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Some stories remind you that it’s not too late. Not for the dream you tucked away. Not for the creative spark you thought you missed. Not for the reinvention you quietly crave.

In this episode I’m joined by Julie Whitney — a self-employed PR professional who, in the middle of the pandemic, found herself standing in a hangar beside a plane she’d never even flown in… and feeling something crack wide open.

When Julie’s husband, “Captain Dan,” unexpectedly lost his job as chief corporate pilot in 2020, the loss wasn’t just professional — it was emotional. Julie personified the Gulfstream jet he flew (Astra), imagining her alone in a dark hangar… and that single moment became the beginning of a brand new chapter.

That night, Julie started writing Astra the Lonely Airplane — and what began as a surprising, heart-led idea became a published children’s book series, award recognition, school readings that move her to tears, and now… the dream of an animated streaming series built around kindness, hope, and helping others.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Reinvention and second acts (especially when life forces a pivot)
• The publishing process and rejection resilience (Julie sent 60–70 queries!)
• What it’s like to read your book to hundreds of kids and watch your message land
• How hope becomes a practice: “It only takes one yes.”
• Why Julie defines hope as never giving up
• Leaving a legacy rooted in goodness, kindness, and non-cynical joy

If you’ve been asking yourself, “Do I still have time?” — let this be your reminder: yes. You do.

Connect with Julie + Astra:
Website: AstraTheLonelyAirplane.com
Email: Julie@AstraTheLonelyAirplane.com

Get the Books - Astra the Lonely Airplane- Amazon....and look for them in the airport when you travel :)

If you loved this conversation, please share the episode, and take a moment to rate + review the show — it helps more than you know.

Thank you for listening to Hope Comes to Visit. If this conversation helps, follow the show, share it with someone who needs hope today, and leave a review - it helps others find their way to these conversations.

New episodes drop every Monday, so you can begin your week with a little light and a lot of hope.

For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit

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What if hope isn’t a feeling… but a skill?

This week on Hope Comes to Visit, I’m joined by my longtime friend Ann Imig — MSW, certified coach, and founder of the storytelling phenomenon Listen to Your Mother. Fifteen years after giving motherhood a microphone on stages across North America, Ann now helps burnt-out women retrain their brains for clarity, calm, and joy.

We talk about:

• Why your stress brain dominates your decisions
• How to literally rewire your brain for hope
• The myth of “I’ll be happy when…”
• Achievement addiction and burnout
• Why curiosity is the antidote to anxiety
• How 10-second sensory practices can change your day
• Staying sober, staying open, staying a learner

Ann explains that hope doesn’t require you to feel hopeful first.

You can take hopeful action — and the feeling will follow.

This conversation is practical, grounding, and incredibly timely. Especially if you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, stuck, or unsure of what comes next.

✨ Connect with Ann at listenlifecoaching.com
✨ Take the saboteur assessment at positiveintelligence.com

If this episode resonates, please share it with someone you love and leave a review. It helps more than you know.

Thank you for listening to Hope Comes to Visit. If this conversation helps, follow the show, share it with someone who needs hope today, and leave a review - it helps others find their way to these conversations.

New episodes drop every Monday, so you can begin your week with a little light and a lot of hope.

For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit

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What if you don’t have to like someone to love them?

In this powerful and deeply honest conversation, I was honored to sit down down with mindfulness coach, yoga teacher, and master storyteller Oneika Mays to explore what it means to practice loving kindness in the hardest places — including Rikers Island and how these experiences inspired her new book: Sit with Me: A No BS Journey to Mindfulness & Meditation.

Oneika spent years teaching meditation and yoga inside one of the most notorious jails in the country. What she discovered there reshaped her understanding of agency, boundaries, spirituality, and hope.

Together, we discuss:

• Why mindfulness belongs in places we overlook
• The radical power of choice in environments with no agency
• Loving people you disagree with
• Leaving work that no longer aligns with your body
• Grief, hope, and the moment Onika’s father died
• Writing through rejection (15 no’s before a yes)
• And why loving yourself is the first act of activism

Onieka’s new book Sit With Me is part memoir, part field guide, and part meditation on meta — the Buddhist practice of loving kindness. It’s a deeply human invitation to embrace the messy, clunky parts of ourselves.

This episode is a reminder that hope doesn’t require perfection. It requires presence.

✨ Connect with Oneika:
Instagram: @OneikaMays
Substack: Oneika Mays

If this episode moved you, share it with someone you love — and leave a review. It means more than you know.

Thank you for listening to Hope Comes to Visit. If this conversation helps, follow the show, share it with someone who needs hope today, and leave a review - it helps others find their way to these conversations.

New episodes drop every Monday, so you can begin your week with a little light and a lot of hope.

For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit