The Voice Within: Linda Feig Knipe on Grief, Grace, and Becoming Whole

What if the bravest thing you ever do isn't surviving what happened to you… but choosing to stop hiding it? Welcome to Season Four of Broken Beautiful Me. We begin this new season with a deeply honest and compassionate conversation about grief, trauma, therapy, and the courage it takes to live openly after years of silence. In this profoundly moving episode of Broken Beautiful Me, Kelly sits down with Linda Feig Knipe, a retired high school counselor and first-time author who spent decades helping others through trauma while quietly carrying her own. After the death of her husband, Linda found herself at a crossroads that would change the way she lived, healed, and told the truth about her life. Linda's story is one of resilience shaped over a lifetime. In her twenties, she survived sexual assault and lived for years with unprocessed trauma, shame, and PTSD. Later, while training to become a counselor, she was unexpectedly triggered and forced to confront what she had spent years burying. Therapy became not only a place of healing, but a turning point that transformed how she understood herself, her work, and her relationships. Writing her book Braving Therapy later in life required Linda to face a new fear — the fear of being fully seen. For the first time, she chose honesty over protection, openness over silence, and courage over comfort. In this intimate and thoughtful conversation, Linda shares: • 🌿 How grief became a gateway to personal transformation • 💔 The long-term impact of trauma and why silence can become toxic • 🧠 What therapy really feels like from the inside — and why it's so hard to begin • 🕊️ How shame shapes our inner lives and keeps us disconnected • 💬 Why healing doesn't mean going back to who you were, but becoming someone new • 🤍 The power of sharing our stories and learning we are not meant to do life alone • 🔍 Why human connection matters more than ever in an increasingly digital world Linda also discusses her book Braving Therapy, written as a companion for anyone who has ever wondered whether therapy might help but felt afraid to take the first step. Her message is clear: healing takes courage, honesty, and support — and no one has to do it alone. A compassionate, grounding, and deeply human conversation about grief, trauma, therapy, and the freedom that comes from finally telling the truth. ⸻ Follow Linda Feig Knipe Website: https://lfeigknipe.com/ Book – Braving Therapy (Amazon): https://a.co/d/4f8FwWF Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/l._feig_knipe FB: https://www.facebook.com/p/L-Feig-Knipe-100086436326648/

What if the moment that changes your entire life isn't a single event… but a series of wake-up calls your soul keeps sending until you finally pay attention? In this profoundly moving episode of Broken Beautiful Me, Kelly sits down with Simon Lüthi, a former high-performing corporate executive who nearly died multiple times before discovering the spiritual path that would transform his entire existence. Today he is known as The Rocket Shaman — a healer, energy medicine practitioner, and end-of-life doula whose work blends ancient wisdom with modern suffering. Simon's story begins long before adulthood: three near-death experiences as a child and teen, followed by years of pushing himself through perfectionism, pressure, and the relentless grind of corporate life. But everything began to unravel when he developed a mysterious autoimmune illness so severe he could barely get out of bed. Doctors couldn't explain it. Treatments failed. And then came cancer. These crises didn't break him — they opened him. Through shamanic training, energy medicine, ancestral healing, and an intense spiritual awakening, Simon discovered a deeper truth about illness, trauma, consciousness, and the unseen forces that shape our lives. His experiences guiding people through the final hours of life — and witnessing what happens in the moments just after — reshaped his understanding of love, death, and the continuation of the soul. In this intimate conversation, Simon shares: • ✨ The near-death experiences that marked him long before he understood them • 🔥 How chronic illness and cancer became the catalysts for his spiritual awakening • 🌿 The moment energy medicine finally shifted what modern medicine couldn't • 💫 Why he believes with absolute certainty that life continues after death • 🕊️ The signs and messages he's witnessed from loved ones who have crossed over • 🌀 How trauma can live in the body across generations — and even past lives • 🌙 What it means to guide someone through their final transition with peace and dignity • 💛 Why self-talk, intention, and inner authority are essential to true healing Simon also discusses his book, Becoming the Rocket Shaman, and how we can all begin reclaiming our power, our intuition, and the healing potential that lives inside us. A powerful, healing, deeply spiritual exploration of illness, awakening, and the invisible threads connecting us to something much bigger than ourselves.   Follow Simon Lüthi Website: https://www.therocketshaman.com Book – Becoming the Rocket Shaman (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FFPBNKSM Book – Becoming the Rocket Shaman (Barnes & Noble): https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/becoming-the-rocket-shaman-simon-luthi/1148299305

What if the moment that changes your entire life arrives as a glowing ball of light in your bedroom doorway when you are only sixteen years old? In this deeply reflective episode of Broken Beautiful Me, Kelly sits down with Carmen Turner-Schott, MSW, LCSW, a licensed clinical social worker, Christian astrologer, teacher, and bestselling author who has spent nearly three decades helping trauma survivors find meaning, resilience, and healing. Carmen's story begins in the Ozarks of Missouri, where she grew up feeling different from everyone around her. As a child she sensed things she couldn't explain, dreamt vividly, and carried emotions that didn't belong only to her. But everything shifted the summer before her senior year when she witnessed a glowing yellow orb of light in her bedroom doorway. Frozen in fear, unable to speak, she watched it move through her home as her mother tried to rationalize what neither of them could truly name. That moment became the spiritual turning point of Carmen's life. In the years that followed, Carmen experienced profound loss and intuitive awakenings that led her toward psychology, trauma work, and eventually the study of astrology as a tool for self-understanding. She began reading charts by hand, long before computers, discovering that each chart reflects a person's emotional makeup, strengths, wounds, and the energy they carry through the world. Today, Carmen is a professor of social work and a sought-after astrologer whose work bridges spirituality, psychology, and healing. In this conversation, she shares: • 🌟 How growing up empathic shaped her sense of identity and belonging • 🕯️ The night she encountered the glowing orb that opened her spiritual path • 🔮 Why astrology is less about prediction and more about understanding your inner landscape • 💫 The difference between your sun, moon, and rising signs, and why the moon sign reveals your emotional truth • 🧡 How each astrological sign heals differently, and what that means for self-care • 🌙 Why trauma shows up in specific parts of the birth chart, and how that knowledge helps survivors rebuild • 🌏 How ancient symbolism, psychology, and spirituality all converge through astrology Carmen also talks about her newest book, Your Astrological Energy, and how understanding your chart can help you cultivate compassion for yourself, deepen your relationships, and navigate your life with clarity and confidence. A warm, illuminating exploration of intuition, identity, healing, and the mysterious ways we are guided toward who we are meant to become. Follow Carmen Turner-Schott Website: https://www.carmenturnerschott.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carmenturnershottauthor Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deepsouldiversastrologywithcarmen YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@carmenturnershott 🎧 Listen to more episodes of Broken Beautiful Me for stories of hope, resilience, and healing.

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 by suicide, forcing her to grieve him all over again and reshaping her understanding of her past, her pain, and herself. Today, Lisa is a passionate mental health advocate, a crisis counselor with The Trevor Project, a storyteller with NAMI, and the founder of The HelpHUB, one of the most comprehensive free mental health resource platforms available. She also facilitates Safe Place, a virtual support group for suicide loss survivors, and cohosts The Survivors Podcast.   In this conversation, Lisa shares: • 💔 What it is like to lose a parent twice, and how hidden truths create both wound and wisdom • 🌙 The three years she quietly cried herself to sleep while holding her life together on the outside • 🧭 How a single podcast appearance became the catalyst that changed the direction of her life • 🤝 The power of sharing our stories to break stigma, build connection, and create community • 🪢 Why grief never ends, and how it becomes the tether that keeps us connected to those we love • 🧩 How The HelpHUB is helping people find crisis support, tools, and treatment when they need it most A tender and courageous exploration of grief, truth, connection, and the healing that begins when we finally speak the stories we've held inside.   📘 Lisa is the author of Surviving: Finding Hope After Suicide Loss (2026), How to Raise Perfectly Imperfect Kids and Be OK With It, Untying Parent Anxiety, and LIFE: It Is What It Is. Follow Lisa Sugarman: Website: https://www.thehelphub.co Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisa_sugarman The Survivors Podcast: https://www.thehelphub.co/podcast The HelpHUB: https://www.thehelphub.co 🎧 Listen to more episodes of Broken Beautiful Me for stories of hope, resilience, and healing.

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 the Mind: A Neurologist's Memoir, a deeply moving collection of personal and professional essays that explore how we face illness, addiction, trauma, and the search for meaning.   In this conversation, Dr. Taylor shares: • 🧠 How resilience and gratitude can rewire the brain for healing • 💊 Why addiction is a neurological disease, not a moral failure • ✍️ The power of writing and reflection to process grief • 💔 Lessons from patients who taught her the meaning of courage • 🌿 How compassion and forgiveness transform both patient and healer   A heartfelt exploration of what it means to be human, fragile, resilient, and beautifully connected.   📘 Whispers of the Mind is available now wherever books are sold. Follow Dr. Carolyn Larkin Taylor: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61566811690823 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolyn.larkin.taylor/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolynlarkintaylor-author Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/carolynlarkintaylor/   🎧 Listen to more episodes of Broken Beautiful Me for stories of hope, resilience, and healing.

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, and grace in the face of suffering. As both a physician and an Episcopal priest, Robert explores how a loving God could allow children to suffer — and what these young lives teach us about compassion, connection, and what truly matters. Together, Kelly and Robert talk about: • 🩵 The powerful lessons sick children taught him about living fully • 💭 The spiritual questions that shaped his journey as both doctor and priest • 🕊 How grief, faith, and storytelling intertwine to heal the soul • ❤️ Why remembering is one of the most sacred acts of love • 📖 The message behind his memoir: that meaning can be found even in loss If you've ever wrestled with grief, faith, or finding hope in hardship, this conversation will stay with you long after it ends. ⸻ 📘 Order Dr. Robert Macauley's Book: ➡️ Because I Knew You: How Some Remarkable Sick Kids Healed a Doctor's Soul (Also available through local bookstores, Amazon, and Powell's) 🌐 Connect with Dr. Robert Macauley: Website: https://becauseiknewyou.com Instagram: @DrBobMacauley Facebook: DrBobMacauley ⸻ ✨ Subscribe to Broken Beautiful Me for more soul-deep conversations about resilience, faith, and the beauty found in our most broken moments.

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. But Christine didn't break. She rose. From being abandoned as a child to serving the United Nations across war-torn countries — even being blessed by Pope John Paul II — her life is a testament to the power of forgiveness, faith, and the human spirit. In this deeply moving episode, Christine shares: • 💔 How she found courage in the middle of trauma • 🕊️ Why forgiveness set her free from the past • 🌍 The unexpected path that led her to global peacekeeping • 🙏 What it really means to never give up on yourself If you've ever felt trapped by your past, Christine's story will remind you — healing is possible, and hope is never lost. ⸻ 🎧 Listen & Subscribe: Broken Beautiful Me Podcast 📘 13 Years Lost by Christine Sadry — Available on Amazon 🌿 Follow Kelly Buckley on Instagram @kellybuckleyofficial

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, spelling-bee enthusiast, and first-time triathlete after 50 — proving it's never too late to rewrite your story.   In this deeply moving conversation, Margie opens up about: 🌿 Turning fear into fuel — how she transformed the prospect of turning 50 into a year-long "Margie Project" of trying new things, from motorcycle riding to zip-lining. 🏃 How one 5K race led to triathlons and a completely new relationship with herself. 💔 Fulfilling a promise — finishing and publishing the manuscript her mother spent 20 years writing, just as she had vowed before her mom passed away. ✍️ Teaching herself fiction writing from scratch, while navigating raw grief. 🧠 How grief became a gift, shaping a legacy and unlocking unexpected creativity. 📚 The journey of bringing The Cabernet Club to publication and what came next.   Margie's story is proof that midlife is not the end of the book — it's the start of a whole new chapter.   🎧 Listen now to hear a story about love, loss, courage, and the powerful ripple effects of keeping a promise. 🔗 Connect with Margie 👉 Website & Bonus Chapter: margiezfisher.com    👉 The Cabernet Club — available now wherever books are sold.   🎥 Watch the video version here: https://youtu.be/T6njqOGGYzs  

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 back to their inner wisdom, creating spaces where spiritual transformation and nervous system regulation go hand in hand. Their personal stories are raw, honest, and deeply human. Both men walked their own recovery paths — spanning spiritual communities, 12-Step rooms, and years of personal work — before creating a treatment model rooted in integrity, embodiment, and community. In this powerful conversation, they open up about: • 🌿 Reframing addiction from a "problem to fix" to a spiritual doorway to awakening • 💨 How bottom-up healing and daily breathwork unlock transformation where talk therapy alone can't • 🧱 Working with denial and resistance through love, trust, and gentle truth-telling • 🎶 Rediscovering the "Melody of Love" — and how to return to it when life pulls you away • 🤝 Why every team member at Embodied Recovery works their own recovery program — and why it matters for clients • 🌀 How their new nonprofit Melos will offer graduates a community of spiritual practice, sober dance, and breathwork long after treatment ends This is an episode about coming home to yourself, breaking through the noise, and remembering that the gold has always been inside you. ✨ ⸻ 📌 Links & Resources • 🌐 Kelly's Website: https://www.kellybuckley.com • 📚 Kelly's Books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com (search "Kelly Buckley") • 🧠 Embodied Recovery: https://www.embodiedrecovery.org • 🎶 Melos Nonprofit: https://www.melosrecovery.org (opening planned for 2026) ⸻ 🎧 If Greg and Michael's story resonates with you, share this episode with someone who's ready to stop fixing… and start awakening.

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 purpose and joy. But behind the fearless exterior was a deep fear of truly being seen. In this powerful conversation, Angie opens up about: • 🌿 Her journey from emotional rock bottom to rediscovering her inner light • 🪂 How bungee jumping became a metaphor for courage and transformation • 📱 The "Instagram vs Reality" exercise that cracks open vulnerability in her workshops • 🌞 What it means to shine from the inside and how it ripples into every area of life • 💬 Why facing our deepest fears is the key to real freedom This is an episode about masks, courage, and the quiet revolution that happens when women stop seeking external validation and start trusting themselves. ⸻ 📌 Links & Resources • 🌐 Angie's Website & Coaching: https://runningandslippers.com • 📚 Running in Slippers — Angie's Memoir: Available in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook on Amazon (search "Running in Slippers Angie Hawkins") • 🗓️ Book a Free Coaching Call with Angie: https://runningandslippers.com → Free Call section ⸻ 🎧 If Angie's story resonates with you, share it with someone who needs to be reminded: the glow is already inside you.