28. Walking Through Valleys of Grief with Mattie Jackson-Smith

There is this universal truth that — no matter who you are, what you believe, or where you came from — no one experiences life without grief.

Not even Mattie Jackson, daughter of country music icon, Alan Jackson, and now best-selling author, speaker, and podcaster.

In September of 2018, Mattie became a widow at age 28 when she tragically and very suddenly lost her husband, Ben. Since then, she has used her work and her platform to share her grief, her healing, and her unshakeable faith with women and men across the country.

Today, you’re going to hear our conversation about walking Through The Valley of Grief, which is the title of her new 365 day devotional of Spiritual practices for hope in suffering.

You’ll hear us discuss things like:

• Motherhood and parenting journeys (from Mattie’s family’s humble beginnings and her mom’s profound impact on her life, to Mattie’s motherhood journey and what parts of her parent’s parenting she plans to implement into her own family).
• The 4 spiritual practices to take you from broken and resentful to a restored relationship with and trust in God: Wail, Connect, Worship and then Hope (my personal favorite part here is the way Mattie describes How helplessness of realizing you’re not in control after tragedy eventually, evolves to freedom).
• How to find and choose joy — and the indescribable happiness we can look for and even expect to find on the other side of the valley of grief…

Mattie is salt of the earth and as humble as they come. I was touched while having this conversation with her, and I hope you have the same experience listening back to it!

About Mattie Jackson-Smith: Mattie Jackson is a best-selling author, speaker, and podcaster with a degree in creative writing from the University of Tennessee. Tragically, she lost her husband of less than a year, Ben Selecman, in September 2018 after he suffered a traumatic brain injury while on vacation in Florida. Despite her grief, Mattie is pushing forward and has dedicated herself to helping others through her writing and podcast, In Joy Life with Mattie Jackson. Mattie is also the co-founder of philanthropic organization "NaSHEville,” which supports groups serving orphans, widows, and trafficked women. Mattie lives with her husband and son in Nashville, TN.

Buy Mattie's 365 Day Devotional: Through The Valley of Grief: https://amzn.to/41JDoZo

Get Mattie's first book, Lemons on Friday: https://amzn.to/4iHOTHG

For more info on Mattie's courses, resources, and podcast: https://mattiejackson.net/

Follow Mattie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattiejackson

About Your Brand of Beautiful Host, Bailie White: Bailie White is a motivational speaker with nearly 10 years of entrepreneurial experience and a heart for serving, motivating, and encouraging women.

After starting and scaling her first business — a luxury travel agency with a team of 15 women, a celebrity clientele, and multi-millions of dollars in annual sales — she sold the business after realizing what she once thought was her dream, didn’t fully align with the woman she wanted to become.

Today, Bailie is the host of the Your Brand of Beautiful Podcast (debuting on Apple’s Top Charts) and a published author and speaker. Bailie facilitates workshops and delivers keynote speeches to college women, young professionals, and mamapreneurs. Bailie teaches these women how to Stop Being Busy, Quiet The Noise, and Start Being Them — she teaches them how to become Their Own Brand of Beautiful.

Bailie has been featured in media outlets like Buzzfeed and Forbes, but is most proud of her title as ‘wife’ and ‘mom’ to her two small children. Bailie lives with her family on the outskirts of Savannah, Georgia.  

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