In this episode of This Unexpected Life, Carrie Holt talks with Jenna Erlandson,, a mother of six, about her journey through infertility, postpartum depression, and receiving an autism diagnosis for her son. Jenna shares how seasons of waiting, uncertainty, and loss of control shaped her faith and taught her to trust God’s faithfulness.

This honest conversation explores special needs parenting, listening to maternal instincts, navigating mental health challenges, and finding hope and joy in unexpected places. If you are a Christian parent walking through autism, infertility, or a long season of waiting, this episode offers encouragement, truth, and hope.

Eps. 36; January 20, 2026

Resources:
Jenna’s Website

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• Get my new resource: 5 Practices For Processing Grief
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• Carrie’s Facebook or Instagram
• Find me on Substack
• My book: The Other Side of Special

*This podcast features honest conversations with special needs parents and faith-filled guests. While I deeply value the stories and insights shared, the views and opinions expressed may not always reflect my own. Any resources listed are shared for reference, not necessarily a personal recommendation. I invite you to listen with spiritual discernment and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in what you hold onto and set aside.

What happens when special needs parenting moves beyond exhaustion and into survival?

In this deeply honest and faith-filled conversation, Carrie M. Holt sits down with Celeste Shally, author of While We Wait: Clinging to Christ in the Trenches of Special Needs Parenting, to talk about the rarely discussed reality of long-term violence in special needs parenting—and the relentless suffering that comes with it.

Celeste shares her journey as a mother to an adult son with autism whose escalating violent behaviors dominated their family life for over a decade. From living in constant fear, isolation, and hypervigilance, to questioning God’s goodness in the midst of daily trauma, Celeste opens up about what it truly means to reach the end of yourself—and cling to Christ because there is nowhere else to turn.

January 13, 2026; Eps. 35

Resources:
Celeste Shally’s Website
While We Wait: Clinging To Christ in The Trenches of Special Needs Parenting
Celeste on FB

If you enjoyed the show, leave a 5-star review!

• Get my new resource: 5 Practices For Processing Grief
• Click here if you want to be a guest on the show
• Carrie’s Facebook or Instagram
• Find me on Substack
• My book: The Other Side of Special

*This podcast features honest conversations with special needs parents and faith-filled guests. While I deeply value the stories and insights shared, the views and opinions expressed may not always reflect my own. Any resources listed are shared for reference, not necessarily a personal recommendation. I invite you to listen with spiritual discernment and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in what you hold onto and set aside.

When Jeanetta Bryant’s daughter was diagnosed with autism, her world changed overnight. What began as heartbreak soon became a journey of faith, perseverance, and unexpected purpose. In this episode, Jeanetta shares how God met her in the middle of the unknown—guiding her through grief, growth, and the birth of her nonprofit, Abilities Workshop. Through her story, you’ll hear powerful reminders that God is present in every diagnosis, every setback, and every small step forward.

If you’ve ever wondered where God is in your own unexpected journey, this conversation will encourage you to keep trusting the One who brings healing and hope even in the hardest places.

January 6, 2026; Eps. 34
Resources:
Jeanetta Bryan Website
FB & IG

If you enjoyed the show, leave a 5-star review!

• Get my new resource: 5 Practices For Processing Grief
• Click here if you want to be a guest on the show
• Carrie’s Facebook or Instagram
• Find me on Substack
• My book: The Other Side of Special

*This podcast features honest conversations with special needs parents and faith-filled guests. While I deeply value the stories and insights shared, the views and opinions expressed may not always reflect my own. Any resources listed are shared for reference, not necessarily a personal recommendation. I invite you to listen with spiritual discernment and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in what you hold onto and set aside.

In this Advent reflection, Carrie M. Holt closes out the year with a powerful reminder for the special-needs mom who finds herself afraid. Drawing from the Christmas story—Zechariah’s uncertainty, Mary’s shock, and Joseph’s quiet fear—Carrie shares how God met each person right where they were, in their real-life moments of confusion and overwhelm.

Through honest stories from her own month of unexpected struggles, Carrie points to the truth that God not only sees our tears and our long nights of tossing—but He dwells with us right in the middle of them.

If you’re ending this year feeling anxious about your child’s future, worn from the weight of advocacy, or unsure how God fits into the foggy unknown ahead, this Advent message will remind you: No matter what you fear, God is near.

December 9, 2025; Eps. 33

Resources:

Scriptures Mentioned: Matthew 1, Luke 1-2

Music Provided by: Pixabay: Silent-night-lofi-version

If you enjoyed the show, leave a 5-star review!

• Get my new resource: 5 Practices For Processing Grief
• Click here if you want to be a guest on the show
• Carrie’s Facebook or Instagram
• Find me on Substack
• My book: The Other Side of Special

*This podcast features honest conversations with special needs parents and faith-filled guests. While I deeply value the stories and insights shared, the views and opinions expressed may not always reflect my own. Any resources listed are shared for reference, not necessarily a personal recommendation. I invite you to listen with spiritual discernment and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in what you hold onto and set aside.

In this Advent reflection, Carrie M. Holt invites weary, overwhelmed, and tender-hearted special needs moms into the ultimate unexpected story—Christmas. Through a first-person narrative inspired by Mary’s journey in Luke and Matthew, Carrie draws parallels between Mary’s unexpected calling and the everyday realities of disability parenting: medical crises that interrupt holidays, the longing for peace, and the ache of carrying a story you never planned for.

With soothing Scripture, honest storytelling, and gentle encouragement, this episode offers a pause in the chaos. Carrie reminds us that Emmanuel—God with us—is present in hospital hallways, IEP meetings, surgeries, sensory overwhelm, and our deepest fears.

This Advent, may you find rest, hope, and companionship in the God who enters unexpected places through unexpected stories.

Eps. 32; December 2, 2025

Date: 12/2/25

Resources:
Be Born in Me by Francesca Batistelli

Breath of Heaven (Mary’s Song) by Amy Grant

Joseph’s Lullaby by Mercy Me

Scriptures Referenced:
Matthew 1, Luke 1-2, Isaiah 9 & 40

If you enjoyed the show, leave a 5-star review!

• Get my new resource: 5 Practices For Processing Grief
• Click here if you want to be a guest on the show
• Carrie’s Facebook or Instagram
• Find me on Substack
• My book: The Other Side of Special

*This podcast features honest conversations with special needs parents and faith-filled guests. While I deeply value the stories and insights shared, the views and opinions expressed may not always reflect my own. Any resources listed are shared for reference, not necessarily a personal recommendation. I invite you to listen with spiritual discernment and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in what you hold onto and set aside.

In this profoundly moving conversation, Carrie M. Holt talks with author and advocate Jess Ronne about her powerful and unexpected story—one marked by disability, grief, resilience, surrender, and the refining work of God. Jess shares her journey from learning of her son Lucas’s profound disabilities, to walking with her late husband through terminal brain cancer, to unexpectedly meeting her second husband, Ryan. She opens up about the weight of long-term caregiving, the burnout that left her unable to get out of bed, and the painful process of releasing control when Lucas transitioned into a group home.

Together, Carrie and Jess explore themes of grief that evolve through the journey, anger God can hold, the idolatry of identity, and the ongoing call to surrender in every season. Jess also offers encouragement to caregivers with limited support and explains why she believes rest, community, humility, and honesty are essential for survival.

This is a conversation for every special-needs parent who feels exhausted, unseen, or afraid of the future—offering real hope, gentle truth, and the reminder that God is present in every season.

Eps. 31; November 18, 2025

Resources:
Jess Ronne’s Website

Social Media FB & IG

Caregiving With Grit & Grace

If you enjoyed the show, leave a 5-star review!

• Get my new resource: 5 Practices For Processing Grief
• Click here if you want to be a guest on the show
• Carrie’s Facebook or Instagram
• Find me on Substack
• My book: The Other Side of Special

*This podcast features honest conversations with special needs parents and faith-filled guests. While I deeply value the stories and insights shared, the views and opinions expressed may not always reflect my own. Any resources listed are shared for reference, not necessarily a personal recommendation. I invite you to listen with spiritual discernment and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in what you hold onto and set aside.

In this episode, Carrie Holt closes her grief-cycle series by exploring acceptance, a stage often misunderstood in the journey of raising a child with disabilities or receiving an unexpected diagnosis. Carrie explains what acceptance is not—it’s not “moving on,” it’s not pretending everything is fine, or always a permanent emotional destination. Instead, she unpacks acceptance as surrender, rest, identity rebuilding, active waiting, learning to see God’s beauty again, and believing that life can still hold goodness even when it looks different than what we planned. Through Scripture, honest reflection, and practical insights, this episode invites special-needs moms to gently receive the life they’re living—while trusting the One who holds their future.

Eps. 30; November 11, 2025

Resources:
Why Fixing Feels So Heavy & Acceptance (and Acceptance Feels So Light) with Carrie Holt

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion Volume 5
How Can You Survive Without…Part 1 - Wild At Heart Podcast with John Eldredge

If you enjoyed the show, leave a 5-star review!

• Get my new resource: 5 Practices For Processing Grief
• Click here if you want to be a guest on the show
• Carrie’s Facebook or Instagram
• Find me on Substack
• My book: The Other Side of Special

*This podcast features honest conversations with special needs parents and faith-filled guests. While I deeply value the stories and insights shared, the views and opinions expressed may not always reflect my own. Any resources listed are shared for reference, not necessarily a personal recommendation. I invite you to listen with spiritual discernment and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in what you hold onto and set aside.

In this episode, Carrie M. Holt continues her grief-cycle series by exploring lament—the Biblical practice of bringing our raw, honest emotions to God. Through Scripture, personal stories, and reflections from resources like Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy, she explains why lament becomes the bridge between overwhelming sorrow and renewed trust. Carrie outlines the four parts of lament and reminds listeners that God is near, attentive, and tender toward our tears. For special-needs moms walking daily through loss, uncertainty, or exhaustion, this episode offers permission to slow down, name grief, and come to God honestly—just as you are.

Eps. 29; November 4, 2025

Resources:
Dark Clouds Deep Mercy by Mark Vroegop
Remind Me You’re Here by Jason Gray
Jesus & Women by Kristi McLelland (Pg. 76)
Prayer In the Night by Tish Harrison Warren
Miracle or Not - Devotion by The Worship Initiative

Scriptures Mentioned: Psalm 13, Psalm 77, Luke 39,

If you enjoyed the show, leave a 5-star review!

• Get my new resource: 5 Practices For Processing Grief
• Click here if you want to be a guest on the show
• Carrie’s Facebook or Instagram
• Find me on Substack
• My book: The Other Side of Special

*This podcast features honest conversations with special needs parents and faith-filled guests. While I deeply value the stories and insights shared, the views and opinions expressed may not always reflect my own. Any resources listed are shared for reference, not necessarily a personal recommendation. I invite you to listen with spiritual discernment and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in what you hold onto and set aside.