In this episode, I continue my chat from last week with Stephanie. We picked up right where we left off last week when Stephanie was sharing that she would never, ever marry Derrick.  In today’s episode, Stephanie shares more about her love hate love story with Derrick as well as the unraveling of their connection with the Mormon church.

This chat with Stephanie was so powerful and engaging that I had to break it down into two episodes. In today’s episode, Stephanie shares her story regarding her difficult upbringing. She shares what it was like to suffer abuse by the hands of her mother, her experience of sexual assault as a young adult, and her struggle with sense of self in regards to her Mormon faith. Buckle up for some powerful vulnerability.  

In this episode, I chat with Brian. Brian shares his story of recovery, understanding, and personal growth. Brian’s vulnerability had me silent for most of this episode. He shares about how his days of living the high life in his dream house with his high figure salary were the worst times in his life while his two years spent in prison were the best times of his life. Listen along as Brian shares his rocky road to authenticity. Find him and his story on Facebook at The Rocky Road to Authenticity.  

In this episode, I chat with my friend, Lindsay. I finally get to hear the whole story behind what she calls her series of unfortunate events which span from January 2018 to earlier this year. Most of us agree that 2020 was rough, but one of Lindsay’s easier moments was when she was fighting Covid. Listen along in awe as she shares her years of extreme challenges and how she managed to survive and now thrive.  

In this episode, I chat with my husband’s cousin, Cody. We discuss his history of depression, his thoughts about his own identity, the importance of finding your tribe, and his recent exploration of his newly founded sexual identity. 

In this episode, I chat with Abby. This is actually a follow up episode. In episode 32, I chatted with Gwen about her gender transition and in this episode, I chat with Abby, Gwen’s wife. Abby shares her experience of learning about her then husband’s desire to transition, supporting Gwen through her transition, and all of the emotions encompassed during this beautiful yet very difficult time. If you haven’t yet listened to episode 32, I strongly recommend doing so. These two women are extraordinary. 

In this episode, I chat with my friend Brittany. Brittany is the owner of The Triad Center in Williamsport, Pennsylvania where she practices as a life coach, reiki master and reiki master teacher. Brittany and I both experienced our first taste of reiki together in grad school and she became hooked. While I was in town visiting family, we got together so she could give me a full reiki experience and I could pick her brain on all things energy medicine. Listen along as I learn more. If you want to reach out to Brittany, you can contact her on Facebook at The Triad Center or via email at [email protected].

In this episode, I chat with Ken, my mom’s cousin so my first cousin, once removed if you want to get technical. Ken is one of a few family members who lives and farms on my grandfather’s family’s homestead which was settled in the 1800s. We talk a little about our family history, his experience as a dairy farmer, what impacts business as a farmer, and future plans for the farm. 

In this episode, I continue my conversation with my dad from last week’s episode. I highly recommend that you listen to that one prior to this one if you haven’t already. This episode starts right back up where we left off last week. We discuss what it was like for both of us during my upbringing, our estrangement, and our reunion.  This one is more emotional and admittedly, I even choked up several times while editing it. Again, I truly believe that vulnerability is the key to healing although it can be scary. My father and I’s hope for sharing this conversation is that it helps someone else on their healing journey. 

This week’s episode is a unique one. In this episode, I chat with my dad. For those of you who listened to my first episode all about my upbringing, you know that I grew up with a father who was addicted to drugs and alcohol and due to that, I struggled a lot in life. My father and I were estranged for over 12 years until just this summer. This episode was recorded in October and is our first emotional talk since reuniting. I’m breaking our talk down into two parts. This part is where you get to understand my father through hearing his own personal story of his traumatic childhood and his history of addiction. For a long time, I was stuck in only seeing my father as a father and not a person with his own life story. Initially, this made it difficult for me to process my emotions and allow myself to heal and forgive. Because of this, it was important to me that his story be heard. Next week’s episode, part two, includes both of our perspectives on our lives together, our estrangement, and our reunion.