From Grief To Connection: Why We Started Soul SiStories

What if the hardest years of your life became the seedbed for hope? We open up about the losses that reshaped us in 2019–2020 and the unexpected ways they led to Soul SiStories—a place where story, spirit, and everyday courage meet. Our conversation traces two complementary paths: one of lived mediumship practice and one of deep study and research. Together we explore how meditation, evidence-based exploration, and careful discernment can keep us grounded while we reach toward something bigger than ourselves.

We talk candidly about connecting with loved ones beyond physical life, and how that sense of continuity can soften grief without denying it. From Monroe Institute tools to temple journeys and gratitude rituals we once rolled our eyes at, we share what actually helped. The through-line is simple: hope is a practice. It’s built in small actions, honest questions, and communities that tell the truth about pain and beauty at the same time.

As writers and memory nerds, we also dig into how autobiographical storytelling shapes identity. Every person carries a remarkable archive, not just celebrities, and we’re here to amplify everyday voices with extraordinary resilience. If you’re navigating grief, curiosity about afterlife studies, or just craving conversations that aren’t afraid of the mess, you’ll find a home here. Lend your hope when you can; borrow ours when you can’t.

If this resonates, tap follow, share the episode with a friend who needs it, and leave a quick review to help more people find these stories of connection and renewal. Your voice helps us keep the hope going.

Thanks for listening to Soul SiStories. We hope you follow us on your favorite podcast platform. Five-star ratings and reviews always help to spread our message of hope.
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Transcript

Why We’re Here

SPEAKER_01 0:02

Welcome to Soul Sistries. Hey, hey, hey, welcome to Soul Sistries. We're so glad you're here with us. It's a chat with Diana and Donna. Just a short, sweet little chat about, you know, what's the thing that brought us here? Why are we doing this thing? And wanting to hear more from you as well. So take a listen. Come on the journey with us.

SPEAKER_00 0:38

Welcome to Soul Sisteries, where Donna and I are going to chat a little bit about kind of what got us here. Why are we doing Soul Sisteries and connecting with people in this way?

Loss As The Catalyst

SPEAKER_01 0:52

Yeah, yeah. I mean, we could say a lot, but let's we'll keep it, we'll keep it tight for like really what is the heart of this thing. And the reality is we both had profound losses and you know, lifetime of experience, but profound losses in 2019, 2020. And people talk about 2020 as they all mean one thing, and we mean something else. Yeah. Um and but through all of that, I guess we both dug in to find something more threatening through these losses and to open something up. And out of that, we just said, hey, we have things to talk about, we have things to share. Maybe there are people who need to hear this. Let's go. Right.

Making And Finding Hope

SPEAKER_00 1:47

Yeah. And I think, you know, some of the, you know, we wanted to talk to other people who have found or created hope because that is so important to us. And also we wanted to have an opportunity to chat about the things that give us hope. And, you know, those things include learning more about the bigger world than the world we live in, right? Yeah. Expanding into like the universe and what that means, connecting with loved ones who are no longer walking on earth, continuing our relationships with our loved ones.

SPEAKER_01 2:30

Um and in very real ways.

SPEAKER_00 2:34

Yes. And, you know, that includes mediumship, that includes, you know, meditation. It includes uh, you know, near-death signs, right? Near-death experiences, out-of-body experience, just you know, so many different things. And and and you dug into this gift that you've always had of mediumship. And I took the opportunity to become a student and to study and to learn more about it.

SPEAKER_01 3:13

And to and you're a very good medium too.

SPEAKER_00 3:16

I do you have yet to give yourself credit for that, but you are experiencing things in a different way, though. And and I was on this journey, I think, because you connected so well as a medium, and that wasn't something that was just natural to me. It was something, you know, that I had to learn, but I also tried all these other ways of connecting, and what does that look like? And, you know, I I'm thinking of, you know, a book I read about the temple journey and about meditations I've done, and and getting involved with the Monroe Institute, and getting involved with, you know, all these different groups, and and there's so many ways to find hope. And yep.

Study vs Practice: Different Lenses

SPEAKER_01 4:07

And I and it's like you to build off of what you were just saying about you and yours, like, man, you have done a deep dive in your studies, you know way more about the who's and the what's and the all. I am a practicing medium, yeah, but you have done so many studies, and you you know names and and histories. I don't know. I don't know that at all. And that just speaks to a lot of how we do it. You have the side D and I have my degree. I never even finished master's life. Yeah, that's the difference. And you love that.

SPEAKER_00 4:43

And I'm like, Yeah, it's just yeah, and it, you know, it's so funny because I mean, over the years, when I have people say something about me being so analytical, I'm like, I'm so not analytical. What do you mean? And then when I stop and think about, I'm like, oh, I guess I do kind of analyze things very, very differently than I understood analytical people to be. But I'm like, okay, I guess I guess. And you research. I research.

SPEAKER_01 5:09

You research and figure it out and find online and read the books and talk to people and do your own clinical studies.

Stories As Healing

SPEAKER_00 5:18

Yes. Yeah. No, very true. So, so the hope, the hope through this podcast was really us being able to chat. You know, what we're on different coasts now, and hopefully not forever, but we're on different coasts now. And this is a way for us to connect. Not that this is the only way we connect, because I we know we talk all the time, but this is a way for us to connect and kind of share our thoughts and to bring other people into our conversations.

SPEAKER_01 5:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:47

And to talk with people that we know, but also people that we don't necessarily know, that we've reached out to or that have reached out to us to learn about their stories because we, I mean, we love stories, right? I mean, you are a writer through and through. You've written so many stories since you were a young girl. And my dissertation was on autobiographical memory, which is the stories we tell ourselves, right? And that is so important to both of us to hear stories, but to share stories that I guess let other people know that there is hope and that they're not alone in this journey.

SPEAKER_01 6:30

Yeah, I totally cut off you right in the middle of the yeah.

Beauty In The Mess

SPEAKER_00 6:33

No, but no, but that but that's it. And it's it's I mean, uh you said it. I mean, life is messy, life is dirty, life is complicated, life is scary, and there is still so much beauty, so much beauty. And you know, I used to laugh at Oprah and her, you know, gratitude journals and waking up every day and saying what you're thankful for. And there's there really is value in recognizing the hopeful things, the beautiful things, the you know, I'm looking at the snow that's covering everything, and I know there's leaves under the snow, and under that, there's little critters that are going to, you know, come back out in the spring, and it's gonna be beautiful and amazing.

SPEAKER_01 7:27

And yeah, yeah, and that's I guess what we're doing also is yeah, uncovering the beauty and the amazingness of yeah, and getting to hear from and learn from others who you know we're impressed by or something in them. Like, this is cool. I want to know more. I want to know more. I have always been fascinated with people's stories too. Like some I am generally I am an I am an introvert by nature. I'm not a like go to a big party and like this is so great to be there with a bunch of people. Right. So, what I do, what I find there is I find a person or some people and I ask them questions about themselves. Yeah, I want to hear their story. And that I love. It's always been my way. Let's connect on that, let's find out who you are. And so there's like a lot of podcasts out there in the world, and a lot of the really great ones and ones I love listening to are celebrities talking to other celebrities. Those are like these are interesting people, yeah. Interesting things to say. But also, my experience is every person out there is an interesting person with interesting things to say. It's just the world doesn't know them. Yeah. So that's who we're talking to. But honest to God, if Pink ever wants to come on with us, like, hey, we'd be good with that. Oh, I barrel streak, Michelle Obama, come on.

Everyday People, Extraordinary Stories

SPEAKER_00 9:05

Come on. Oh my gosh. And Pink, that's so funny because my son just said last night that you know his sister and and me and him should all go to see Pink in concert. I'm like, you know, we probably should. Next time around, we should probably get to see her.

SPEAKER_01 9:20

And I am flying across the country coming with you.

SPEAKER_00 9:24

You're you are welcome. Now, Becca did see her. My daughter did get to see her in uh it was a concert with like many different people performing, and her aunt took her, and you know, she only did like three or four songs, but still, I'm like, oh girl, that is like yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:39

She is that's life goals. Pinnacle of live your life and find a way and just do the thing. Man, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:50

And and you know, and saying that I mean, I you would think, oh my god, she's amazing and she's got this amazing life, but clearly she's got a story, and there's shit that has happened that she's dealt with and she's been honest and real about, and and that's part of what we love.

SPEAKER_01 10:06

Yeah, because it's messiness, it's messy and also gorgeous and what you make of it. It's all the things all at once, yeah, duality that exists. So, Pink, shout out. We'd love to talk to you. We'd love to talk with you, and and you'd love to talk with us.

SPEAKER_00 10:27

Yes, for sure, for sure. Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_01 10:30

Well, so everyone, that's yeah, that's what brings us here. That's why we're doing what we're doing. Yeah, and um, you know, we look forward to many more. Yes, year two, year two. Year two. Here we go.

SPEAKER_00 10:43

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 10:44

Oh my gosh, much love to everyone. And you know, there's reason to hope. And if you can't hold that hope right now, we'll hold it for you. We're holding my watch.

SPEAKER_00 10:55

Yep, yep. Hope through the sisteries. Hope through the sisteries. Yep.

SPEAKER_01 11:01

Love you all. Love ya.

SPEAKER_00 11:03

Thanks for joining us today on Soul Sisteries.

SPEAKER_01 11:06

And thanks for sharing stories with us. We'd love to hear your stories as well and keep the conversation going, absolutely keeping the hope going. So we're really hopeful that you'll connect with our guests as well, who have great stories to share. Go ahead and follow them in various social media platforms or live venues, wherever it is that they're performing and uh sharing what they do.

SPEAKER_00 11:32

We would love to have you follow us on all of our social media platforms, subscribe and rate, as that will help us get our message of hope out to others.

SPEAKER_01 11:41

Thanks for listening to Soul Sisters.