Deserts to Mountaintops Podcast

In this episode of Deserts to Mountaintops, Jessica interviews Susie Dent, author of the anthology chapter titled "Running Away from the Altar... and Back to Myself,"  where she details her desert to mountaintop experience of coming out as lesbian, leaving her fiancè, and marrying the love of her life.

Deserts to Mountaintops is a limited series podcast created by Top 1% ranking podcast host, Jessica Kidwell, she lifts the author off the page as she holds conversations with co-authors of this inaugural anthology released in January 2023 by Soul Speak Press.

This series is meant to give readers of DTM a deeper insight into the authors that brought their experiences to the page and hopes to inspire it’s audience to a place of transformational healing.

Deserts to Mountaintops: Our Collective Journey to (re)Claiming Our Voice is available now on Amazon.

For more information on Deserts to Mountaintops, Soul Speak Press and upcoming anthologies, please visit www.desertstomountaintops.com.  For more information Jessica Buchanan, please visit www.jessbuchanan.com or follow her on instagram at @jessicacbuchanan

About Susie:
Susie Dent is an out and proud wife, cat mom, and advocate for performing arts and creative writing as integral forms of self-expression, preservation, and authenticity. An attorney by day, she serves as a mentor for younger associates throughout the country, and regularly presents on the intersectionality of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion issues in leadership, as well as on intergenerational mentorship. When not practicing law, Susie serves as a Parks and Recreation Commissioner for the City of Palm Springs, and spends her mornings mastering aqua aerobics at the local municipal pool. Aside from a PowerPoint slide deck she “authored” entitled “My Life” at the age of nine, this is Susie’s first contribution to a published anthology. To learn more about Susie, follow her @susiefmeyer on Instagram.

The theme song is courtesy of the The Mystic Chics.
Instagram @themysticchics

This podcast is hosted by Jessica Buchanan, a NYT Bestselling author, speaker, survivor and founder of Soul Speak Press. Soul Speak Press is a boutique non-traditional publishing company focused on publishing stories from women who have been through something, now they know something, and can teach us something.

Learn more about Jessica's first book: Impossible Odds: The Kidnapping of Jessica Buchanan and Her Dramatic Rescue by SEAL Team Six

Learn more about the Deserts to Mountaintops Anthologies. If you're interested in hearing interviews with our Soul Speak Press authors, check out the Deserts to Mountaintops Podcast. 

In this episode of Deserts to Mountaintops, Jessica interviews Rula Abirafeh, author of the anthology chapter titled "Hyphenated,"   where she details her desert to mountaintop experience growing up as an immigrant, and now as a mother with a Middle Eastern-American child.

Deserts to Mountaintops is a limited series podcast created by Top 1% ranking podcast host, Jessica Kidwell, she lifts the author off the page as she holds conversations with co-authors of this inaugural anthology released in January 2023 by Soul Speak Press.

This series is meant to give readers of DTM a deeper insight into the authors that brought their experiences to the page and hopes to inspire it’s audience to a place of transformational healing.

Deserts to Mountaintops: Our Collective Journey to (re)Claiming Our Voice is available now on Amazon.

For more information on Deserts to Mountaintops, Soul Speak Press and upcoming anthologies, please visit www.desertstomountaintops.com.  For more information Jessica Buchanan, please visit www.jessbuchanan.com or follow her on instagram at @jessicacbuchanan

About Rula:
Born in Beirut, raised in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., now living in Los Angeles—Rula has straddled words, seeking belonging and balance. As an immigrant, she
struggled placing herself in the right check box. Her varied identity, once a puzzle, now provides her with purpose. Rula has an undergraduate degree from Georgetown University, a Personal Coaching certification from New York University, and is ICF ACC credentialed. She has worked as a copy editor, content developer, Pilates instructor, and former cookie company founder. She’s a mother, a partner, a dog lover, and a murder mystery lover. Her path was never linear, each creative direction ultimately leading her to her own successful business as a Professional Life Coach. Rula brings understanding, compassion, and her story to each individualized session. Find her at www.rulaabi.com or on instagram at @rula.abi.

The theme song is courtesy of the The Mystic Chics.
Instagram @themysticchics

This podcast is hosted by Jessica Buchanan, a NYT Bestselling author, speaker, survivor and founder of Soul Speak Press. Soul Speak Press is a boutique non-traditional publishing company focused on publishing stories from women who have been through something, now they know something, and can teach us something.

Learn more about Jessica's first book: Impossible Odds: The Kidnapping of Jessica Buchanan and Her Dramatic Rescue by SEAL Team Six

Learn more about the Deserts to Mountaintops Anthologies. If you're interested in hearing interviews with our Soul Speak Press authors, check out the Deserts to Mountaintops Podcast. 

In this first episode of Deserts to Mountaintops, a limited series podcast created by Top 1% ranking podcast host, Jessica Kidwell, she lifts the author off the page as she holds conversations with co-authors of this inaugural anthology released in January by Soul Speak Press.

Jessica interviews the founder of SSP and creator, as well as lead author of the anthology series, Jessica Buchanan about her heart behind this project and what it has been like to journey out of her own desert to mountaintop, along with 24 other women.

This series is meant to give readers of DTM a deeper insight into the authors that brought their experiences to the page and hopes to inspire it’s audience to a place of transformational healing.

Deserts to Mountaintops: Our Collective Journey to (re)Claiming Our Voice is available now on Amazon.

For more information on Deserts to Mountaintops, Soul Speak Press and upcoming anthologies, please visit www.desertstomountaintops.com.  For more information Jessica Buchanan, please visit www.jessbuchanan.com or follow her on instagram at @jessicacbuchanan

Meet the Host
Jessica Kidwell is a podcast host of WeSTAT as well as Neuroversity, a weekly podcast about neurodiversity with a purpose to expand our understanding of what that term means, elevate the life experiences of the neurodivergent, and advocate for a more inclusive and informed culture. She believes that you never know where life will lead you and that staying open to possibilities is the only way to live.  When she is not editing or promoting the podcast, she loves spending time with her family and friends and not being in charge of deciding what’s for dinner. She is a married to a Renaissance man and has two children who are already smarter and funnier than her. She lives in Alexandria, VA and tries daily to not give in to the power of “keeping up with the Joneses”. To learn more about Jess K and her story, listen to the podcast and visit her on Instagram @kidwelljessica.

The theme song is courtesy of the The Mystic Chics.
Instagram @themysticchics

This podcast is hosted by Jessica Buchanan, a NYT Bestselling author, speaker, survivor and founder of Soul Speak Press. Soul Speak Press is a boutique non-traditional publishing company focused on publishing stories from women who have been through something, now they know something, and can teach us something.

Learn more about Jessica's first book: Impossible Odds: The Kidnapping of Jessica Buchanan and Her Dramatic Rescue by SEAL Team Six

Learn more about the Deserts to Mountaintops Anthologies. If you're interested in hearing interviews with our Soul Speak Press authors, check out the Deserts to Mountaintops Podcast.