Ruth Clare is a successful author, having written her award-winning memoir Enemy: A True Story of Courage, Childhood Trauma and the Cost of War. Behind her achievements as an actress and a TEDx speaker, lies a painful story. In this episode, Ruth talks about the effects that the Vietnam War had on her veteran father who abused her and the rest of her family physically and emotionally. In her book, Ruth writes: “My Father. My Enemy. My Beloved.” But this episode is about more than her relationship with her father. It is a story about loving yourself and having your voice heard.

Her wounds resurfaced when she became a mother and took on the task of raising children of her own. Join me in my conversation with Ruth who has a striking ability to reflect upon her past and a strong will to take the reigns of her life into her own hands.   

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RUTH’S MEMOIR

Buy Ruth’s memoir Enemy on Amazon (USA), Amazon (Canada), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble and many other retailers.

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BOOK RUTH AS A SPEAKER

You can book Ruth as a speaker for your event by contacting her through her website:

ruthclare.com/contact

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RUTH’S SOCIAL MEDIA

Instagram: @ruthclareauthor

Facebook: Ruth Clare

YouTube Channel

LinkedIn Profile

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TRIGGER WARNING: Many detailed mentions of physical and emotional abuse throughout. Mentions of alcohol abuse, gaslighting and trauma.

Terry Tucker has assumed many roles in his life: from loving husband and father, a talented and rising basketball star in his college years, to fulfilling his dream of working as a hostage negotiator (for a trigger warning, see the bottom of the show notes).  But life had other plans. In a twist of fate, he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. Yet despite the hardship, pain and daily dread that his cancer poses, Terry holds his head high, puts his family above everything else and participates in a medical trial that might not benefit  him but can help save the lives of others.

Nowadays, Terry runs his own company and works as a motivational speaker. Join me in this inspiring talk with Terry who shares his wonderful wisdom on what matters in life and the meaning of sustainable excellence.

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TERRY’S WORK

You can contact Terry via LinkedIn here for business or speaking enquiries or just to say hi.

You can buy Terry’s book “Sustainable Excellence” on Amazon (USA), Barnes & Noble (e-book and paperback), Amazon (CAN) and other book stores.

CONTACT TERRY

Terry’s Website: motivationalcheck.com

Terry’s Facebook page: Motivational Check

Terry’s LinkedIn

Terry’s Instagram: @sustainableexcellenceauthor

Terry’s X (Twitter): @terrytucker2012

Terry’s YouTube Channel

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TRIGGER WARNING: At 38:34 Terry starts telling us a story about a hostage negotiation he once conducted with somebody who attempted suicide. Skip to 40:45 to avoid listening to this section.

Cindy Gersch worked as a successful corporate executive, was a marathon runner and juggled all her commitments while taking care of her two children on her own as her husband was deployed. Then came the diagnosis that would alter the course of her life irrevocably: fibromuscular dysplasia. A journey began that would lead her to unexpectedly losing her job, friends and her husband telling her he wants to separate via a note on Christmas Day. All the while, she experienced physical pain every day.

In this very emotional episode, we talk about Cindy’s journey through pain, her enormous love for her children, and the wonderful kindness of one amazing friend.

After nearly losing her life to sepsis, she decided to turn her life around completely. Nowadays, she runs her award-winning marketing business NEU Marketing Group and helps support small business owners via her Facebook Group that has more than 15.000 members.

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Contact Cindy

TikTok (most active): @716girlinatl

Instagram: @cindygerschmarketing

X (Twitter): @716girlinatl

Email: Contact form

Cindy’s Business

You can contact Cindy for motivational speaking bookings via her website.

Business Website: NEU Marketing Group

Facebook Page: NEU Marketing Group

Illness Support

NARD: National Organization for Rare Disorders

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Trigger Warning: depression, suicidal thoughts, alcohol abuse.

Jane Sagui is the Co-Founder and CEO of the successful health app Pollie, which is revolutionising how PCOS and other chronic health issues are treated. Jane suffered from symptoms of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome for years before she received her diagnosis in her early 20s. She found that she had to visit many doctors and conduct her own research to help her design a system of treatment and build a medical team to overcome her health issues. 

In this episode, we talk about her journey of discovering her illness, the debilitating symptoms along the way and take a fun look at Jungian psychology and personality tests. We also talk about the concept of femininity in society and the social stigma that comes with PCOS. Jane also gives us many insights into how Pollie works and what it takes to run the app successfully.


About Pollie

After a successful career in the start up world, Jane came to the conclusion that no women should have to go through the painstakingly long process of building a holistic treatment plan for PCOS. She co-founded the app Pollie which has been successful in helping women manage complex conditions and symptoms in between doctors’ visits.

Pollie takes an evidence-backed approach that seeks to treat the root cause of many chronic illnesses, such as PCOS, endometriosis, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes and irritable bowel syndrome. You can find out more about Pollie on their website pollie.co.

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Social Media

Pollie’s Instagram: @pollie.co

Pollie’s X: @pollieco

Jane’s Instagram: @janesagui

Jane’s X: @jsagui

Contact

Email Pollie: [email protected]

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Trigger Warning

Brief mentions of anxiety.

Tragedy struck the day after Brian S. Quinn found out that he had passed the bar exam. At a trial on the next day, he watched his mentor fall on the courtroom floor and have a heart attack. Brian’s life would never be the same again. 

Having just passed his exams, he took over the law firm in the next few days. Without the necessary training, he never felt good enough to represent his clients. Following decades of alcohol and drug addictions, multiple encounters with law enforcement and a prison sentence, Brian says he is a changed man.

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Contacts

You can contact Brian via e-mail: [email protected].

Nowadays, Brian works for the Pennsylvania Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers Program. You can visit their website here. The Program runs in other states as well and you can reach them here. For immediate assistance, you can call them on these numbers:

651-646-5590 or 1-866-525-6466

The ABA website has a list of further assistance programmes here.

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Resources:

If you or anyone you know suffers from imposter syndrome, alcohol or drug addiction, these resources might be of interest:

Trauma: Mind UK

Drugs & Alcohol & Addiction: Mind UK

Drug & Alcohol Addiction: List of useful contacts in the US (usa.gov) and the UK (Mind UK).

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Trigger Warning: Mentions of alcohol and drug addictions, prison sentence, PTSD, Imposter Syndrome. 

Theresa Brown was an English Professor before she became a Registered Nurse and a successful author. Most recently, she published her memoir Healing: When a Nurse Becomes a Patient. We talk about her years going through breast cancer and her thoughts on the health system after seeing it from both sides.

Theresa tells us about her years as an oncology and hospice nurse, what it was like to receive her diagnosis and her long road to recovery. Her message is one of compassion and hope. Theresa is now cancer-free and she does not live in fear of the cancer returning. But the fear is there, she says. And the most important thing she can do is to value what she has.

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Theresa's Books:

You can buy Theresa’s memoir Healing: When a Nurse Becomes a Patient on Amazon (US), Barnes & Noble (US), Amazon (CAN) and Amazon (UK).

Also, have a look at Theresa’s other books:

The Shift: One Nurse, Twelve Hours, Four Patients’ Lives

Critical Care: A New Nurse Faces Death, Life, and Everything in Between

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Theresa’s Social Media

Instagram: @theresabrownrn2021

X: @TheresaBrown

Lisa Cornwell embraces the label she has been given: She is a Troublemaker. Throughout her life, Lisa has stood up against bullies and authority figures who abuse their power. In this episode, I chat with her about how her life changed when she faced a public smear campaign from her former employer, a Golf TV channel, and how she fought back. 

Lisa takes us through her memoir “Troublemaker: A Memoir of Sexism, Retaliation and the Fight They Didn’t See Coming” (with a foreword by Hillary Rodham Clinton). She opens up about the toxic workplace environment at the TV channel and makes some pointed remarks on what people can expect when they decide to speak up.

We also talk about Lisa’s years growing up. She lets us in on the dark chapters of her life that were marked by her eating disorder and about going from an aspiring golfer to reporting on the sport.

Trigger warning: Eating disorder and depression. To avoid listening to this section skip from 00:17:52 to 00:32:36.

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Lisa's Book:

You can buy Lisa Cornwell’s memoir “Troublemaker” on Amazon (US), Barnes & Noble (US), Amazon (CAN) and Amazon (UK).

Lisa's Podcast:

Follow Lisa and Karen Crouse’s sports podcast: “The Troublemakers Podcast” on Apple, Spotfiy and anywhere else you get your podcasts.

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Lisa’s Social Media:

Twitter: LisaMCornwell

Instagram: Lisa_Cornwell

Before she became an award-winning memoirist, Ly Tran immigrated to the US at the age of 3, where her life was shaped by the inherited trauma from her father’s experiences as a Vietnam War Veteran and Prisoner of War. Ly’s childhood was spent working in poverty and sweatshop labour from her home in New York. She gradually lost the ability to see properly, leading to her grades deteriorating and her dropping out of college. And yet Ly’s story is  NOT one defined by her darkest periods of depression. 

Her story is an inspiring journey marked by changes, ambition, intelligence and success.

She regained her eyesight, graduated from Columbia University and faced her family’s intergenerational trauma headon by writing about her life in her memoir “House of Sticks”. Her book was selected as one of Vogue’s and NPR’s Best Books of the Year and in this episode, we dive deeper into the many turning points in Ly’s life.

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Buy Ly’s memoir “House of Sticks” on Amazon US, Amazon UK and Barnes & Noble (US).

Ly’s social media:

Instagram (@endingforadverbs)

Twitter (@LyTranWrites)

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Trigger Warning: Depression, trauma.

Christy Warren served as a firefighter for 25 years until the moment that the trauma she witnessed over the course of her career became unbearable. Having been neglected as a child, Christy was always self-reliant. Keeping a clear mind during intense emergencies came naturally to her. When she would respond to a horrific accident, she would “close the lid” on the experience…until it all came out and she was diagnosed with PTSD. 

By leaving her career behind, she was able to breathe again but was now faced with a loss of her identity. This is Christy’s story of how fighting her way through flames left her burnt out and her journey of discovering the true value behind being a human.

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Buy Christy’s memoir “Flash Point: A Firefighter’s Journey Through PTSD” on Amazon (UK), Amazon (USA)  and Barnes & Noble (USA).

Christy's Podcast:
Firefighter Deconstructed (Apple / Spotify)

Christy's social media:
Instagram
X (Twitter)

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The IAFF has compiled a list of signs of PTSD in firefighters, which you can view here.

If you suspect that you or someone you know is suffering from PTSD, please seek help. Here are some websites, you might want to have a look at:

PTSD Alliance
ADAA
PTSD UK
Mind 

At the age of 2, Blake’s doctor told his parents that their child would likely never be able to walk. Blake has no lower legs but today he is one of the fastest paralympic runners in the world. In our conversation, Blake talks about how he was questioning life until he realised that he was responsible for finding the strength to achieve his dreams.

We talk about what it was like to compete in a sold-out stadium of 85.000 people, most of whom were cheering for his opponent Oscar Pistorius. We also talk about what led him to alcohol and drug abuse, losing his sponsors and a sense of his identity - and how he was eventually able to turn his life around.

Trigger Warning: There is brief mention of Blake’s addiction to alcohol and drugs.

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Blake’s documentary was released in June 2023 and is called “Abled: The Blake Leeper Story”.

Blake’s film “Hollywood Twist” will be coming out in December 2023.

You can follow Blake on Instagram (@leepster) and Twitter (@Blake_Leeper). To book Blake as a speaker, go to his website www.leeperruns.com or contact the agency APB on their website.