S3EP14: Joy in the Ruins: Mattie Jackson on Grief, God, and Getting Back Up

What’s it like to grow up with a front-row seat to fame, only to find yourself center stage in a story you never saw coming?

In this episode, Cleere sits down with the radiant and real Mattie Jackson—author, speaker, podcast host, and daughter of country music legend Alan Jackson—for a conversation that’s equal parts heartache and healing, grit and grace.

Mattie opens up about what it was like to grow up in the spotlight, and how even that couldn’t prepare her for the deep grief of losing her husband just months into marriage. She shares how grief can shape us into people we barely recognize—not because we’re weak, but because we’re suddenly living in a world we never prepared for. And yet… God.

This episode is rich with wisdom, full of laughter, and tenderly honest. Together, we talk about:

• What happens when your life no longer looks like your life

• The “limbo years” where God rebuilds slowly and sweetly

• How to stay open to joy, even when it feels like betrayal

• Why grief doesn’t cancel your calling—it deepens it

• What Mattie’s learning now about love, dating, and rebuilding

Whether you’re walking through loss, navigating transition, or just wondering how to hold joy and sorrow at the same time, this conversation will remind you: even in the ruins, God is still writing beauty. And He doesn’t waste a single tear.

Find Mattie Jackson here:

• Website: mattiejackson.net

• Instagram: @mattiejackson

• Books: Lemons on Friday and Through the Valley of Grief – available wherever books are sold