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In honor of Women's History Month, host Jess Lin sits down with Denetra Smiley, a 54-year-old African American medical coder from the Gullah Geechee community, now living in Acworth, Georgia. Denetra shares her personal story, her son DeAndre's story, and her path through grief and healing after DeAndre’s passed from cancer.  Denetra speaks candidly about her childhood, the importance of her cultural roots, the example of her parents’ marriage, her experiences raising two sons, and the founding of her support group- Parents who have lost a child/children support group on Facebook, and her business: Smiley Connections LLC, which assists parents who have lost a child. This is part one of a two-part conversation, with the second part dropping next week. Watch the video recording on YouTube, along with shared photos for a more immersive experience.

Watch this podcast on Youtube: 

      https://youtu.be/e1w5YTYnrE0?si=22UgQ0YZaT4SmFPn

Find out more about Denetra’s work: 

      https://smileyconnectionsllc.org/

Donate to the On the Road to Healing Retreat:

      https://gofund.me/0899b5e4

Denetra's TikTok: smileyconnectionsllc

Denetra's Instagram: @smileyconnections

In loving memory of DeAndre Thompson

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Trailers are posted on Instagram @thecultureful https://instagram.com/thecultureful