She Explores

After the Wildfire: Melissa Geissinger

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Melissa Geissinger lost her house in the Tubbs fire of Northern California in October 2017. Two months later, she had her son Apollo, and life changed forever once again. We talk in the episode about the "old" Melissa and the "new" Melissa a year and a half after she and her husband were displaced by wildfire. Today she has her eyes set on hiking the length of the Oregon Coast and helping others cope with trauma by giving them a platform to share their stories.

Woman featured in this episode: Melissa Geissinger

Hosted by Gale Straub

Sponsored by Merrell

Continue the conversation and join us in our She Explores Podcast Facebook Group!

In this episode, you'll hear:

  • How Melissa took up hiking to make time for herself
  • Why she was planning to hike the length of the Oregon coast
  • How unexpectedly losing her home in the Tubbs fire of October 2017 shaped her next year and a half
  • Why Melissa and her husband found home in a hospital for the first 3 months of her son's life
  • What she wants for her 18-month-old son, Apollo
  • How nature, combined with therapy, has helped her heal (but why PTSD is real)
  • Why she started a blog, Survival Over Surrender, to help share other people's stories of trauma

    • Resources

    • Melissa Geissinger: Website
    • Survival Over Surrender: Website, Instagram, and Facebook Group
    • She Explores Book
    • San Francisco Chronicle Series: Out of Fire
    • Unrooted Podcast

      • Sponsor Websites and Codes

      • Merrell: Learn more by visiting to Merrell.com!

        • Enjoy this episode? Rate us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. It’ll help other people find us.

        Music is by Lee Rosevere, Josh Woodward, and Kai Engel using a Creative Commons Attribution license.

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