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For Brian Franklin, loss came in waves — the suicide of a childhood friend, a colon cancer scare, the discovery of a benign brain tumor, his wife’s breast cancer diagnosis, and the sudden heart attack of his closest confidant. At times, the weight of it all was nearly unbearable.

Yet Brian’s story isn’t defined by tragedy. It’s defined by his remarkable capacity to reinvent. Music became his therapy, his guitar a lifeline when words failed. A bowling league offered unexpected silliness and community. And eventually, he and his wife Nicole launched Vows & Speeches, a business built on love, connection, and storytelling — a radical departure from his career in political consulting.

Brian shares candidly about grief, acknowledging: “I’m not as happy as I used to be…that happiness was living in a fantasy world where nothing bad had happened.” But he’s also discovered a different kind of contentment — one that honors fragility, embraces joy, and redefines hope itself. “Hope is a statement of intent,” he says.

This episode is a reminder that while we can’t control outcomes, we can choose how to show up — for ourselves, for others, and for the life still unfolding in front of us.

Connect with Brian on Vows & Speeches.

And on Instagram: @vowsandspeeches

Thank you for listening to Hope Comes to Visit. If this episode resonated with you, please follow, rate, and share the show — it helps others find their way to these conversations.

New episodes drop every Monday and Friday, so you can begin and end your week with a little light and a lot of hope.

For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit

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The road through addiction and recovery is rarely straight — and for Jamie Felton, it’s been marked by both unimaginable loss and profound resilience.

By age 24, Jamie had accumulated three DUIs and found herself walking home from a blackout at 3:30 AM. That was the breaking point that led her to seek help — and on November 7, 2006, she began a journey that has kept her sober for nearly 19 years.

But sobriety didn’t shield her from heartbreak. Jamie’s sons, Jack and Sam, both struggled with substance use. She poured everything she had into helping Jack — financially, emotionally, spiritually — but in May 2019, at just 20 years old, he died of a heroin overdose. Today, her younger son Sam is in recovery, a gift she holds close.

Out of her own lived experience, Jamie has dedicated her life to guiding others. Through Fresh Start Recovery Consultants, she provides the kind of support and professional navigation she once desperately needed — helping families find hope in the chaos of addiction.

In this episode of Hope Comes to Visit, Jamie shares her story with honesty and courage: the dark valleys of addiction, the grief of losing a child, and the determination to transform her pain into purpose. Her story is a reminder that even in the hardest places, hope can still take root.

Learn more about Jamie's work and how she helps people find hope and recovery here - Fresh Start Addiction and Recovery Consultants.

You can also connect with her on Social:

Thank you for listening to Hope Comes to Visit. If this episode resonated with you, please follow, rate, and share the show — it helps others find their way to these conversations.

New episodes drop every Monday and Friday, so you can begin and end your week with a little light and a lot of hope.

For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit

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What if the most difficult chapters of your life were actually preparing you for unexpected gifts?

In this moving episode of Hope Comes to Visit, award-winning writer Maria de los Angeles shares how caring for her parents with Alzheimer’s taught her the very resilience, humility, and compassion she would later need to face her own esophageal cancer diagnosis.

Maria speaks candidly about the sacred and heartbreaking realities of caregiving — from changing her parents’ diapers to sitting with the grief of loss. “It was the most beautiful and hardest thing I would ever do,” she reflects, opening a window of wisdom for anyone navigating elder care.

Her journey also weaves through sobriety, relapse, and return to recovery — revealing how healing is rarely linear, but always worth it. And even in the midst of cancer treatment, Maria carries astonishing perspective: “I am not the symptom,” she says, describing how she talks to her tumor and continues to find moments of joy.

Perhaps most inspiring is Maria’s embrace of midlife transformation. “Menopause was the best thing that ever happened to me,” she declares. For her, the fifties have become a season of unapologetic honesty and fierce clarity about what matters most.

This conversation culminates with Maria reading her breathtaking poem “Spoonfuls,” a tender reflection on feeding her mother during her final days — a moment that crystallizes the circular nature of care and the hidden gifts within life’s hardest seasons.

Connect with Maria on her newsletter - https://www.heartcenteredliving.news/newsletter

And everywhere else you can find her.

You can also support Maria in her cancer journey here.

Thank you for listening to Hope Comes to Visit. If this episode resonated with you, please follow, rate, and share the show — it helps others find their way to these conversations.

New episodes drop every Monday and Friday, so you can begin and end your week with a little light and a lot of hope.

For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit

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Grief doesn’t end with goodbye. For many, it’s followed by a quiet, exhausting weight no one talks about — the paperwork, the phone calls, the endless “to-do’s” that come when your heart has already been broken.

When Adria Ferrier lost her mother after a five-year battle with cancer, she not only faced the deep ache of missing her, but also the overwhelming burden of navigating the practical aftermath. From transferring accounts to hours on hold with companies that had no clear process, she found herself spending precious time and energy on logistics when all she wanted was space to grieve.

That tender, painful season became the seed for something extraordinary. Adria left her career in finance to create Elayne — a company reimagining how families walk through the days and months after loss. Named for its meaning, “a ray of light through the clouds,” (and the very way she sees her mother now) Elayne helps families handle the countless details of death with compassion, clarity, and care.

Her work is rooted in love — for her mother, for the families she serves, and for the belief that no one should carry both heartbreak and bureaucracy alone.

In this conversation on Hope Comes to Visit, Adria shares her story with honesty and gentleness. She reminds us that while death and grief touch everyone, there is also space for light, for dignity, and, with the right help - the possibility of making one of life’s hardest transitions just a little softer.

You can learn more about Elayne here.

And you can connect with Adria here on LinkedIn.

Thank you for listening to Hope Comes to Visit. If this episode resonated with you, please follow, rate, and share the show — it helps others find their way to these conversations.

New episodes drop every Monday and Friday, so you can begin and end your week with a little light and a lot of hope.

For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit

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“Hope has to evolve and change.”

These powerful words shaped the extraordinary journey of Martha Sharkey, Founder & CEO of Today is a Good Day — a nonprofit creating a lifeline for families navigating the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

When Martha and her husband, Paul, welcomed identical twin daughters at just 23 weeks, their world turned upside down. Claire weighed barely over a pound. Mary, only slightly more. Two weeks later, they faced the devastating loss of Mary, while continuing to fight alongside Claire through 103 days in intensive care before she finally came home.

That experience revealed a critical gap in support for NICU families: emotional guidance, practical resources, and community connection during one of life’s most isolating challenges. Out of that gap, Today is a Good Day was born.

Over the past 11 years, the organization has grown from basement operations into partnerships with 24 hospitals across seven states. Through care packages, “Navigate the NICU” sessions, direct financial support, and a robust online community, Martha and her team provide what she once longed for: comfort, connection, and the reminder that families are not alone.

Martha’s story is one of resilience, loss, and transformation — but also of hope that shifts and adapts as life unfolds. Her family’s mantra of “one day at a time” offers profound wisdom not just for NICU parents, but for anyone facing uncertainty.

In this episode of Hope Comes to Visit, Martha reminds us that even in the darkest places, a small gesture — a journal, a milestone card, a bonding square — can carry the light forward.

You can lern more about Today is a Good Day right here.

You can also connect with Martha on LinkedIn.

Thank you for listening to Hope Comes to Visit. If this episode resonated with you, please follow, rate, and share the show — it helps others find their way to these conversations.

New episodes drop every Monday and Friday, so you can begin and end your week with a little light and a lot of hope.

For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit

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What would your life look like if you used every single second with intention?

This week on Hope Comes to Visit, I’m joined by Donald L. Dowridge Jr., a man who embodies resilience, purpose, and what it truly means to live with hope.

Donald’s early childhood was filled with pain most couldn’t imagine — abuse, neglect, and words no child should ever hear. But instead of allowing his past to define him, Donald chose to carve out a future rooted in service, courage, and determination.

After serving as a sergeant in the U.S. Army and breaking barriers at the Tampa Post Office, Donald discovered his calling almost by accident — when his fifth-grade son asked him to speak to his class. That one moment opened the door to his life’s mission: motivating and empowering others.

Today, Donald is the founder of DLD Enterprises, the author of 14 books (including The Power of Being a Winner, a #1 Barnes & Noble bestseller in five languages), and a dynamic motivational speaker known for his “unorthodox” style that blends music, dance, and passionate storytelling.

His message is simple yet profound: We each receive 86,400 seconds every day. What will you do with yours?

Donald’s journey is proof that:

• Your past does not determine your destiny.
• Fear and doubt often guard the doorway to your greatest achievements.
• Hope and purpose are choices you can make every single day.

This conversation is filled with energy, wisdom, and inspiration. Donald challenges us not to waste our days on “I would have, should have, could have” — but to live boldly, with hope, and with no regrets.

Connect with Donald on his website: DLT Enterprises.

And on Social - Instagram, Twitter and on LinkedIn.

Thank you for listening to Hope Comes to Visit. If this episode resonated with you, please follow, rate, and share the show — it helps others find their way to these conversations.

New episodes drop every Monday and Friday, so you can begin and end your week with a little light and a lot of hope.

For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit

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What if the darkest moments of your life were actually preparing you for your greatest transformation?

In this week’s episode of Hope Comes to Visit, I sit down with Valerie Rowekamp, whose story is a breathtaking testament to resilience, audacity, and the power of refusing to give up on hope.

Valerie’s journey began in crisis: at just 22 weeks pregnant, her water broke, and doctors offered little optimism for her son, Rex, who was also facing multiple heart defects. Against all medical odds, Valerie carried him for nine more weeks. She remembers telling doctors, “We don’t have time for realistic here. This is my child.”

That fierce audacity carried her through five heart surgeries for Rex — who today is thriving, a living embodiment of what Valerie calls “hope personified.”

But Valerie’s transformation didn’t stop there. At 42, she turned the same tenacity inward, reinventing her life in remarkable ways. She lost 70 pounds, became a fashion model walking runways, and embraced a bold new identity as Vivi Chantal — a woman who radiates self-belief and possibility.

Her philosophy is simple yet profound: “Dress the part first. Romanticize your life. Stop waiting to be complete — evolution is the work of living.”

This episode is a reminder that:

• Hope whispers even when logic shouts.
• Reinvention is always possible — at any age, in any circumstance.
• Audacity — the refusal to tell yourself no — may just be the key to transformation.

Valerie’s story will inspire you to dream bigger, live bolder, and trust your own inner knowing.

Listen to the full episode here

And Connect with Valerie Here:

Instagram - Charmed Valerie

YouTube - Charmed Valerie

TikTok - Charmed Valerie

Thank you for listening to Hope Comes to Visit. If this episode resonated with you, please follow, rate, and share the show — it helps others find their way to these conversations.

New episodes drop every Monday and Friday, so you can begin and end your week with a little light and a lot of hope.

For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit

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What happens when life breaks open in every direction? For Aimee Kandrac, it all came crashing down in a six-week period — empty nesting, a cancer scare, the end of her 23-year marriage, and selling her dream home. But from that breaking point came something extraordinary: “Amy 2.0.”

In this episode of Hope Comes to Visit, Aimee shares how she rebuilt her life with new boundaries, deeper self-knowledge, and a joy her own friends and family had never seen before. As CEO and co-founder of What Friends Do, Aimee also brings hard-won wisdom about how we show up for each other in times of crisis. Because when we let others in — when we accept help as much as we give it — we create the kind of connection that heals us all.

This is a story of transformation, community, and the gold that can mend our broken places.

Connect with Aimee here on her website: AimeeKandrac.com, on What Friends Do, and of course on her social channel - LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

Thank you for listening to Hope Comes to Visit. If this episode resonated with you, please follow, rate, and share the show — it helps others find their way to these conversations.

New episodes drop every Monday and Friday, so you can begin and end your week with a little light and a lot of hope.

For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit