How a Single Cookie & Three Cancer Battles Created Purpose for a Mother & Daughter
When life delivers unthinkable loss, what happens next can change everything. Cancer survival, grief and healing, a mother-daughter business, resilience after loss, and turning pain into purpose and connection are all discussed on this episode of Call Me Friend, featuring Laura Stachler and her daughter Susan Stachler.
This is an inside-out story of grief, resilience, and purpose. After losing Laura’s sister Susan to Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the family later faced the same diagnosis again when daughter Susan was in college. What followed was cancer treatment, uncertainty, and an unexpected idea that started in a garage and grew into a nationally loved business built on comfort, connection, and saying “I’m thinking of you.”
Together, they share how baking became therapy, how a single ginger snap helped ease chemo nausea, and how Susan Snaps grew into a way to support people during life’s hardest moments. This episode explores what it means to move through trauma, redefine success, and build community when you feel like an outsider.
If you believe small gestures matter, this conversation will stay with you.
In This Episode, You Will Learn
✅ How grief can become a catalyst for purpose
✅ What it means to build a business after cancer
✅ Why baking became a form of healing
✅ How Susansnaps grew from a garage to a national brand
✅ Why perspective changes everything after loss
✅ How small acts of kindness create real community
Powered by Ms Lou’s Cabin https://www.airbnb.com/h/mslouscabin
Sign up for our newsletter https://darynkagan.substack.com/
Key Timestamps
00:00 An inside-out story of loss and resilience
04:10 Losing a sister to Hodgkin’s lymphoma
07:40 A shocking cancer diagnosis repeats generations later
11:00 Baking as therapy during chemo
12:45 The ginger snap that changed everything
15:20 Turning comfort into a business
18:00 Mother-daughter business dynamics
21:00 Perspective after surviving cancer
23:45 “Asking for a Friend” advice on belonging
27:50 Being told “you can’t” and proving otherwise
34:00 Why kindness matters more than perfection
Key Takeaways
🔹 Trauma changes perspective forever
🔹 Healing can start in unexpected places
🔹 Purpose often grows out of pain
🔹 Community is built through small, consistent kindness
🔹 You don’t have to fit in to make an impact
Guest Bio
Laura Stachler and her daughter Susan Stachler are the founders of Susansnaps, a cookie company born out of cancer treatment, love, and the need to bring comfort to others. What began as homemade ginger snaps shared at a cancer center has grown into a nationally recognized brand known for connection, compassion, and showing up when words fall short.
Resources & Mentions
- Susansnaps: https://susansnaps.com/
- Angel Flight Soars https://www.angelflightsoars.org/
- Jack Black Lip Balm https://amzn.to/4sl1ntV
- Powered by Ms Lou’s Cabin- https://www.airbnb.com/h/mslouscabin
- Sign up for our newsletter: https://darynkagan.substack.com/
- Hope Possible: A Network News Anchor's Thoughts On Losing Her Job, Finding Love, A New Career, and My Dog, Always My Dog https://amzn.to/4az2X5f
SusanSnaps, mother daughter business, cancer survival story, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, grief and resilience, turning pain into purpose, women-owned business, small business origin story, baking as healing, comfort food with meaning, community through kindness, starting a business from home, overcoming loss, family resilience, Call Me Friend podcast
Transcript
CMF_EP2_Stachler-v01
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