A Haven for Difficult Conversations

In this episode of the Death & Sex Podcast, Stephen Thomas and Dr. Caleb Bradley welcome back author Val Walker for a return conversation that picks up right where they left off.

Author Val Walker, writer of

• Healing Through Wonder — her most recent release, exploring how awe restores us after trauma and loss
• The Art of Comforting
• 400 Friends and No One to Call: Breaking Through Isolation and Building Community

Drawing on over 30 years as a rehabilitation counselor, Val has witnessed firsthand how moments of awe and wonder can pull people out of grief, trauma, and rumination. In this episode, she walks the hosts through researcher Dr. Dacher Keltner’s eight categories of awe, from human heroism and collective effervescence to nature, music, and the sacred mystery of life’s greatest passages. She also breaks down the six scientifically studied features of an awe moment, including the sense of vastness, the feeling of time stopping, the “small self,” and physical sensations like goosebumps that signal your nervous system is resetting.

The conversation moves from solar eclipses and space exploration to comic book art, the Taylor Swift Eras Tour, and why “third places” matter more than we realize. Val makes the case that cultivating awe isn’t a luxury, it’s an act of resistance against cynicism and the forces that drain us of our humanity. And for those in grief or trauma who feel too numb to experience wonder at all, she offers a gentler entry point: awe doesn’t require joy. Sometimes, something simply strange or fascinating is enough to start a reset.

Whether you’re a clinician, a griever, or just someone who hasn’t felt wonder in a while, this episode is a reminder that your sense of awe is still there and worth protecting.

Visit valwalkerauthor.com to learn more about her, her books, and links to her socials!