What if the truth you discover decades later changes everything you thought you knew about your life, your loss, and your identity?

In this moving episode of Broken Beautiful Me, Kelly sits down with Lisa Sugarman, an author, crisis counselor, and three-time survivor of suicide loss who has transformed profound grief into purpose, community, and healing.

Lisa's story begins in childhood with the loss of her cousin at nine years old and the sudden death of her father just a year later. For 35 years she believed he died of a heart attack. In her mid forties, she learned the truth that he died by suicide, forcing her to grieve him all over again and reshaping her understanding of her past, her pain, and herself.

Today, Lisa is a passionate mental health advocate, a crisis counselor with The Trevor Project, a storyteller with NAMI, and the founder of The HelpHUB, one of the most comprehensive free mental health resource platforms available. She also facilitates Safe Place, a virtual support group for suicide loss survivors, and cohosts The Survivors Podcast.

In this conversation, Lisa shares:

• 💔 What it is like to lose a parent twice, and how hidden truths create both wound and wisdom

• 🌙 The three years she quietly cried herself to sleep while holding her life together on the outside

• 🧭 How a single podcast appearance became the catalyst that changed the direction of her life

• 🤝 The power of sharing our stories to break stigma, build connection, and create community

• 🪢 Why grief never ends, and how it becomes the tether that keeps us connected to those we love

• 🧩 How The HelpHUB is helping people find crisis support, tools, and treatment when they need it most

A tender and courageous exploration of grief, truth, connection, and the healing that begins when we finally speak the stories we've held inside.

📘 Lisa is the author of Surviving: Finding Hope After Suicide Loss (2026), How to Raise Perfectly Imperfect Kids and Be OK With It, Untying Parent Anxiety, and LIFE: It Is What It Is.

Follow Lisa Sugarman:

Website: https://www.thehelphub.co

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisa_sugarman

The Survivors Podcast: https://www.thehelphub.co/podcast

The HelpHUB: https://www.thehelphub.co

🎧 Listen to more episodes of Broken Beautiful Me for stories of hope, resilience, and healing.