In this deeply courageous and honest episode, we explore sibling loss, unspoken grief, epic choices, and the life-altering decision to move from chaos to intention.

In this powerful conversation, Kelly sits down with Zander Sprague, bestselling author, licensed professional clinical counselor, TV host, and acclaimed motivational speaker. Zander's life changed forever on December 9th, 1996 — the day his 30-year-old sister, Lucy, died unexpectedly.

At just 28 years old, Zander found himself navigating a kind of grief that often goes unseen. While parents are supported in the loss of a child, sibling grief is frequently overlooked, minimized, or misunderstood. Not one person asked him how he was doing. And in that silence, he began to question whether his loss even mattered.

It did.

Through years of personal healing and professional work, Zander transformed his pain into purpose. Today, he helps others understand that broken moments are not the end of the story — they are the foundation upon which strength, clarity, and intentional living are built.

In this deeply moving episode, Zander shares:

• 🤍 Why sibling grief is real, significant, and often invisible

• 💔 What it feels like when no one asks how you are doing

• 🧠 Why siblings often do not grieve openly in front of parents

• 📖 The inspiration behind his books Making Lemonade and Why Don't They Cry?

• 🔄 How grief reshapes identity at a young age

• 🎯 What it means to make "epic choices" that create an epic life

• 🌊 Why pain can either harden you or transform you — and how to choose

• 🕊️ The courage it takes to reclaim your narrative after devastating loss

Zander also speaks about the broader nature of grief — not just the loss of a loved one, but the grief of life changes, transitions, and chapters ending before we are ready. He reminds us that grief is not weakness. It is love with nowhere to go.

This conversation is honest, vulnerable, and filled with practical wisdom for anyone who has experienced loss and wondered how to move forward without leaving part of themselves behind.

A compassionate and powerful episode about sibling loss, resilience, intentional living, and the epic courage it takes to choose your life again.

Follow Zander Sprague

Website:

https://zandersprague.com

Books:

Making Lemonade: Choosing a Positive Pathway After Losing Your Sibling

https://www.amazon.com/Making-Lemonade-Choosing-Positive-Pathway/dp/0989017701

Why Don't They Cry? Understanding Your Living Child's Grief

https://www.amazon.com/Why-Dont-They-Cry-Understanding/dp/0989017728

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/zandersprague

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/zandersprague

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/zandersprague

In this deeply reflective and powerful episode, Kelly sits down with psychologist, grief expert, and author Dr. Mekel Harris for a conversation about loss, leadership, faith, parenting, and the quiet courage it takes to keep your heart open after it has been shattered.

Dr. Harris never expected grief to become her life's work. But after losing her mother to stage four pancreatic cancer in just 30 days, and later losing her father during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, she found herself face to face with the raw reality of loss — personally and professionally.

What she discovered was not just heartbreak, but transformation.

Today, Dr. Harris is a licensed psychologist and CEO of Harris Psychological Services, LLC. She is also co-founder of Bloomwell Partners, a consulting firm equipping organizations to lead with grief-informed care. Through private practice, global speaking engagements, and corporate training, she helps individuals and leaders navigate grief not as a weakness — but as part of our shared humanity.

In this intimate conversation, Dr. Harris shares:

• 🤍 Why grief is not a problem to solve but a companion to learn

• 🌊 What it means to truly "companion" someone in their pain

• 🧠 How children experience grief differently at each developmental stage

• 🏢 Why workplaces must move beyond three days of compassionate leave

• 🌍 The hidden grief of divorce, layoffs, identity shifts, and life transitions

• 🕊️ The profound impact of losing both parents — including during COVID isolation

• 🙏 How faith transformed her grief from knowing about God to knowing God

• 🌿 Why gratitude and grief can coexist — even when it feels impossible

• 💛 The power of self-compassion in a culture obsessed with productivity

• 🐢 Why leaders must learn to move from "lion mode" to "turtle mode" — reflection before reaction

One of the most moving moments in this episode comes when Dr. Harris describes lying on a hotel floor after her mother's death — reaching for her phone to call someone, anyone — and realizing no one answered. In that silence, she experienced something she can only describe as an overwhelming presence.

That moment changed everything.

This episode is about more than grief. It is about courage. It is about staying open. It is about allowing pain to become a teacher instead of something to outrun.

A profound and compassionate conversation about grief, faith, leadership, parenting, resilience, and the wisdom that comes from keeping your heart open.

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About Dr. Mekel Harris

Mekel Harris, Ph.D., NCSP, PMH-C, CAGCS received a B.A. in Psychology from Baylor University, M.A. in Psychology from Houston Baptist University, and a Ph.D. in Clinical/School Psychology from University of Houston. She completed her pre-doctoral internship and two-year post-doctoral fellowship at Children's Hospital Los Angeles.

Dr. Harris has served in higher education, community-based and hospital-based mental health programs. She currently works in private practice as a licensed psychologist and CEO of Harris Psychological Services, LLC, offering mental health support across the lifespan.

She is also co-founder of Bloomwell Partners, LLC, a consulting firm that equips organizations to provide grief-informed leadership and care in the workplace.

Dr. Harris has presented at over 30 domestic and international conferences and has been interviewed globally on topics including grief, trauma, leadership, and community mental health.

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Follow Dr. Mekel Harris

Website:

https://www.harrispsychologicalservices.com/

Bloomwell Partners:

https://www.growwithbloomwell.com/

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/drmekel/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/DrMekel/

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mekel-harris-phd-ncsp-pmh-c-cagcs-629138104/

Book – Relaxing Into the Pain: My Journey Into Grief and Beyond (Amazon):

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C2QXGZ8V

In this deeply honest and empowering episode, we explore identity, trauma, finding belonging in the wild, and the courage it takes to redefine what a "full life" looks like after the world tells you it's not possible.

In this episode of Broken Beautiful Me, Kelly sits down with Antoinette Lee Toscano, an outdoor industry influencer, writer, speaker, and founder of the American Adventure Sports Club nonprofit. Antoinette is a former IT executive turned adventure sports advocate, whose journey from traumatic injury and anxiety to radical freedom in the outdoors shows us that healing doesn't always look like rest — sometimes it looks like waking up in the middle of a river, choosing life again and again.

After a devastating rappelling accident left her with a traumatic brain injury, spinal injury, PTSD, and nearly immobile, Antoinette didn't just survive — she reimagined what life could mean. Instead of waiting for a "normal" she decided to create a New Normal Big Life — a life filled with rivers, snow, wilderness, and a community for people who felt priced out, rejected, or unseen in outdoor spaces. 

In this heartfelt and expansive conversation, Antoinette and Kelly explore how the outdoors became more than adventure — it became a path to freedom, identity, community, and deep human belonging.

In this episode, Antoinette shares:

• 🌲 How a life-threatening injury became the catalyst for intentional living

• 🌀 Why creating a "new normal" wasn't about escape, but reclamation

• 🧗‍♀️ The power of the outdoors to heal nervous systems and transform self-belief

• 💪 How she built community, accessible adventure, and broke barriers in outdoor recreation

• 📖 Why storytelling and writing helped her reclaim agency over her own narrative

• 🛶 The importance of inclusivity — for people of color, people with disabilities, veterans, and people who've been priced out of outdoor spaces

• 🌊 What water, rivers, and moving wilderness taught her about resilience and joy

• 🤍 How freedom becomes your compass when suffering is no longer the central story

Antoinette also reflects on how helping others create their own Big Life through her nonprofit, her writing, and her outdoor media has become the heart of her purpose — not because she fixed her pain, but because she leaned into it and let it expand her empathy, courage, and leadership.

This is a grounded, courageous, and deeply human episode about redefining normal, living with intention, and building a life that feels truly alive.

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Follow Antoinette Lee Toscano

Website & Blog – New Normal Big Life - https://nnbl.blog/ 

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/antoinetteleetoscano/ 

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/antoinettelee.toscano

WhitewaterTV / AdventureTV - https://xotv.me/channels/359-whitewatertv 

Paddling Magazine Contributor Page - https://paddlingmag.com/author/antoinette-lee-toscano/ 

Diversify Whitewater (Co-Founded Project) - https://diversifywhitewater.org/

American Adventure Sports Club (Nonprofit) - https://nnbl.blog/american-adventure-sports-club/ 

Book Feature – Women and Water (Antoinette's story contributor)

Available wherever books are sold (search "Women and Water She Explores")