On this episode of Casting the Net: Reeling in Holistic Health, I sit down with author Reza Ghaemi for an open and powerful conversation about living with bipolar disorder.

Reza doesn't shy away from the difficult parts of his journey. He shares what it was like receiving his diagnosis, struggling with denial, experiencing manic episodes and hospitalizations, navigating treatment, and eventually reaching a place of acceptance.

What stood out to me most was his willingness to talk openly about something so many people still feel pressured to hide.

We discuss the misconceptions surrounding bipolar disorder, the importance of recognizing warning signs, working with qualified mental health professionals, building a strong support system, and learning not to define a person's worth by their diagnosis.

Reza also shares why he titled his book Bipolar Is My Superpower: How Acceptance Changed My Life. For him, the "superpower" isn't the disorder or mania, it's the growth, self-awareness, recovery work, and personal development that came from learning how to live well with his diagnosis.

This conversation is also for families. When someone you love is experiencing a mental health episode, it can be difficult to separate the person you know from the behaviors you're witnessing. Reza offers a deeply personal perspective on why compassion, education, boundaries, professional support, and forgiveness can matter so much.

My hope is that this conversation helps remove shame and reminds someone who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder: your diagnosis is part of your story, but it does not determine your value, your purpose, or your ability to live a meaningful life.

If you know someone who needs this message, please share this episode with them.

Connect Reza Ghaemi

https://www.rezpodcast.com/

Podcast:

https://open.spotify.com/show/033T0ET2FTtmPDbmGxRM2v?si=a11c5d253a08409d

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rez-podcast-real-conversations-about-life-love-growth/id6792928833

Book:

https://open.spotify.com/show/033T0ET2FTtmPDbmGxRM2v?si=a11c5d253a08409d

In this powerful episode of Casting the Net: Reeling in Holistic Health, I sit down with author, nurse, hospice specialist, teacher, and storyteller Nancy Jasin Ensley for a conversation that reminds us that every life contains a story worth telling.

Nancy’s story is one of resilience. From growing up in a home where fear, anger, and uncertainty affected her sense of worth, to discovering the power of words at an early age, she learned that writing could become a place to process what hurt, understand what happened, and eventually find healing.

Our conversation goes far beyond becoming an author. Nancy shares how her decades in healthcare taught her the importance of truly listening instead of simply hearing. She talks about slowing down enough to observe the moments we often overlook and how those moments can become some of our greatest teachers.

We also have an honest conversation about forgiveness including the difficult work of forgiving ourselves. Nancy shares pieces of her journey through addiction, recovery, family relationships, and finding her way back to faith and purpose. Now, at 85 years old and 42 years sober, she continues writing, creating, learning, and leaving a legacy for generations to come.

One of my favorite messages from our conversation is simple: everybody has a story.

Your painful chapters don’t have to become the final chapters. Your experiences can become wisdom. Your struggles can become lessons. And the very things you survived may one day become the story that helps someone else keep going.

This conversation reminded me to slow down, listen, forgive, observe, laugh, and never underestimate the power of sharing our stories.

Join Nancy and me for a beautiful conversation about resilience, writing, forgiveness, recovery, purpose, and the legacy we leave behind.

There are some conversations that remind me why I started Casting the Net—and my conversation with Savio P. Clemente is one of them.

Savio is a keynote and TEDx speaker, journalist, board-certified wellness coach, bestselling author, healthcare leadership strategist, and two-time cancer survivor.

In this episode, I sit down with Savio for a powerful conversation about what happens when life disrupts everything you thought you knew.

After being diagnosed with Stage 3 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2014, Savio underwent aggressive chemotherapy and eventually received the news that he was in remission. But ten years later, cancer returned.

His second journey required intensive treatment, a stem-cell transplant, nearly a month in the hospital, and a recovery process that Savio describes as a medical rebirth.

But what captured me most wasn’t simply that he survived twice.

It was what survival taught him about clarity, identity, boundaries, resilience, leadership, and purpose.

We talk about learning to say “no” without feeling obligated to explain yourself, conserving your energy, finding stillness in the middle of uncertainty, and discovering how to move forward when the crisis is technically over—but you are no longer the person you were before it happened.

Savio shares a statement that stayed with me:

“Performance doesn’t fail first. Clarity does.”

That message reaches far beyond cancer.

Whether your crisis has been illness, divorce, job loss, business failure, grief, burnout, or another unexpected disruption, there comes a point when surviving is no longer the only question.

The question becomes: How will I live now?

This conversation is about finding the clarity and courage to answer that question.

Connect with Savio P. Clemente

https://www.saviopclemente.com/

What if the greatest obstacle to lasting love isn't finding the right person—but learning the skills no one ever taught us?

In this week's episode of Casting the Net: Reeling in Holistic Health, I sit down with licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, relationship coach, and educator Stephanie Wise to explore The Missing Skills Behind Lasting Love.

Together, we unpack why healthy relationships are built—not found. We discuss how communication, emotional regulation, self-awareness, and intentional connection shape every relationship we have. Stephanie shares practical wisdom on recognizing unhealthy patterns, breaking destructive cycles, slowing down before reacting, and learning how to truly turn toward your partner instead of away from them.

We also explore why love is more than a feeling—it's a daily practice that requires intentional effort, grace, and a willingness to grow together.

Whether you're single, dating, engaged, married, or simply striving for healthier relationships, this conversation will challenge you to develop the skills that create deeper connection and lasting love.

Remember, great relationships aren't built by luck. They're built one intentional choice at a time.

Connect with Stephanie Wise

https://www.officialstephwise.com/

Every once in a while, I have a conversation that reminds me why creating safe spaces for healing is so important. This episode is one of those conversations.

I sit down with Ronald Roseboro, founder of Shame Free Life Coaching & Consulting, certified trauma-informed coach, author, and creator of The Brick Method and the Samson Restored Movement. Ronald openly shares his remarkable journey from incarceration to purpose, revealing how God transformed his pain into a mission to help men heal from trauma, shame, broken identity, and emotional wounds.

Together, we explore why so many men struggle to express their emotions, how unresolved childhood trauma often shapes adulthood, the importance of creating emotionally safe relationships, and why healing—not hiding—is the pathway to becoming stronger husbands, fathers, leaders, and men of purpose.

If you've ever wondered what men carry in silence or how we can better support the healing journey of the men in our lives, this conversation offers powerful insight, hope, and practical wisdom. This is more than a conversation about men's mental health—it is an invitation to restoration.

Connect with Ronald Roseboro

https://www.theshamefreelife.com/

As your host, I believe that growing older should never mean giving up on living well. In this powerful conversation, I sit down with certified Health and Nutrition Coach Michael Dorfman, who at 84 years old is living proof that vitality has no expiration date.

Together, we explore what it really means to age with purpose instead of fear. Michael shares his remarkable journey from becoming vegetarian to embracing a plant-powered lifestyle, the lessons he's learned from studying the world's Blue Zones, and why movement, community, purpose, and daily habits matter just as much as the food we eat.

What impacted me most was hearing someone who isn't simply teaching longevity—he's living it every single day. This conversation reminded me that our health is not determined by age alone. It's shaped by the choices we make, the mindset we cultivate, and the responsibility we take for caring for the body God has entrusted to us.

Whether you're in your 30s, 50s, or 80s, this episode will challenge the way you think about aging and inspire you to begin making small changes today that can transform your tomorrow.

Connect With Michael Dorfman:

https://longevitywellnessrevolution.com/

https://longevitywellnessrevolution.com/guidebook/

As your host, I believe some of the bravest moments in life happen when we choose healing over hiding. In this deeply moving episode of Casting the Net: Reeling in Holistic Health, I sit down with retired counselor, educator, and author Linda Feig Knipe to discuss her powerful memoir, Braving Therapy.

Linda courageously shares her journey through sexual assault, PTSD, depression, and the long road toward healing. Together, we explore why unresolved trauma doesn't simply disappear—it waits to be acknowledged. We discuss how shame keeps people silent, why therapy often feels harder before it feels better, and how true healing begins when we allow ourselves to be seen, heard, and supported.

This conversation is a reminder that therapy isn't a sign of weakness—it's an act of extraordinary courage. If you've ever struggled with painful memories, hidden shame, anxiety, or wondered whether healing is possible, I hope this episode reminds you that freedom is available. You don't have to carry your pain alone.

Healing begins the moment we stop surviving in silence and start telling the truth.

Connect to Linda Feig Knipe:

https://lfeigknipe.com/

As your host, I had the privilege of sitting down with author, speaker, entrepreneur, and co-founder of J3 Publishers, Jobi Jones, for one of the most heartfelt conversations I've had about the power of storytelling.

Throughout our conversation, we explored why every person's story matters, how our life experiences shape our purpose, and why God can use even our greatest struggles to impact someone else's life.

Jobi shared her incredible journey from believing she wasn't a writer to becoming an author, publisher, and mentor who now helps others bring their God-given stories to life. We also had an honest discussion about the role of artificial intelligence in writing and why nothing can replace the authenticity, wisdom, creativity, and heart that God has placed inside each of us.

If you've ever wondered whether your story is important enough to tell, struggled with rejection, questioned your purpose, or dreamed of writing a book, this episode will encourage you to stop hiding your voice and start embracing the story God entrusted to you.

I truly believe you'll walk away inspired, empowered, and reminded that your testimony may be the very thing someone else needs to hear.

Your story isn't ordinary.

Your story is your legacy.

Contact Jobi Jones

https://j3publishers.com/

https://www.facebook.com/share/g/17XmJmBcAD/?mibextid=wwXIfr

https://a.co/d/069PwEK9

https://open.spotify.com/show/3HqRGzFIZAqdfcEqvZy4Xc?si=lhVgegv5Se2e7wLx1FAa6w

On this episode of Casting the Net: Reeling in Holistic Health, I have the privilege of sitting down with Army veteran, author, nonprofit founder, and PTSD Life Coach Simone Swartz for a courageous conversation about trauma, healing, and hope.

Simone shares her deeply personal journey through military sexual trauma, years of living with undiagnosed PTSD, and the moment she decided that silence would no longer define her future. Her story is a powerful reminder that while trauma may shape part of our story, it doesn't have to write the ending.

Together, we discuss what PTSD really looks like beyond combat, why so many survivors suffer in silence, and the practical steps that helped Simone reclaim her life. From the importance of therapy and life coaching to exercise, service dogs, accountability, and finding purpose after pain, this conversation offers both compassion and practical hope.

If you've ever wondered whether healing is truly possible after trauma—or if you know someone carrying invisible wounds—I invite you to join us. My hope is that this conversation reminds you that your voice matters, your healing matters, and your story still has purpose.

Sometimes the greatest cost is remaining silent. Sometimes the greatest breakthrough begins when we choose to speak.

Have you ever wondered why some leaders seem stuck, despite having all the talent, experience, and potential to succeed?

In this powerful episode of Casting the Net: Reeling in Holistic Health, I sit down with leadership and business development specialist Natalie Lavelock to explore the hidden beliefs that often hold leaders back from reaching their next level.

Natalie shares how fear, self-doubt, and limiting beliefs can create roadblocks in leadership, communication, and decision-making. Together, we discuss the importance of identifying the root causes behind those beliefs, rewiring unhealthy thought patterns, and embracing a mindset that allows leaders to grow with confidence and purpose.

We also dive into the realities of leadership burnout, the pressures leaders carry behind the scenes, and why emotional intelligence and effective communication are more critical now than ever. Natalie offers valuable insights on leading multi-generational teams, fostering collaboration, and creating cultures built on trust, understanding, and shared purpose.

Most importantly, this conversation reminds us that fear was never meant to define us. We were each created with purpose, and becoming a fearless leader begins with recognizing that fear does not get the final say.

If you're a leader, entrepreneur, business owner, or someone aspiring to make a greater impact, this episode will encourage you to lead with courage, clarity, and conviction.

Connect with Natalie Lavelock:

https://www.natalielavelock.com/

https://linktr.ee/natalielavelock