In this deeply personal episode, I share the story of my cousin Danielle, who would have been 42 today. Seven years after losing her to addiction, I'm finally ready to own the truth she saw in me before I could see it myself - that I'm a writer.

Danielle's last question to me was simple but life-changing: "Why aren't you writing?" Three weeks later, she was gone. But her influence on my life has only grown stronger. Today I share how her death cracked me open, how I feel her guidance in the shadow work I now facilitate, and how the very work that flows through me might have saved her life.

I also share one of her poems from just weeks before she passed - a raw, powerful piece about her own shadow work and awakening to her purpose as a poet. This episode is my annual tribute to the woman who taught me that our wounds can become our wisdom, and our pain can become our purpose.

Listen as I explore how grief can activate our gifts, how the dead continue to guide us, and why sometimes we need to lose everything to find who we're meant to be.

Listen to Danielle performing her poem: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/16wed8ZCwy/

If you're walking through grief, you might also find comfort in my episodes starting January 23 - February 20 when I lost my brother-in-law: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2vd6h8rFjj7hvHzPFyFz0C?si=17e00096c7504e26

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