Change Happened, Then What? | Real stories about the moments that change our lives—and what happens next.

John DeDakis spent his life as a journalist, telling other people’s stories with clarity and truth. But nothing could prepare him for the stories he would one day have to live for himself. In this episode of Change Happened, Then What?, John shares his deeply personal journey of losing his sister to suicide and decades later, losing his son to a heroin overdose. Through unimaginable loss, John rev...

One year after its original release, Ila’s Moon returns as a remastered bonus episode of Change Happened, Then What? This is the story that helped shape the heart of this podcast. Jeannie shares the unimaginable loss of her daughter, Ila—and the journey that followed. What unfolds is not only a story of grief, but of enduring love, quiet connection, and the ways we carry those we’ve lost with us....

There’s something about Vermont maple sugaring season that stays with you. In this Smile Drop, I take you inside a tradition that’s been part of my life for as long as I can remember—from gathering sap and tending the fire, to the unmistakable smell of steam rising from the sugarhouse. It’s more than a process… it’s memory, family, and something that feels like it’s in your blood. We talk about wh...

What happens when the life you’ve been told is “right”… doesn’t feel right anymore? In this deeply personal and eye-opening episode of Change Happened, Then What?, host Heather Holt shares the story of Leah—a mother whose entire world shifted after a single moment she couldn’t ignore. What began as a quiet realization during early motherhood—holding her “clingy” baby close—turned into something mu...

As St. Patrick’s Day fades and Easter approaches, this reflective Smile Drop explores the quiet space between celebration and renewal. Through the lens of Catholic tradition and seasonal change, this episode traces the meaning of Lent—sacrifice, awareness, and the subtle lessons learned in childhood that often stay with us for life. A simple memory of giving something up becomes a deeper reflectio...

When Mark Maselli was five years old, he watched his grandmother go through dialysis and made a quiet promise to himself: that will never be me. Years later, Mark was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease (PKD), the same genetic kidney disease that had already affected generations of his family. In this powerful episode of Change Happened, Then What? , Mark shares his kidney disease journey, th...

Heather Holt invites listeners into a warm, ordinary day turned tenderly chaotic when her 85‑pound Labrador Dalton wakes up post‑surgery, baffled by a shaved leg and a humiliating stocking. Through Dalton’s amusing first‑person update—peppered with peanut butter bribes, cone avoidance, and a too‑energetic housemate named Waylon—we feel the tug between impatience and healing. What unfolds is a smal...

What happens when the life you planned suddenly disappears? In this episode of Change Happened, Then What?, Andrew Davie shares his powerful story of surviving a ruptured brain aneurysm and the long road back to rebuilding his life. What began as an ordinary trip to the airport quickly turned into a life-threatening medical emergency that would force Andrew to rethink everything he thought he knew...

Step into an old‑fashioned Vermont winter with Heather Holt: Lake Champlain frozen, roads with character, and eyelashes that freeze mid‑sentence. What seems like weather chit‑chat becomes a quiet emotional check‑in—an unspoken way of asking, How are you holding up? Heather turns winter irritation into gentle reflection, plotting the garden, imagining open windows, and finding warmth in shared smil...

What happens when the chaos you grew up in starts to feel normal? In this deeply honest episode, Tenya shares her journey from childhood instability and conditional belonging to adulthood clarity and self-worth. Raised in an environment shaped by mental health struggles, frequent moves, and complicated family dynamics, she learned early how to stay small, stay quiet, and stay under the radar. But...

Heather Holt remembers a song that sneaks up like a warm nudge—C.W. McCall’s “Teddy Bear”—and with it, a simple truth: people don’t have to be heroes to matter. In this brief, heart-first Smile Drop, she traces the gentle ripples of everyday kindness—the texts, smiles, and tiny pauses that quietly become someone’s salvation. With the soft patience of a storyteller and the occasional cameo from Way...

Content Warning: This episode includes discussions of childhood sexual abuse, opioid addiction, substance use disorder, and the impact addiction can have on families. Please listen with care, especially if these topics are tender for you. Jennifer Chase grew up in a family where addiction ran four generations deep. Determined to break the cycle, she built a marriage and family of her own — until c...

This Smile Drop slows down to a hush as the humans rush and the dogs keep watch. When Dalton heads into surgery, Waylon takes the mic to share how love looks when it’s quiet: soft vigilance, lap-dog loyalty, and a full-time guardian refusing to let fear take the stage. Through Waylon’s eyes, we feel the small rituals of bravery—sitting close to a brother, extra barks for strangers, and the gentle...

Content Warning: This episode discusses childhood abuse, trauma, disordered eating, cancer, and complicated grief. Please listen with care. What happens when a child grows up believing she is unwanted… and spends decades trying to prove she is worthy of love? In this powerful episode of Change Happened, Then What? , Lisa shares her journey through childhood trauma, emotional and physical abuse, fa...

As Valentine’s Day approaches, Heather Holt pauses the noise and expectations surrounding it—shifting the focus away from couples and grand gestures and toward the quieter, truer forms of love that often go uncelebrated. February holds two truths for her: Valentine’s Day and February 18th, the birthday of her brother, who would have turned 58. Through gentle remembrance, Heather reflects on how lo...

In this episode of Change Happened, Then What?, Heather Holt shares the story of Russell Van Brocklen —placed in special education as a child, underestimated for years, and yet driven by a fierce love of learning that never let him stop moving forward. Russell walks us through the clever hacks, stubborn curiosity, and pivotal moments— including law school—where learning finally began to click. Wha...

On a night when the moon feels too loud to ignore, I watch Waylon and Dalton patrol the living room like it’s an emotional battlefield and laugh at how the world can get wildly extra—one cut-off driver, one rogue auto correct, one raccoon sighting at a time. In this Smile Drop, the full moon becomes both chaos and companion. Sleep gets weird. Emotions rise closer to the surface. Dogs stare at wall...

A quiet call at a flower market marked the beginning of a life split into before and after—a swollen eye, a rare benign tumor, and the relief of survival shadowed by lingering trauma and guilt. In this episode of Change Happened, Then What? , Heather Holt sits down with Rachel Stone , an award-winning Canadian author and medical trauma survivor, to explore what happens when survival changes how yo...

Hey there — I’m Heather Holt, and this Smile Drop from Change Happened, Then What? begins with bad news, a very unrealistic set of rules for a Labrador, and a whole lot of quiet bravery. When Dalton tears his ACL, life suddenly comes with instructions no Lab understands—no running, no jumping, no wrestling, and only ten minutes of leash walking a day. The dog who believes he’s all speed and mischi...

When Lisa stumbles onto a secret life her husband has been hiding, the ground beneath her dissolves. A trusted future, her children’s stability, and her sense of self all hang in the balance. In this episode of Change Happened, Then What?, Heather Holt shares the story of Lisa Johnson—a woman whose relationship looked right on the outside but slowly became defined by emotional and financial contro...

In this special Smile Drop, Heather Holt shares the story behind Dear Sweet One — a personalized lullaby project created with intention, love, and deep meaning. What began as a simple idea grew into something more after Heather became a grandmother. This episode reflects on why stories matter so early in life, how the words we hear shape us long before we remember them, and why every child deserve...

Content warning: This episode includes discussion of childhood sexual abuse. Please take care while listening. When a childhood that should have been safe is stolen, the wound doesn’t vanish—it shapes every decision that follows. In this episode of Change Happened, Then What?, Heather Holt sits down with Richard, a trauma recovery coach who shares the story of being robbed of his right to freeze a...

Heather Holt notices the absurdity of retail timelines when Christmas is barely wrapped, and Easter already fills store aisles. With her signature wry humor, she explores our cultural rush to the next celebration — and the quiet pressure to always be emotionally prepared for joy. In this Smile Drop, Heather reflects on missing St. Patrick’s Day green, early holiday overload, and the simple desire...

Grief doesn’t follow a straight line—and healing rarely looks the way we expect it to. For Angie Hawkins, loss became a turning point that reshaped how she sees herself, her life, and what it means to move forward. In this episode, she shares the quiet, complicated journey of rebuilding after loss—and the courage it takes to begin again. This is a story about healing, resilience, and discovering w...

Heather Holt settles in with a sigh, Waylon and Dalton politely supervising, and confesses she doesn’t love New Year’s resolutions—not because change is impossible, but because it rarely needs a calendar. With gentle humor and plain truth, she traces the quiet moments when real change begins: an unexpected conversation, a small wrecking of complacency, the plain decision that you can’t keep doing...