I found on Instagram and just really liked what she had to say. That’s how it started even though we’ve since discovered that we were both at the University of Oklahoma at the exact same time. The way she wrote about her experience of walking alongside her mother as she battled cancer for more than 20 years really got my attention.

Good news for me when I discovered that she had a book releasing this year. So I did the thing I’ve developed the muscle for in the last year and a half: I cold-emailed her and asked if she would tell her story on the podcast. One of my favorite things in this process has been how approachable some people have turned out to be. Whitney is one of them. It takes some inner fortitude to agree to have a recorded conversation with a stranger about your creative work, your personal story, and your deep hopes—but thank God some people say yes.

In today’s conversation Whitney shares the story of her life growing up alongside her mother’s cancer battle and ultimately how her mother’s death in 2020 forced her to ask questions of her own theology like: how do I make sure I’m changed in the right ways by this, in the ways that take me somewhere and not just leave me yelling at God?

Whitney has a deep faith and you’ll hear that echo throughout her story—”death teaches us how to live”, she says. And even more, she shares how developing a theology of suffering prepares us and equips us to cling to hope in Christ’s finished work when the stability of our life is shaken.

I hope you’ll check out her book We Shall All Be Changed: How Facing Death With Loved Ones Transform Us or share it with a friend who may need this resource. Even more, pass along this episode today. I have found that stories are often the way God teaches us to trust Him more—Whitney’s may be the one your person needs to hear. We also chat about her latest obsession: birding. I promised I’d link the Merlin app so open your windows today and start your life list. (If you have no clue what this means, two seconds of googling should bring you up to speed.)

Find Whitney on Instagram and Substack here.

Thanks for tuning in!

Emily

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