What does it look like to reinvent your life after heartbreak — boldly, honestly, and on your own terms? To publish a memoir in your 70s that makes people laugh and weep? To tell the truth about love, loss, aging, and identity without flinching?

In this episode of Emerging with Grace!, we sit down with the remarkable Virginia DeLuca — award-winning author and psychotherapist— for a conversation that is equal parts wisdom, warmth, and unapologetic fire. Brilliant, Beautiful, and Bad Ass

Virginia's writing has graced the pages of The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Modern Love, and The Huffington Post. Her memoir, If You Must Go, I Wish You Triplets, is a sharp, funny, and deeply human portrait of marriage, divorce, aging, and the unexpected power of starting over — proving that reinvention has no expiration date.

This is a conversation about courage as a creative act. About how grief can become the soil for your most luminous work. About women across every culture and generation who carry the spark of life and refuse to let circumstances extinguish it.

This episode is for every woman navigating a life transition — whether you're 30, 60, or somewhere beautifully in between for anyone who needs proof that your most powerful chapter may still be ahead of you.

Virginia DeLuca embodies what it means to be brilliant in mind, beautiful in spirit, and unapologetically badass in courage. Tune in.

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IN THIS EPISODE:

→ Reinvention after divorce

→ Writing as healing & self-discovery

→ Publishing boldly later in life

→ Women, identity & aging on your own terms

→ The power of humor in grief

→ Memoir craft & storytelling

→ Emotional resilience & personal growth

→ Living truthfully at any age

Guest: Carrie Willis

Some lessons arrive gently. Others arrive in moments that change the direction of your life.

For Carrie Willis, that moment came when her mother passed away at just 39 years old. In the midst of grief, another reality surfaced—her mother had left behind a life insurance policy worth less than $300. It wasn't just a financial gap. It was a wake-up call.

That experience planted a seed that would eventually grow into Carrie's life mission: helping families avoid the financial blind spots that so many don't discover until it's too late.

But the financial lesson wasn't the only one.

Years later, Carrie realized something even more heartbreaking—her family had almost no recordings of her mother's voice. No preserved stories. No captured wisdom. The memories were there, but the living sound of her mother was gone.

From that realization came a second calling: helping people show up and share their voice now, while the people who love them most can still hear it.

Today, Carrie works with school district employees through her Retirement Clarity™ programs, helping them prepare financially for their future so their families won't be left navigating uncertainty. She also coaches entrepreneurs to build authentic visibility, encouraging them to speak, record, and share their message so their voice and wisdom can live beyond the moment.

In just a few weeks, Carrie has appeared on nearly 20 livestreams, building not only a platform—but an archive her son will one day be able to return to.

Because for Carrie, every recording is more than content.

It's legacy.

• The financial mistake many families discover too late

• Why striving financially doesn't always mean you're thriving

• Retirement planning and financial clarity for educators

• The emotional side of financial preparedness

• Why capturing your voice and story matters for future generations

• Building visibility with purpose and authenticity

• Turning painful lessons into meaningful impact

Financial preparation is an act of love—and so is leaving your voice behind for the people who will one day wish they could hear it again.

"Striving keeps you busy. Thriving requires clarity, preparation, and the courage to think beyond today."

Learn more about Carrie's work in Retirement Clarity™ and her coaching for entrepreneurs by visiting her platforms and livestream appearances.

They had already survived 1,260 days in the wilderness.

They had already walked through homelessness, uncertainty, and rebuilding from nothing.

They thought they knew what endurance meant.

Then came the day that changed everything.

Despite living an active, disciplined life—despite exercising and eating well—Adrian was diagnosed with a genetic heart condition. A condition that does not ask permission. A condition that does not negotiate with lifestyle.

And in one day, he experienced three cardiac events.

Krys faced the unthinkable.
Doctors warned her that if he survived, he would never be the same.
Research showed that only 2% live through this type of cardiac crisis—and even then, many are told they may only have a few years left.

She wasn't just grieving the possibility of losing her husband.
She was grieving the life they once had.
The future they thought was certain.
The version of him she feared might never return.

But this is not a story that ends in statistics.

Seven years later, Adrian is still here.

Still fighting.
Still loving.
Still leading.
Still serving through T.R.I.N.I.T.Y.

This episode is about:

• Surviving a life-threatening genetic heart condition
• Navigating marriage through medical trauma
• Grieving the "old normal" while building a new one
• Faith when outcomes are uncertain
• Redefining comeback
• Celebrating life after the prognosis

Adrian's survival is rare.
But their resilience is intentional.

Together, they share what it means to face mortality and still choose hope.
To face fear and still choose faith.
To face loss and still choose love.

Seven years later, this isn't just survival.
It's testimony.

🎧 Listen to Part 2 and hear how the Murrays turned a medical crisis into a comeback story—one sustained by faith, partnership, and purpose.