RISE AGAIN: Chapter Eleven, Wondra’s Story

Grief doesn’t keep office hours, and it rarely arrives alone. We open up about the hardest chapter to write—chapter 11 of Rise Again—and the practices that helped us carry sorrow and joy together without apology. From a family ritual on Christmas Eve to the small, steady habits that make self‑care real, this episode is a guide for anyone navigating anniversaries, holidays, and the everyday moments that suddenly ache.

We trace three core messages: embrace both joy and grief, let faith be a compass rather than a cure, and make self‑care practical enough to do on your worst day. You’ll hear how community, counseling, and honest conversations with doctors and spiritual leaders created a safety net during the rawest weeks. We also share what it looked like to return to life—finishing a bachelor’s degree just three classes shy, welcoming a rainbow baby, and building routines that allow laughter without guilt. Along the way, we offer reflection prompts, simple remembrance rituals like lighting a candle or writing a letter, and goal‑setting tips that balance gentleness with momentum.

If you’re facing pregnancy or infant loss, miscarriage, or any form of deep grief, these stories and tools can help you honor memories while reclaiming agency. We point you to chapter pages and workbook prompts, highlight community resources and awareness months, and invite you to craft your own tradition that keeps love present. Healing is not forgetting; it’s remembering with tenderness and choosing a future that holds room for light.

Subscribe for more conversations on grief, faith, self‑care, and personal growth. Share this episode with someone who needs it, and leave a review to help others find their way back to hope.

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Transcript

Introducing Rise Again Chapter 11

Three Core Messages Of Healing

Faith, Self‑Care, And Community

Holidays, Kaylee’s Day, And Remembrance

Family Support And Returning To Life

Wondra 2:50

Hello and welcome to the Motivational Fuel podcast. I am Wondra, your host of the podcast, and I really want to thank everyone who is here with me today and any other podcast. Just really thank you. It is live weekly, and I share some inspiration, some empowerment, and some real talk. Whether you're on your favorite podcast platform, my YouTube channel, I am so happy that you are here with me. And I am definitely a firm believer in motivation from within the podcast. I want to definitely uplift others, whether you're trying to find your purpose, your clarity, or your strength. And I do share some topics of love, health, self-care, lifestyle, finances, personal growth, and spirituality. Take that deep breath and less fuel your drive from the inside out. So this week we will continue to talk about my bestseller, Rise Again, transforming grief into purpose and passion. You can pick it up locally at Barnes and Nobles. If they don't have it, you can ask for a copy and they will get it to you within two hours of the same day. So the messages for chapter 11, which is my story, but I do want to give a shout out to our musicians, anyone that's out there sharing music on any platform, sharing with others, making everyone smile and feel so motivated. Thank you for everything that you do. I love music, all types of music, jazz, dance. Oh my goodness, there's so much music out there that is so amazing. So thank you to all the musicians. But with the chapter 11, again, it's my story. I share three messages within the chapter. So embrace both joy and grief. You know, life is a compass, it's blended with sorrow and joy, and I really want to share with everyone. You know, you can have good days and bad days, earning your experiences and the way to personal transformation, and really look into your faith. You know, that's really a just very powerful your plan to help you navigate your difficult moments, and really remind yourself of faith, uh, which is active and is transforming that pain into hope and strength, and really your self-care, prioritizing your self-care, your growth, your healing, really look into honoring you know that loved one or loved ones that you have lost over time and investing in that self-care, really nurturing your well-being, your creativity, and relationships effectively. I do have the power hour where I go really deep into my chapters on my website. You can join the community, you can have support from each other. So really look at wondraspenser.com for the community event. And with me, I definitely write books that are I try to get things out there that is from my heart, my soul, and really share things with others if you're feeling that self-doubt where you can find that strength, and really for the holiday season is tough for me, the last one in the season, which is normally around Christmas time. That can be, you know, a rough time, but really practicing that self-care if it's not a holiday season, if it's a weekend, you know, practice that self-care, and really, you know, transforming that into a celebration, you know, that time for you to grow, really creativity, you know, being cheerful around the holiday, surrounding yourself with some, you know, individuals who are very helpful to you. And one thing that we do is Christmas Eve, it's Kaylee's Day, where we honor our little girl who we lost, and make sure that light shines brightly, the love and remembrance, beautiful memories, and really despite the challenges on that day, we do know that it is a great day, and we will get through it, and really that passion and faith, the way for new beginnings, doing it difficult time and keeping that spirit alive, and we really brought into our family at the time. We had our son really what helped us is seeing him open his presence that day, speaking with the bishop, our parents, really praying for that strength and really embodying it, and really finding that quiet time to follow up with each other, follow up with any our doctors, providers, counseling time, and really spending that time with each other, the faith, surrounded by family and friends, and trying to get back to our regular activities. And during that time, I was completing my bachelor's degree. You know, I did not want to give up on it, even though we went through a difficult time. I really wanted to get back to completing it, and the joy was having our little rainbow baby that next year, which was awesome. So it was just a time for all of us to celebrate Kaylee's day on Christmas Eve with some pink, and we really cherish those moments at home, and really wanting everyone to know it is some light at the end of that, you know, tunnel, and I wanted to share this with everyone so they can find the strength for healing and joy throughout those difficult times. So the lesson learned embracing the good days and the bad days, accepting what is, honoring what was and what will be, and definitely the weight of the hard days, you know, really taking that time to be in silence, you know, share those tears. And I know it can be a difficult time, definitely need it. You can seek counseling, you know, talk to your doctor, know it's not your fault, you know, really take that time for yourself and the faith, the faith of it. I know it doesn't erase the pain, but you can really dive into it and really, you know, understand that journey that you're going through, that you will be okay, you know. Right now is just a difficult time, and really taking care of yourself, that self-care reflection, taking that time out to reflect and write, you know, maybe taking a bubba bath or some quiet evening, sitting to yourself. You just really take that time to commit to self-care and think about your dreams and your goals, really honoring yourself during that time that you lost that individual, you're having a difficult time. So, for me, I really took back my time and you know, completed my degree during that time. I was really so close to completing it three classes away, so I went back and got my degree, really took that time out to do it. And with the with that symbol of time, you know, the hope, the restoration, and the promise for joy and fulfillment, and emotionally honesty, really healing, taking that time for yourself, do the proper healing. And I just wanted to share my story with everyone, and hopefully, you can recover during that time and surrounding yourself with a community of friends and family. Again, we shared information with the bishop, just really increasing our faith and trying to get through this journey together, and you don't have to do it solo, you can really have your team that's with you and going to support you, family, friends, neighbors, whomever supports you, really do that, and you know, you can have that support for Kaylee's day is more than a tradition, it's a legacy, really taking that time out to honor her and understand it, and really, you know, every gift, you know, we unwrapped, every prayer whispered, and every moment is infused for with her spirit. You know, you can do this by writing a letter, lighting a candle, or celebrating that special day while you stay connected to the ones that you've lost and transfer that grief into gratitude and that pain into purpose, and really embracing the good days. Good days, you know, is really celebration of life. You're not feeling guilty, you're laughing without hesitation, dreaming without fear, and really my little rainbow baby gave us some light too, and uh the good days allowing yourself, you know, the feelings of happiness and passion and live foolfully, and it's just not recognizing that healing does not mean forgetting, but just really thinking about the past and turning to a hopeful future, and I know it's it's gonna be an ongoing journey whether you're trying to get back to yourself, but taking that time to reclaim your power and rewrite your narrative and embrace your future, and really it's your turn to reflect and re embrace whether you know you're on this journey, what hard days have you shaped, you know, the good days remind you of your strength and the lessons that you have learned. And I give a few prompts that's in my actual book, and you don't need the workbook, but you can get it with the the actual rise again book. But you know what healing looks like for you right now, you know, what does self-care mean to you, and how can you practice this more intentionally? With chapter 11, it does start on page 89 of the book, so you can follow along. And with the chapter, I know the the lesson is not just surviving heartbreak, but it's about transforming it, and I want to be the beacon for hope and reminding us that we can heal, we can dream and love again, and so embrace the hard days, honor them, love from them, and when the hard when the good days come, let them fill you with light because they are both worthy of them, and you're capable of both both of them. And as you listen and think about my story, I know it's still unfolding, but embracing the hard days and the good days and learn to accept them, and the this continues beyond these pages, and you can start the workbook for chapter 11. But for next week, we will go over chapter 12, rebuilding your future. But for the workbook in the rise again for chapter 11, it starts on page 51, and again the message is embracing both joy and grief, reflecting on your personal experience, you know, joy and sorrow, faith in a guiding light, and the importance of self-care, making sure that you're taking care of yourself, your personal reflection, the journey, the faith and trust, the self-care, some things in your own words, what means to you when you're facing challenges, what means to you, too, with those days, the celebration of life with that, your goals, your short term, your long term, and I do talk about those in the other podcasts that you can listen to, and you know what is one long-term goal that you have for your personal development, and how would you work towards achieving it? And really, you can write a brief summary in the book and how my story inspired you on your life journey, and you can add more sections or adjust to it to this chapter, and once again, with chapter 11, it was my hardest and most difficult chapter to write. I really, you know, dove into it, you know, I cried a little bit, and I really took that time so I can share with others and support others. It is social media where you can join different groups where you can grief group groups or miscarriage groups or you know, celebrating those months for different things that's in your your life. I do share other podcasts, like in the month of October is pregnancy and infant loss awareness month, so I have podcasts regarding those miscarriages and you know some updates from that too. But you can definitely dive into my Rise Again book, and I really want to hear from you. Is my book helping you? Is this story you know really something that you can relate to? Is it helping you get through your grief? I really want to hear from others. You can send me messages on social media, my website, wondraspencer.com. You know, really take that time where you are taking care of you, and it's all about you, and this is your chance to take that time and understand everything that's going on with you, and you know, yourself is that time to honor yourself and take care of yourself and make sure that you are doing for you, and you're not looking over your self-care because it can be a lot for you to grasp right now, but it is light at the end of the tunnel. So thanks for joining the Rise Again chapter 11 of the Motivational Fuel podcast. I hope you have a copy of my book and share with others, and make sure you take care of yourself. We will get into chapter 12. I know we're getting towards the end of the book, but I hope that you are enjoying it. Remember to take care of yourself, share this podcast with others, and I hope you can rise again. So, enjoy your day and have a great day.