Grief 2 Growth

What if the people who've spent the most time at the threshold of death have something to teach the rest of us about how to live?
Christa McDonald has spent more than 20 years as a hospice nurse, watching thousands of people take their final breaths. What she's witnessed has reshaped everything she believes about death, grief, connection, and the soul. In this conversation, she brings that hard-won wisdom straight to you — and some of it will unsettle you in the best possible way.
In this episode, we explore:
How Christa's calling found her — from candy striper at 13 to hospice nurse, EMT, and founder of a national bereavement community
Why she believes the way you live is the way you will die — and what that means for the choices you're making right now
What terminal agitation really is, and why the soul has more to do with a difficult death than morphine ever could
The myth of closure — and why "moving on" may be one of the most harmful things we say to grieving people
How to maintain a genuine continuing bond with someone you've lost
The power of presence — Christa's #1 lesson from her book and her career
Broken heart syndrome: what it is, how real it is, and who's most at risk
What shared death experiences look like from the bedside
How Christa's stepfather's passing became the catalyst for GLADD — and why she says we need to stop being sad and mad and start being GLADD
About Christa McDonald:
Christa McDonald is a hospice nurse, death doula, soul worker, speaker, and the founder of GLADD (Grieving Loss After Death and Dying) — the world's first international online bereavement community. She is the author of Eight Lessons Dying Has Taught Me and runs a hospice home dedicated to transforming the way we approach death and dying. Her coaching practice, Soul Worker, helps people heal on a soul level — in life and at the end of it.
Connect with Christa:
Website: ChristaMcDonald.com
GLADD Community: GLADDcommunity.com
Instagram: @grievewithchrista
What resonated with you from this conversation? Was it Christa's take on terminal agitation? The idea that how we live shapes how we die? The continuing bond with a loved one who's passed? Drop a comment and let us know — your reflection might be exact
Visit the Grief 2 Growth store for FREE items as well as other tools to help you along your journey:
Guided Meditations
My book GEMS of Healing (signed copy)
My Oracle deck to help you connect with your loved ones
Mini-courses
Mini-guides

Check it out at https://grief2growth.com/store
Grief doesn’t follow stages, timelines, or rules.
If you’ve ever wondered, “Am I doing this right?”—you’re not alone.
That’s why I created the Grief Check-In.
It’s not a test. There are no right or wrong answers.
 
In just a few minutes, you’ll gain clarity, reassurance, and language for what you’re experiencing.
👉 Visit grief2growth.com/checkin
Support the show
🧑🏿‍🤝‍🧑🏻 Join Facebook Group- Get Support and Education
👛 Subscribe to Grief 2 Growth Premium (bonus episodes)
📰 Get A Free Gift
📅 Book A Complimentary Discovery Call
📈 Leave A Review

Thanks so much for your support

What if death didn't end the conversation?
When Dawn Baumann Brunke's husband Bob died suddenly in September 2024, she had 20 years of experience communicating with animals across the veil. But nothing fully prepared her for losing her partner of 33 years. What happened in the eight weeks that followed became her most extraordinary book yet — Talks with Bob: A True Story of Love, Death and Life in the Afterlife.
Every morning, Dawn would settle in with her coffee, open her laptop, and keep talking to Bob. And Bob kept answering. What he shared from the other side — about his passing, about what the afterlife actually looks like, about love and expansion and time — is tender, surprising, and deeply hopeful.
This episode is especially close to my heart. I work with widows and widowers every day, and the fears they carry are real. Is my loved one okay? Do they still think about me? Will I ever feel close to them again? Dawn's story doesn't just offer comfort — it offers evidence. And I moved her up months in my booking queue the moment I finished this book.
In this episode, we explore:
What Bob experienced at the moment of his death — and why he didn't suffer
The "bridge" between the living and the dead, and how you can meet your loved one there
Why your loved ones are still with you, still growing, and haven't forgotten you
Parallel lives, alternate timelines, and the eternal NOW
How to open yourself to connection — even if you're not a medium or animal communicator
About Dawn Baumann Brunke: Dawn Baumann Brunke is an author, animal communicator, and dream enthusiast living in Alaska. She is the author of 10 books exploring consciousness, animal communication, and the nature of reality. Her latest, Talks with Bob, documents eight weeks of daily conversations with her late husband from the afterlife. A second book in the series is coming within weeks of this recording.
🔗 Find Dawn's book Talks with Bob wherever books are sold
What resonated with you from this conversation? Drop a comment and let me know — especially if you've had your own experience of connection with someone you've lost. You're not alone, and your story matters.
Visit the Grief 2 Growth store for FREE items as well as other tools to help you along your journey:
Guided Meditations
My book GEMS of Healing (signed copy)
My Oracle deck to help you connect with your loved ones
Mini-courses
Mini-guides

Check it out at https://grief2growth.com/store
Grief doesn’t follow stages, timelines, or rules.
If you’ve ever wondered, “Am I doing this right?”—you’re not alone.
That’s why I created the Grief Check-In.
It’s not a test. There are no right or wrong answers.
 
In just a few minutes, you’ll gain clarity, reassurance, and language for what you’re experiencing.
👉 Visit grief2growth.com/checkin
Support the show
🧑🏿‍🤝‍🧑🏻 Join Facebook Group- Get Support and Education
👛 Subscribe to Grief 2 Growth Premium (bonus episodes)
📰 Get A Free Gift
📅 Book A Complimentary Discovery Call
📈 Leave A Review

Thanks so much for your support

Kat and I are friends going back a couple of years. We each have a daughter in spirit. Kat is the affiliate leader of the UK Helping Parents Heal group. Kat had a successful business career before having a Kundalini awakening experience and becoming a professional medium. In addition to mediumship, Kat practices multiple healing modalities.

Kat heard my episode on mediumship and wanted to have a conversation about me using the word "imagination" to describe what mediumship is like. In this conversation, we talk about the different types of mediumship, how mediumship works, the limitations of mediumship, and how you can have the best experience when you go for a reading.

You can reach Kat at: https://kat-b.com/ 

She is available for mediumship readings and offers other healing services as well.
Visit the Grief 2 Growth store for FREE items as well as other tools to help you along your journey:
Guided Meditations
My book GEMS of Healing (signed copy)
My Oracle deck to help you connect with your loved ones
Mini-courses
Mini-guides

Check it out at https://grief2growth.com/store
Grief doesn’t follow stages, timelines, or rules.
If you’ve ever wondered, “Am I doing this right?”—you’re not alone.
That’s why I created the Grief Check-In.
It’s not a test. There are no right or wrong answers.
 
In just a few minutes, you’ll gain clarity, reassurance, and language for what you’re experiencing.
👉 Visit grief2growth.com/checkin
Support the show
🧑🏿‍🤝‍🧑🏻 Join Facebook Group- Get Support and Education
👛 Subscribe to Grief 2 Growth Premium (bonus episodes)
📰 Get A Free Gift
📅 Book A Complimentary Discovery Call
📈 Leave A Review

Thanks so much for your support

Kat Baillie is an International Evidential Psychic Medium | Clinical Hypnotherapist | Sound Healer | Reiki Master | CBT Psychotherapist. 

Kat experienced a Kundalini awakening after a diving accident. This awakening opened up several abilities. She has left her highly successful corporate career and now focuses on helping others through several healing modalities, including evidential mediumship.

In this interview, Kat and I discuss what she has discovered about the power of prayer, affirmations, and gratitude, from a non-religious perspective.

ℹ️ https://www.kat-b.com

💵 to become a Patron and get exclusive content, find me on Patreon at:
https:www.patreon.com/grief2growth

for more information see me at:
📚 https://www.grief2growth.com

to book a free half hour consultation visit:
⏰ https://grief2growth.as.me/30-minute-complimentary

find me on Facebook at:
👍🏾 https://www.facebook.com/grief2growthcommunity
Visit the Grief 2 Growth store for FREE items as well as other tools to help you along your journey:
Guided Meditations
My book GEMS of Healing (signed copy)
My Oracle deck to help you connect with your loved ones
Mini-courses
Mini-guides

Check it out at https://grief2growth.com/store
Grief doesn’t follow stages, timelines, or rules.
If you’ve ever wondered, “Am I doing this right?”—you’re not alone.
That’s why I created the Grief Check-In.
It’s not a test. There are no right or wrong answers.
 
In just a few minutes, you’ll gain clarity, reassurance, and language for what you’re experiencing.
👉 Visit grief2growth.com/checkin
Support the show
🧑🏿‍🤝‍🧑🏻 Join Facebook Group- Get Support and Education
👛 Subscribe to Grief 2 Growth Premium (bonus episodes)
📰 Get A Free Gift
📅 Book A Complimentary Discovery Call
📈 Leave A Review

Thanks so much for your support

What if you could finally have the conversation you never got to finish?
John Kammer lost three of his closest friends in just a few years — each loss sudden, each one leaving words unsaid. Out of that grief, and after more than a decade of silence and struggle, John built Guardian A(i)ngels (guardianaingels.ai) — an AI-powered interactive journal designed to help grieving people find language for what they're carrying, work through guilt and unresolved emotion, and move toward healing at their own pace.
This isn't a conversation with the dead. It's a conversation with yourself — guided, responsive, and available whenever you need it.
In this episode, Brian and John explore what it really means to grieve as a man, why the "hero story" has robbed men of permission to be vulnerable, and how an unexpected conversation with his wife sparked an idea that would change John's life — and the lives of the people he now serves.
In this episode:
Why men are conditioned to grieve in silence — and what it costs them
The moment John finally had permission to forgive himself
The difference between closure and resolution
How Guardian A(i)ngels works as an interactive grief journal (not a digital séance)
The four tasks of grief — and why the five stages fall short
The 10-week Foundations program and how it builds the grief muscle over time
Why radical transparency is at the heart of everything John does
About John Kammer John Kammer is a new father, dedicated husband, and the founder of Guardian A(i)ngels (guardianaingels.ai) — an AI grief journaling platform built from his own experience of losing three close friends. John is passionate about bringing grief out of the shadows, especially for men, and committed to helping people do the work at their own pace, on their own terms.
🔗 Guardian A(i)ngels: https://guardianaingels.ai 📧 Contact John: [email protected]
What resonated with you from this conversation? Drop a comment below — Brian reads them all. And if you know someone who is grieving silently, share this episode with them. It might be exactly what they need.
Visit the Grief 2 Growth store for FREE items as well as other tools to help you along your journey:
Guided Meditations
My book GEMS of Healing (signed copy)
My Oracle deck to help you connect with your loved ones
Mini-courses
Mini-guides

Check it out at https://grief2growth.com/store
Grief doesn’t follow stages, timelines, or rules.
If you’ve ever wondered, “Am I doing this right?”—you’re not alone.
That’s why I created the Grief Check-In.
It’s not a test. There are no right or wrong answers.
 
In just a few minutes, you’ll gain clarity, reassurance, and language for what you’re experiencing.
👉 Visit grief2growth.com/checkin
Support the show
🧑🏿‍🤝‍🧑🏻 Join Facebook Group- Get Support and Education
👛 Subscribe to Grief 2 Growth Premium (bonus episodes)
📰 Get A Free Gift
📅 Book A Complimentary Discovery Call
📈 Leave A Review

Thanks so much for your support