"It's a choice too. You have to choose to be positive. You have to choose to allow yourself to move forward and understand that this is the only life that we get, and we need to help others." —Dr. Monica Parham

Some days it feels like life shatters overnight, and the world expects us back at work by Monday. In this raw conversation, we go inside life after loss when the person who felt like home is suddenly gone, and the only options are staying stuck in the closet or choosing a new way forward. This is grief, faith, and reinvention told from inside the storm, not from a distance.
Dr. Monica Parham shares how a small-town girl became a dentist, survived divorce, found the love of her life, and then lost him during the pandemic. Her journey through deep heartbreak, prayer, and radical self-reinvention now shapes how she works, parents, dates, and lives with a new sense of courage.
Press play to sit with a friend who understands loss and is proof that thriving again is possible, even when it feels impossible.
• Life after loss when a soulmate and best friend is gone
• The "closet" season and what finally sparked a turning point
• Why honoring a great love can mean building a bigger life
• Dating, Golden Bachelor, and finding joy after widowhood
• Faith, family, and community as anchors through intense grief
• Daily health habits that support emotional healing and resilience
• What it means to live, love, survive, and truly thrive

Connect with Dr. Kimberly:
Website: https://drkimberlyhubenette.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-hubenette-dds-magd-2800a624/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authordr.kimberlyhubenette/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authordr.kimberlyhubenette
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9--bH78AxF-FCR2ygP-Fyg
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/khubenette/_created/

Episode Highlights:
02:28 Meet Monica: Small Town To Big Dreams
07:13 Grief In The Closet: The Darkest Months After Loss
11:20 Saying Yes To Life Again And Helping Others Heal
13:40 Dating In Our 60s And Learning To Move Forward
15:24 Hitting Rock Bottom And The Moment Everything Shifted
17:42 Work, Patients, And Responsibility While Grieving
20:17 Why Community And Routine Matter In Early Grief
29:48 Monica's Life Motto: This Too Shall Pass And Let It Go
34:10 From Surviving To Thriving: Saying Yes To New Experiences
36:10 Choosing Positivity, Self Work, And Being A Light For Others
39:08 Lifelong Friendship, Dental School Memories, And Gratitude

Resources:
Books
📖Grid: Once in a Lifetime You Get to Start Over by Dr. Kimberly Hubenette
📖Live, Love, Survive, Thrive! by Dr. Kimberly Hubenette
📖Get Megan's Book: How I Lost Everything and Everyone but Found Myself in the End
Thank you for listening.
To keep my podcast alive,
Wanna buy my dog Dakota a bone?
https://buymeacoffee.com/livelovesurvivethrive

Grief can rearrange a life in minutes. Bills pile up, systems fail us, and some of us end up choosing between a roof and our pets. In that chaos, it is easy to believe we will never feel truly alive again.

In this conversation, ordained minister, spiritual healer, and author Megan Radke Madrid shares how she went from homelessness with three dogs and the loss of her husband to building a new life, career, and spiritual foundation. Her story shows how small daily choices, faith, and honesty about pain can slowly move us from surviving to thriving.

Press play to hear a real and practical take on rebuilding after loss, including:

• Losing a spouse, navigating a medical crisis, and sudden homelessness

• How Megan went from homeless to homeowner with three dogs by her side

• The role of faith, spirituality, and signs from loved ones in grief

• Moving from emotional hoarding to letting go of belongings with intention

• Simple habits that helped her shift from numbness to genuine joy

• Recovering from addiction and rewriting a personal identity after trauma

• Redefining what it means to be rich, successful, and at peace after loss

Connect with Dr. Kimberly:

Website

LinkedIn

Instagram

Facebook

YouTube

Pinterest

Episode Highlights:

02:38 Meet Megan: Minister, Healer, Author & Maverick

05:49 Husband's Medical Journey: Heart Failure, Diabetes, Dialysis & Blood Clot

09:11 Eviction, Default Judgment & the Slide into Homelessness

13:15 Emotional Support Dog Chica, Lost Luggage & Greyhound Nightmare

17:35 Dogs and Grief

23:25 Timeline: How Long It Took to Start Thriving Again

27:32 Recognizing If You're Stuck in Grief

33:41 From Addict to Sober Entrepreneur

39:22 From Homeless to Homeowner

42:50 Ending on Laughter and Lightness

Resources:

Freebies

Read Megan's Book: Adventures of Chica and Meg Grayhound Bus

Books

📖Grid: Once in a Lifetime You Get to Start Over by Dr. Kimberly Hubenette

📖Live, Love, Survive, Thrive! by Dr. Kimberly Hubenette

📖Get Megan's Book: How I Lost Everything and Everyone but Found Myself in the End

Thank you for listening.

To keep my podcast alive,

Wanna buy my dog Dakota a bone?

• https://buymeacoffee.com/livelovesurvivethrive

"Love never dies, it only changes form." —John Masiulionis (from Walking Each Other Home— Zachary's Mission: A Hospice for Children)

Grief can turn an ordinary life into survival mode, where every small task feels like a mountain. This conversation stays with the reality of loss while showing how faith, service, and everyday kindness can slowly rebuild a sense of meaning. It is about learning to keep going when a loved one is gone, and discovering that purpose can grow out of the deepest pain.
Manager of PR From The Heart LLC | Award-Winning Children's Author | Certified Animal Communicator, John Masiulionis, shares how the loss of his grandmother, a testicular cancer diagnosis, financial collapse, and a lifetime of self-doubt became the soil for his award-winning children's book Walking Each Other Home— Zachary's Mission: A Hospice for Children, his spiritual work, and his path as a certified animal communicator.
Press play to be part of a honest, hope-filled conversation about grief, purpose, and love that does not end with death, including:
How John's relationship with his grandmother shaped his spirituality and life work
The turning point when testicular cancer, debt, and near-eviction redefined success
The story behind Walking Each Other Home: Zachary's Mission, A Hospice for Children
Why children's hospice, chronic illness, and early mortality need gentler stories
How small "Earth Angels" moments can change the direction of a life
The role of faith, forgiveness, and self-love in moving through grief
How animal communication and our pets can support emotional healing

Connect with Dr. Kimberly:
Website: https://drkimberlyhubenette.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-hubenette-dds-magd-2800a624/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authordr.kimberlyhubenette/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authordr.kimberlyhubenette
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9--bH78AxF-FCR2ygP-Fyg
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/khubenette/_created/

Episode Highlights:
02:17 Meet John Babcia's Love and Spiritual Awakening
09:20 Career Change and Calling
12:44 Hitting Rock Bottom: Financial Crisis, Cancer Diagnosis, Learning Radical Trust
23:25 Self-Forgiveness, Self-Love, and Becoming a Better Man
27:43 Zachary's Mission
42:44 Keeping Loved Ones Alive by Name
46:45 Becoming an Animal Communicator
52:42 Follow Your Heart

Resources:
Books
📖Grid: Once in a Lifetime You Get to Start Over by Dr. Kimberly Hubenette
📖Live, Love, Survive, Thrive! by Dr. Kimberly Hubenette
📖Walking Each Other Home— Zachary's Mission: A Hospice for Children by John Masiulionis
🎨Walking Each Other Home—Zachary's Mission: A Hospice for Children-themed coloring sheet (to add link once John's website is updated)
Thank you for listening.
To keep my podcast alive,
Wanna buy my dog Dakota a bone?
https://buymeacoffee.com/livelovesurvivethrive