As I get up to speed in my first semester at Union, I’m re-launching a few

of my favorite podcast episodes from four years of archives: I hope you

enjoy some of these oldies but goodies, particularly if you missed them the

first time around! Here’s a conversation with one of my author superheroes,

Martha Beck, who says “Suffering is a sign you are about to be woken up

again.”

This week we tackle a tiny little topic—enlightenment—with one of my

all-time favorite authors and thinkers, Martha Beck. I have read all eight

of Martha's books (two or three times each) as they helped me through some

of my biggest transitions in life and work. Martha is someone who blazes

her own trails and has inspired me to do the same time and time again. 

I admire Martha for her tremendous courage. She's been through hell and

back, from leaving the Mormon church despite getting death threats and her

entire family disowning her, keeping her pregnancy after finding out her

baby had Down Syndrome and her Harvard colleagues suggested otherwise, or

following her body's signals to turn away from the academic life that was

making her sick, and even saying no to Oprah when it didn't feel right to

say yes.