Episode 61: Learning to Dream Again with Author Kayla Stoecklein

We all have dreams for our life. What happens when the one you planned to share them all with is no longer here? In August 2018, that became the reality for Kayla Stoecklein.

In her first book, Fear Gone Wild, Kayla bravely and vulnerably shares the story of her husband Andrew’s battle with depression and subsequent suicide and all the emotions that surround it. She lives in southern California with her three boys and has found herself in a new life that she didn’t ask for. As she says in this conversation, she went from being in the passenger seat to having to take the steering wheel and drive, all the while her sons are asking, “Mom, where are we going?”

The life she envisioned for herself and her family was gone. 

“As I’m in that hospital room with him and he takes his last breath and I walk out down the hallway by myself, all of those dreams were in that room with him,” she said.

Her book is one of the most raw and vulnerable pieces of writing I have read in quite some time and I am honored that Kayla shared her story on my show.

This conversation is one that tells the story of pain and grief and the pull depression has on us, but it’s also one of hope and one that shares the strength and faithfulness of God in the midst of our pain. I’m so encouraged by Kayla’s outlook on life and how she’s choosing to spend her days and allowing herself to dream again.

You can purchase her book and connect with at her website https://www.kaylastoecklein.com/ and you can follow her on Instagram @kaylasteck