In this heartfelt and deeply insightful podcast episode, Natasha Smith interviews me on communal grief and rebuilding, introducing my book When Your World Ends.
The host praises its relevance to Black women navigating both personal and collective losses, including systemic injustice and community trauma. Dawn explains how she came to realize that rebuilding is distinct from grieving. While grief was about emotional healing, rebuilding required new tools, strategies, and a shift in mindset.
Using the Genesis creation story, Dawn describes her own life after loss as “formless, void, and dark,” mirroring the chaos before God created light. She admits that what worked in previous seasons no longer served her, and she struggled to trust God again after losing her husband and experiencing miscarriages.
Rebuilding, she says, begins with accepting that life will look different and that the tools of the past may not fit the present.
Dawn also shares how she had to confront her expectations of God, realizing that her obedience didn’t entitle her to a pain-free life. She speaks candidly about anger toward God, the difficulty of surrendering control, and the uncomfortable but necessary process of spiritual stretching. Through Scripture, she encourages listeners that though rebuilding is hard and unfamiliar, it is not beyond reach—and it can still be good.
The episode closes on a powerful reminder: transformation is painful, uncomfortable, and often begins with grief—but it can lead to a deeper, more surrendered faith and a life reimagined by God.
