Beyond Stillness: Stories After Stroke

This week on Beyond Stillness: Stories After Stroke, we welcome guest Angel James. On the morning of February 4, 2023, she was singing in the choir, her voice resonating with joy, connection, and purpose. But by that evening, everything changed. A stroke stole Angel’s ability to speak, leaving her in silence, uncertain of what the future would hold.

This is a story of survival, resilience, and the power of reclaiming one’s voice. Through faith, community, and unwavering determination, she not only relearned to speak but discovered a deeper purpose—using her voice to inspire hope, foster connection, and remind us all of the strength found in sharing our stories.

Community Conversation Prompts:

• What is one thing you can do today to be a voice of connection and hope?
• What has helped you regain confidence in your voice?

Guest Resource Suggestions:

• Stroke Survivors CAN! - Support Group
• Good Samaritan Hospital Rehabilitation Center

Support a Stroke Survivor:

Your gift sponsors a stroke survivor through our seven-week reflective story crafting journey.
👉 Donate at beyondstillness.org

Beyond Stillness: Stories After Stroke is a nonprofit that empowers stroke survivors to articulate and publicly share their stories of wisdom, purpose, connection, and hope.

Follow us: Instagram · Facebook · YouTube · beyondstillness.org

#BeyondStillness #StrokeRecovery #StrokeSurvivor #StrokeStories #StrokeAwareness #Storytelling #StrokeSupport #Recovery #Resilience #Hope #Transformation #LifeAfterStroke #Inspiration #NarrativeIdentity #StorytellingHeals #RewritingMyStory #IdentityAfterStroke #PostTraumaticGrowth

This week on Beyond Stillness: Stories After Stroke, we welcome guest Angel James. On the morning of February 4, 2023, she was singing in the choir, her voice resonating with joy, connection, and purpose. But by that evening, everything changed. A stroke stole Angel’s ability to speak, leaving her in silence, uncertain of what the future would hold.

This is a story of survival, resilience, and the power of reclaiming one’s voice. Through faith, community, and unwavering determination, she not only relearned to speak but discovered a deeper purpose—using her voice to inspire hope, foster connection, and remind us all of the strength found in sharing our stories.

Community Conversation Prompts:

• What is one thing you can do today to be a voice of connection and hope?
• What has helped you regain confidence in your voice?

Guest Resource Suggestions:

• Stroke Survivors CAN! - Support Group
• Good Samaritan Hospital Rehabilitation Center

Support a Stroke Survivor:

Your gift sponsors a stroke survivor through our seven-week reflective story crafting journey.
👉 Donate at beyondstillness.org

Beyond Stillness: Stories After Stroke is a nonprofit that empowers stroke survivors to articulate and publicly share their stories of wisdom, purpose, connection, and hope.

Follow us: Instagram · Facebook · YouTube · beyondstillness.org

#BeyondStillness #StrokeRecovery #StrokeSurvivor #StrokeStories #StrokeAwareness #Storytelling #StrokeSupport #Recovery #Resilience #Hope #Transformation #LifeAfterStroke #Inspiration #NarrativeIdentity #StorytellingHeals #RewritingMyStory #IdentityAfterStroke #PostTraumaticGrowth

On January 16, 2017, Mike’s life was full—teaching, coaching, and raising a family. But in an instant, everything changed. A stroke stole his ability to swallow, eat, and live life as he knew it. What followed was a battle he never saw coming—one of survival, loss, self-discovery, and a renewed sense of purpose.  

In this episode, Mike shares his journey of renewal, from isolation to connection. Through unexpected friendships, volunteer work, and a shift in perspective, he found a way forward and now offers his experience to accompany others through their recovery. This is a story about resilience, reinvention, and the power of connection.

Community Conversation Prompts:

• How has helping others shaped your sense of self in recovery?
• How have the communities or relationships you’ve found after the stroke impacted your recovery?

Guest's Suggested Resources:

• Sarah Bellum’s Bakery and Workshop 
• Resilient Seed Healing Farm 
• Love Your Brain 

Support a Stroke Survivor:

Your gift sponsors a stroke survivor through our seven-week reflective story crafting journey.
👉 Donate at beyondstillness.org

Beyond Stillness: Stories After Stroke is a nonprofit that empowers stroke survivors to articulate and publicly share their stories of wisdom, purpose, connection, and hope.

Follow us: Instagram · Facebook · YouTube · beyondstillness.org

#BeyondStillness #StrokeRecovery #StrokeSurvivor #StrokeStories #StrokeAwareness #Storytelling #StrokeSupport #Recovery #Resilience #Hope #Transformation #LifeAfterStroke #Inspiration #NarrativeIdentity #StorytellingHeals #RewritingMyStory #IdentityAfterStroke #PostTraumaticGrowth

On January 16, 2017, Mike’s life was full—teaching, coaching, and raising a family. But in an instant, everything changed. A stroke stole his ability to swallow, eat, and live life as he knew it. What followed was a battle he never saw coming—one of survival, loss, self-discovery, and a renewed sense of purpose.  

In this episode, Mike shares his journey of renewal, from isolation to connection. Through unexpected friendships, volunteer work, and a shift in perspective, he found a way forward and now offers his experience to accompany others through their recovery. This is a story about resilience, reinvention, and the power of connection.

Community Conversation Prompts:

• How has helping others shaped your sense of self in recovery?
• How have the communities or relationships you’ve found after the stroke impacted your recovery?

Guest's Suggested Resources:

• Sarah Bellum’s Bakery and Workshop 
• Resilient Seed Healing Farm 
• Love Your Brain 

Support a Stroke Survivor:

Your gift sponsors a stroke survivor through our seven-week reflective story crafting journey.
👉 Donate at beyondstillness.org

Beyond Stillness: Stories After Stroke is a nonprofit that empowers stroke survivors to articulate and publicly share their stories of wisdom, purpose, connection, and hope.

Follow us: Instagram · Facebook · YouTube · beyondstillness.org

#BeyondStillness #StrokeRecovery #StrokeSurvivor #StrokeStories #StrokeAwareness #Storytelling #StrokeSupport #Recovery #Resilience #Hope #Transformation #LifeAfterStroke #Inspiration #NarrativeIdentity #StorytellingHeals #RewritingMyStory #IdentityAfterStroke #PostTraumaticGrowth

This week on Beyond Stillness: Stories After Stroke we offer a Community Special with University of Vermont Medical Center’s Stroke Support Group led by Becky Louko, PT.  In today’s episode, stroke survivors share personal attributes that have been helpful in recovery, lessons they’ve learned, while also offering gratitude to each other. 

Suggested Resources:

University of Vermont Medical Center Support Groups

Project Independence Vermont

Community Conversation Prompts:

• • What strengths, talents, and/or personality traits have helped you through recovery?  How?
  • What empowering lessons have you learned from fellow stroke survivors?

Support a Stroke Survivor:

Your gift sponsors a stroke survivor through our seven-week reflective story crafting journey.
👉 Donate at beyondstillness.org

Beyond Stillness: Stories After Stroke is a nonprofit that empowers stroke survivors to articulate and publicly share their stories of wisdom, purpose, connection, and hope.

Follow us: Instagram · Facebook · YouTube · beyondstillness.org

#BeyondStillness #StrokeRecovery #StrokeSurvivor #StrokeStories #StrokeAwareness #Storytelling #StrokeSupport #Recovery #Resilience #Hope #Transformation #LifeAfterStroke #Inspiration #NarrativeIdentity #StorytellingHeals #RewritingMyStory #IdentityAfterStroke #PostTraumaticGrowth

This week on Beyond Stillness: Stories After Stroke we offer a Community Special with University of Vermont Medical Center’s Stroke Support Group led by Becky Louko, PT.  In today’s episode, stroke survivors share personal attributes that have been helpful in recovery, lessons they’ve learned, while also offering gratitude to each other. 

Suggested Resources:

University of Vermont Medical Center Support Groups

Project Independence Vermont

Community Conversation Prompts:

• • What strengths, talents, and/or personality traits have helped you through recovery?  How?
  • What empowering lessons have you learned from fellow stroke survivors?

Support a Stroke Survivor:

Your gift sponsors a stroke survivor through our seven-week reflective story crafting journey.
👉 Donate at beyondstillness.org

Beyond Stillness: Stories After Stroke is a nonprofit that empowers stroke survivors to articulate and publicly share their stories of wisdom, purpose, connection, and hope.

Follow us: Instagram · Facebook · YouTube · beyondstillness.org

#BeyondStillness #StrokeRecovery #StrokeSurvivor #StrokeStories #StrokeAwareness #Storytelling #StrokeSupport #Recovery #Resilience #Hope #Transformation #LifeAfterStroke #Inspiration #NarrativeIdentity #StorytellingHeals #RewritingMyStory #IdentityAfterStroke #PostTraumaticGrowth

This week on Beyond Stillness: Stories After Stroke, we welcome guest Michelle Humphrey or StrokeMom as she is known on social media.  Michelle invites us into a deeply personal journey—one that challenges the definition of a “real” life and a “real” job. Our guest reflects on the day everything changed: a bi-lateral pons stroke during pregnancy at age 43, a confrontation with death, and the unrelenting challenge of rebuilding a life that no longer fit society’s expectations.

From a hospital bed to a daily practice of gratitude, from the loss of loved ones to becoming an energy-giving presence, this story uncovers the lessons that death teaches us about living. It’s about grieving, growing, and redefining what it means to show up authentically, even in the face of unimaginable hardship.

Through humor, heartbreak, and honesty, we’ll hear how the best parts of life emerge from the worst—and how embracing a “Pollyanna mindset” can be a powerful, liberating act. Let’s dive in and uncover what it means to live your REAL life, no matter the circumstances.

Michelle's Suggested Resources:

• • Death Taught Us How To Live w AVM Superhero
  • Jess Karp on YouTube
  • Journey Care Hospice
  • Mather Institute - Ruth Geary's Classes
  • Michelle's Instagram and Facebook
  • Pollyanna by Eleanor H Porter
  • Shirley Ryan Ability Lab
  • University of Wisconsin - Madison

Community Conversation Prompts:

• How has your understanding of time shifted since your stroke? 
• What does living in the present moment mean to you now?
• In what ways has grief helped you grow?

Support a Stroke Survivor:

Your gift sponsors a stroke survivor through our seven-week reflective story crafting journey.
👉 Donate at beyondstillness.org

Beyond Stillness: Stories After Stroke is a nonprofit that empowers stroke survivors to articulate and publicly share their stories of wisdom, purpose, connection, and hope.

Follow us: Instagram · Facebook · YouTube · beyondstillness.org

#BeyondStillness #StrokeRecovery #StrokeSurvivor #StrokeStories #StrokeAwareness #Storytelling #StrokeSupport #Recovery #Resilience #Hope #Transformation #LifeAfterStroke #Inspiration #NarrativeIdentity #StorytellingHeals #RewritingMyStory #IdentityAfterStroke #PostTraumaticGrowth

This week on Beyond Stillness: Stories After Stroke, we welcome guest Michelle Humphrey or StrokeMom as she is known on social media.  Michelle invites us into a deeply personal journey—one that challenges the definition of a “real” life and a “real” job. Our guest reflects on the day everything changed: a bi-lateral pons stroke during pregnancy at age 43, a confrontation with death, and the unrelenting challenge of rebuilding a life that no longer fit society’s expectations.

From a hospital bed to a daily practice of gratitude, from the loss of loved ones to becoming an energy-giving presence, this story uncovers the lessons that death teaches us about living. It’s about grieving, growing, and redefining what it means to show up authentically, even in the face of unimaginable hardship.

Through humor, heartbreak, and honesty, we’ll hear how the best parts of life emerge from the worst—and how embracing a “Pollyanna mindset” can be a powerful, liberating act. Let’s dive in and uncover what it means to live your REAL life, no matter the circumstances.

Michelle's Suggested Resources:

• • Death Taught Us How To Live w AVM Superhero
  • Jess Karp on YouTube
  • Journey Care Hospice
  • Mather Institute - Ruth Geary's Classes
  • Michelle's Instagram and Facebook
  • Pollyanna by Eleanor H Porter
  • Shirley Ryan Ability Lab
  • University of Wisconsin - Madison

Community Conversation Prompts:

• How has your understanding of time shifted since your stroke? 
• What does living in the present moment mean to you now?
• In what ways has grief helped you grow?

Support a Stroke Survivor:

Your gift sponsors a stroke survivor through our seven-week reflective story crafting journey.
👉 Donate at beyondstillness.org

Beyond Stillness: Stories After Stroke is a nonprofit that empowers stroke survivors to articulate and publicly share their stories of wisdom, purpose, connection, and hope.

Follow us: Instagram · Facebook · YouTube · beyondstillness.org

#BeyondStillness #StrokeRecovery #StrokeSurvivor #StrokeStories #StrokeAwareness #Storytelling #StrokeSupport #Recovery #Resilience #Hope #Transformation #LifeAfterStroke #Inspiration #NarrativeIdentity #StorytellingHeals #RewritingMyStory #IdentityAfterStroke #PostTraumaticGrowth

This week on Beyond Stillness: Stories After Stroke, we welcome guest Tara Dinkel or STARR Tara Dinkel as she is known when making the rounds as a volunteer.  STARR stands for “Stroke Survivor Taking Aim at Recovery.”  May we all become STARRs.  At just 25, Tara suffered a massive stroke, leading to a life-saving craniectomy and weeks in a coma.

Recovery was grueling, filled with loss, heartbreak, and moments of profound patience. But as she began to reclaim small victories, Tara discovered that life wasn’t over; it was patiently waiting for her to rebuild.

Now, Tara shares her journey to help others find hope and purpose. This is a story of resilience, healing, and the beauty of giving back. 

Community Conversation Prompts:

• How have you used your stroke experience to help others?
• In what ways have you found new purpose in your daily life after your stroke?

Tara's Suggested Resources:

Craig Hospital
Dan Zimmerman's Story and Interview
Kindred Hospital - Longterm Care
Spokes Fighting Strokes
Swedish Medical Center
University Of Colorado Hospital Anschutz
Tara Dinkel's Facebook Page 
Support Groups:

• The Thrivers UCHealth 
• Longmont Stroke Support Group 
• Young And Young At Heart 

Facebook Support Groups:

• Young Stroke Survivors
• Stroke Buddies

Support a Stroke Survivor:

Your gift sponsors a stroke survivor through our seven-week reflective story crafting journey.
👉 Donate at beyondstillness.org

Beyond Stillness: Stories After Stroke is a nonprofit that empowers stroke survivors to articulate and publicly share their stories of wisdom, purpose, connection, and hope.

Follow us: Instagram · Facebook · YouTube · beyondstillness.org

#BeyondStillness #StrokeRecovery #StrokeSurvivor #StrokeStories #StrokeAwareness #Storytelling #StrokeSupport #Recovery #Resilience #Hope #Transformation #LifeAfterStroke #Inspiration #NarrativeIdentity #StorytellingHeals #RewritingMyStory #IdentityAfterStroke #PostTraumaticGrowth

This week on Beyond Stillness: Stories After Stroke, we welcome guest Tara Dinkel or STARR Tara Dinkel as she is known when making the rounds as a volunteer.  STARR stands for “Stroke Survivor Taking Aim at Recovery.”  May we all become STARRs.  At just 25, Tara suffered a massive stroke, leading to a life-saving craniectomy and weeks in a coma.

Recovery was grueling, filled with loss, heartbreak, and moments of profound patience. But as she began to reclaim small victories, Tara discovered that life wasn’t over; it was patiently waiting for her to rebuild.

Now, Tara shares her journey to help others find hope and purpose. This is a story of resilience, healing, and the beauty of giving back. 

Community Conversation Prompts:

• How have you used your stroke experience to help others?
• In what ways have you found new purpose in your daily life after your stroke?

Tara's Suggested Resources:

Craig Hospital
Dan Zimmerman's Story and Interview
Kindred Hospital - Longterm Care
Spokes Fighting Strokes
Swedish Medical Center
University Of Colorado Hospital Anschutz
Tara Dinkel's Facebook Page 
Support Groups:

• The Thrivers UCHealth 
• Longmont Stroke Support Group 
• Young And Young At Heart 

Facebook Support Groups:

• Young Stroke Survivors
• Stroke Buddies

Support a Stroke Survivor:

Your gift sponsors a stroke survivor through our seven-week reflective story crafting journey.
👉 Donate at beyondstillness.org

Beyond Stillness: Stories After Stroke is a nonprofit that empowers stroke survivors to articulate and publicly share their stories of wisdom, purpose, connection, and hope.

Follow us: Instagram · Facebook · YouTube · beyondstillness.org

#BeyondStillness #StrokeRecovery #StrokeSurvivor #StrokeStories #StrokeAwareness #Storytelling #StrokeSupport #Recovery #Resilience #Hope #Transformation #LifeAfterStroke #Inspiration #NarrativeIdentity #StorytellingHeals #RewritingMyStory #IdentityAfterStroke #PostTraumaticGrowth