216. How God uses a firefighter widow’s pain to serve others with Susan Vandepol

216. How God uses a firefighter widow’s pain to serve others with Susan Vandepol

From Book Marketing Mania for Christian authors: podcasting tips to grow your platform and market your book by Kim Stewart

July 8, 2026 · 23 min

About this episode

Susan Vandepol shares her journey of turning grief into a message of hope through writing her book.

Have you ever felt like God called you to share your message but you’re not sure you have what it takes to write a book? My guest today, Susan Vanderpol, author of Life After Breath, didn't set out to be an author. She was grieving the loss of her Los Angeles City Firefighter husband, she had a calling she couldn't shake and a message she knew people desperately needed, but she had almost no writing experience and zero publishing connections. Susan and I connected on PodMatch and I couldn’t wait for her to share how God opened door after door, and how every setback turned out to be exactly what her message needed. Resources mentioned: PodMatch Susan's book Related episodes: Serving widows through writing and podcasting A PodMatch Overview (and why I love it) 👩🏻‍💻 LET'S STRATEGIZE I help women market their Christian nonfiction books as a podcast host and guest without sacrificing their writing time. 🗓️ 30-minute strategy session 💛 FAVE PODCASTING RESOURCES 🎙️ Buzzsprout 🎙️ Microphone 🖥️ Descript 📣 WANT TO BE MY PODCAST GUEST? Message Kim on PodMatch LET'S CONNECT: Email Instagram Linkedin Affiliate links may be included for these products I use and love.

People in this episode

Host: Kim Stewart

Guest: Susan Vandepol

Topics covered

  • grief
  • writing
  • faith
  • book publishing
  • personal story

Keywords

  • grief
  • writing
  • faith
  • book marketing
  • author platform
  • personal story
  • firefighter widow

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Life After Breath

Places: Los Angeles, Los Angeles City Firefighter

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