The good story and the hard story can be the same story. This is where we’re sharing the proof. Join Katherine Wolf and her most trusted friends as they honor the hardest parts of life while making space for the hope and humor in it all. Your weekly pep talk from The GoodHard Story Podcast will load you up with fresh inspiration, practical takeaways, helpful perspective, and the soul-deep sense that you are not alone in the story you’re living.
If The GoodHard Story Podcast has encouraged you, consider joining us on Take the Next Step. Each week, Amy Julia Becker interviews disability experts, advocates, and parents about practical next steps for families with disabilities to build connection, belonging, and delight—at home and in community. Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify . Take the Next Step is a part of the Hope Heals Network, a…
My guest today doesn’t get a break from physical pain. And because she’s living with pain that never ends, she stopped waiting to find joy on the other side of her suffering. K.J. Ramsey is a therapist and author inviting people into the lifelong process of acknowledging and recovering from trauma of all kinds. She joined me to talk about loving the bodies that feel like they’re failing us,…
There’s a lie circling around out there that we have to fall into a binary. Life can either be good or hard. We can choose grace or truth. Our politics can be either progressive or conservative. And if you know me, you know I don’t really buy into the “either/or” thing. My guest today is Justin Giboney, an ordained minister, attorney, author, and political strategist who is breaking out of the…
Today I’m sitting down with a woman who is living out the message of this podcast: Suffering is not the end of your story. It’s the beginning of a new story. My friend Courtney Pray Duke became a widow when she was just 29 years old. She was left to raise three small children all on her own. Courtney has experienced the deepest kind of loss, yet she never misses an opportunity to proclaim the…
J.S. Park has spent over a decade at the bedsides of the sick and dying as a hospital chaplain. He passes his days in the valley of the shadow of death, and he hasn’t left empty-handed. He was generous enough to share what he’s learned about the utility of grief, the ministry of presence, and faith shaped by experience. Show Notes What we mentioned: As Long As You Need: Permission to Grieve by…
My guest today is Sissy Goff, a licensed professional counselor for kids whose wisdom goes far beyond the boundaries of children and parenting. Her insights into anxiety, resilience, mental health, and spiritual wellbeing have served me as a mom and also as a person with worries and hurts of my own. She’s become a dear friend of mine and one of my most trusted voices as I navigate raising my two…
My friend Kim is a writer, speaker, and podcaster who has the gift of finding the arc of a story, even in the messiest moments. Lately she’s been searching for the storyline of grace throughout her life and what she found has changed everything. Kim is witty, winsome, and oh-so-wise. In our hour together, she was as generous with her tears as she was with her laughter as we discussed the places…
Today I’m introducing you to a friend who has decided to make his life into a “joy lab.” His circumstances are anything but easy - tune in to see why - but he’s learned how to thrive within them. Will Acuff is a disability dad, husband, author, and founder of a non-profit that helps underestimated entrepreneurs launch their own businesses. He has become an expert at building a life that can handle…
I stumbled into a place of leadership, almost by accident, after surviving an out-of-the-blue stroke and becoming a beacon of hope for a lot of people. I wanted to rise to the occasion of encouraging those people and pointing them to Jesus, but I quickly learned that leadership isn’t automatic. It’s a skill to develop. I wish I’d had a guide like Jo Saxton…which is exactly why I’m sharing her…
Benjamin Wills is a man who has given every part of his life to the good/hard work of seeing people and communities restored to their God-given fullness. He’s worked and lived in marginalized communities, welcomed children into his family through adoption, shepherded a congregation in the Anglican church, and pastored my own Hope Heals Camp community for over five years! Benjamin is gentle and…