken Beautiful Me - Stories of Hope, Gratitude & Resilience
What happens when the woman who seems to “have it all” admits she’s still terrified to be seen? This week on Broken Beautiful Me, Kelly sits down with Angie Hawkins — The Inner Glow Coach and author who helps high-achieving, spiritual women stop chasing love and approval… and start radiating fierce confidence from within. Angie’s story is both breathtaking and brutally honest. She’s bungee-jumped in New Zealand, skydived, run 16 marathons, and even leapt out of a helicopter Navy SEAL-style. She packed up her life in Chicago and moved to Hawaii alone — all in the pursuit of...
info_outline
Healing Childhood Trauma with Psychedelics & Courage | Katie Baker
Broken Beautiful Me - Stories of Hope, Gratitude & Resilience
Hey Friends, welcome back to Broken Beautiful Me 💜 This week’s conversation is raw, brave, and soul-shifting. I sit down with Katie Baker—writer, advocate, and childhood abuse survivor—who has transformed her pain into profound purpose. 👉 From years of battling addiction, shame, and silence… 👉 To sitting in sacred ayahuasca ceremonies around the world… 👉 To writing her memoir When the Universe Holds Your Hair Back… Katie shares how she reclaimed her voice, her body, and her spirit. Her story is not just about surviving trauma—it’s about reclaiming agency, finding...
info_outline
Caring for a Loved One with Dementia | Dr. Beverly Thorn’s Guide to Resilience & Healing
Broken Beautiful Me - Stories of Hope, Gratitude & Resilience
In this deeply moving episode, we welcome Dr. Beverly Thorn — psychologist, author, dementia caregiver, and certified end-of-life doula. Dr. Thorn spent decades as a clinical psychology professor at Ohio State and the University of Alabama, publishing hundreds of articles and books on chronic illness. But when her husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, her professional expertise collided with personal reality. She became a full-time caregiver and, later, an end-of-life doula, documenting her journey in her powerful book: Before I Lose My Own Mind: Navigating Life as a Dementia Caregiver...
info_outline
From Prison to Purpose: The Ranae Van Roekel Story | Broken Beautiful Me Podcast
Broken Beautiful Me - Stories of Hope, Gratitude & Resilience
Welcome to another episode of Broken Beautiful Me with host Kelly Buckley. Today’s guest, Ranae Van Roekel, shares her extraordinary story of trauma, incarceration, and transformation. After childhood abuse and decades of silence, Ranae found herself serving a 51-month federal prison sentence. But instead of letting prison define her, she chose healing — and now she helps others through her platform Connecting to Cope. ✨ In this episode, you’ll hear: • The trauma Ranae carried for decades and how silence shaped her choices • Why prison became the start of her healing • The...
info_outlineHow do you survive unimaginable loss — and even find healing through it?
In this emotional and inspiring episode of the Broken Beautiful Me Podcast, host Kelly Buckley talks with John DeDakis — award-winning novelist, writing coach, and former CNN journalist — about turning pain into purpose.
John opens up about losing his sister and his son, and how writing became his lifeline. Together, Kelly and John dive deep into:
✨ Writing as a path to healing and self-discovery
✨ How men and women grieve differently in relationships
✨ Why gratitude and resilience matter in grief
✨ The power of storytelling to transform pain into hope
✨ Lessons from John’s career in journalism and fiction writing
This conversation is raw, real, and filled with wisdom for anyone who has faced loss — or wants to better understand the healing journey.
👉 Learn more about John DeDakis & his books: https://johndedakis.com
👉 Explore Kelly Buckley’s work & books: https://kelleybuckley.com
💬 What’s helped YOU heal in your grief journey — writing, art, music, community? Share in the comments so we can support each other.
📌 Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit the bell to join us for more healing conversations.