A gentle heads-up: In this conversation, we name some hard things — including suicide and sexual assault. If that’s tender for you today, please listen with care, skip ahead, or come back when you’re ready. If you need support in the US, call or text 988.
I believe in the quiet ways hope shows up—in a sunrise, a stranger’s smile… and sometimes, a laugh you never saw coming.
Blake woke at 10:44 PM with pills in his lap and pain he couldn’t outrun. A joke on The Late Show made him laugh—right there, in that moment—and the plan changed. Since then, he’s walked into the world with giant foam boards and Sharpies, inviting strangers to add their names and stories. Ten years later: 522 boards and 34,766 reminders that we’re not alone.
This isn’t a tidy story. It’s human. We talk about PTSD after sexual assault, the fog of dissociative amnesia, the medicine of being heard, and the student who told Blake, “I’m glad you didn’t get on the show yet—because I needed to meet you today.”
If you needed a gentle place to land, I’m glad you’re here.
Listen & links
Find Blake: Instagram @blakelateshow | Documentary I AM (Sinconus Studios)
If you’re in crisis (US): Call/text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org
Thank you for listening to Hope Comes to Visit. If this conversation helps, follow the show, share it with someone who needs hope today, and leave a review – it helps others find their way to these conversations.
New episodes drop every Monday, so you can begin your week with a little light and a lot of hope.
For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit
xo, Danielle
