7 Aug 2026
Starry is Hope
In this episode, Courtney Stasko shares her powerful journey from trauma to healing through storytelling, poetry, and her upcoming TEDx talk. Discover how she transformed her pain into a nonprofit and a children’s book to support others facing grief and trauma.
You can listen on the Substack App (https://substack.com/app?utm_campaign=app-marketing&utm_content=email-footer-button), and all episodes are also available on Apple (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/page-stage/id1735915535) or Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/3MIRTGD3BoSQiFUTXmpSOm).
Or, if you want to put faces with voices, you can watch the video version of this podcast over on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD4zBZ2Av2Q).
Courtney’s Links
* Donate to the non-profit at Starry is Hope (https://www.starryishope.org)
* Buy Starry’s Journey (https://www.betweenstarstories.com)
* Connect with Courtney at LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-stasko-bs-mba-87308a7b)
* Or Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ccstasko?checkpoint_src=any)
* Or Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/p/DaLP59TGhiL/)
* And if you’re interested in attending the next OWN EVERY ROOM (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/own-every-room-live-fall-2026-tickets-1994146083617), an intensive storytelling workshop, you can learn more HERE (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/own-every-room-live-fall-2026-tickets-1994146083617).
Courtney’s Bio
Courtney Stasko is a poet, storyteller, advocate, and the founder and president of Starry is Hope (https://www.starryishope.org), a nonprofit dedicated to supporting children and families grieving the loss of a veteran, service member, or first responder.After losing her husband, Todd, a U.S. Air Force veteran, to suicide in 2019 while their infant daughter slept upstairs, Courtney spent years searching for meaning in the aftermath of profound grief, trauma, and survival. What began as private journaling and poetry evolved into a lifelong exploration of storytelling as a path toward healing, connection, and hope.A scientist by training and a poet by necessity, Courtney writes and speaks from the space between heartbreak and healing. Her poetry and storytelling explore grief, trauma, resilience, and the truths we often struggle to say out loud. She is the author of Starry’s Journey (https://www.betweenstarstories.com), a children’s book inspired by conversations with her daughter, Hope, about love, loss, and the enduring bonds that connect us. Courtney is also a contributing author to Barry Zworestine’s You Are Not Alone, a collection of stories that honors the courage and healing that emerge when people choose to share their experiences.As the founder of Between Stars and Stories, Courtney is committed to exploring the transformative power of personal narrative. She has been selected as a TEDx speaker and believes that our stories—especially the ones we are most afraid to tell—often become the very thing that sets us free.Through her poetry, speaking, advocacy, and nonprofit work, Courtney is working to change the conversation around grief, trauma, military and veteran loss, and post-traumatic growth—one starry story at a time.
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