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Suzie Rhodes survived what should have been a fatal accident when her Jeep went off Black Bear Pass, rolling 300 feet down the mountain. Her remarkable journey from paralysis to independence reveals what it truly means to rebuild your life from within.

• Suzie's accident left her with seven spine fractures, a dislocated hip, and a spinal cord injury, yet miraculously no head trauma
• After being told she would never walk again, Suzie now has an incomplete spinal cord injury and can walk with braces
• Her service dog Decker, who was lost for three days after the accident, now helps pull her wheelchair and provides emotional support
• Depression and grief followed for a year and a half as Suzie realized her old life had died on the mountain
• Today Suzie works as a school counselor, coaches volleyball, competes in archery, and lives independently
• Self-worth comes from within – not from external validation or maintaining a perfect image on social media
• Five practical ways to build self-worth: monitor negative self-talk, focus on what's working, connect with nature, surround yourself with supportive people, and curate your media consumption
• The key insight: "You have to choose to want your life to be good"

The podcast is taking an eight-week hiatus and will return with Season 2. Subscribe to be notified when new episodes are available.

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Lauren Branch, CEO of NewView in Tulsa, Oklahoma, shares her 28-year journey leading a nonprofit that empowers people who are blind or have low vision to live independent lives. She opens up about unexpectedly becoming CEO, facing workplace gender challenges, and navigating her husband's Alzheimer's diagnosis while maintaining her leadership role.

• Started as controller before being offered the CEO position because the organization "couldn't afford anyone else"
• First task as CEO was laying off 40% of the workforce, most of whom were blind employees she later rehired
• Faced challenges being taken seriously as a female leader in traditionally male-dominated spaces
• Emphasizes that women must advocate for themselves rather than waiting to be noticed
• Currently balancing her leadership role with caring for her husband who has Alzheimer's
• Advises young women to be intentional about setting goals and unapologetic about pursuing them
• Encourages employees to actively participate in their career development rather than waiting for opportunities

Send us a message on Instagram at Everyday Wonder Women Podcast if this episode resonates with you. If you know a woman with a story of grit, resilience, reinvention, or general badassery, send her our way—self-nominations are encouraged!

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Ginger Gilbert Ravella shares her powerful journey from being a military wife and mother of five to becoming a widow and voice of hope for others after her husband Troy was killed saving others in Iraq.

• Life as a military spouse
• The devastating moment when military officers knocked on her door with news of Troy's plane crash
• Troy's purple heart heroic final mission saving over 20 special operators while flying solo 
• The 10-year journey to recover Troy's remains from Iraq
• Finding hope again through connecting with another military widow
• Building a new blended family with her second husband Jim while honoring Troy's memory
• Creating resources for other military widows through books and speaking engagements
• Learning that human beings can't live without hope

If you're facing grief or know someone who is, check out Ginger's books "Hope Found" and "Widow's Might" - powerful resources for anyone navigating loss.

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Jessica-Rose Johnson, a Marine Corps veteran and business owner, shares her incredible journey of resilience while serving as a full-time caregiver to her husband who is living with brain cancer.

• Growing up in a military family with service traced back to the Revolutionary War
• Joining the Marine Corps at 17 and learning she was capable of more than she imagined
• Facing unique challenges as one of few women in the Marine Corps
• Dealing with conflict directly in the "sandpit" versus indirect communication
• Receiving news about her husband's cancer recurrence through a VA letter during 2020
• Finding purpose through her podcast "Unbreakable Hope" and work in suicide prevention
• Balancing caregiving responsibilities while maintaining her own identity and pursuits

Check out Jessica-Rose's podcast "Unbreakable Hope" on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube to hear more inspirational stories. For resources on caregiving and suicide prevention, visit jessicarosejohnson.com or follow her on Instagram and Facebook.

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Rachel's journey from Air Force veteran to nonprofit CEO reveals how unexpected career turns and personal challenges shaped her mission to support homeless veterans.

• Enlisted in the Air Force at age 22 seeking adventure and new opportunities
• Originally assigned to missile maintenance, a chance conversation redirected her to telecommunications
• Built a 25-year career in telecommunications after leaving military service
• Took a significant pay cut to join a nonprofit helping veterans facing homelessness
• Rose to become CEO of Oklahoma Veterans United in Tulsa, Oklahoma
• Experienced homelessness herself in 2013 after losing her job
• Navigated difficult personal challenges including a child's drug addiction
• Advocates against judging others without knowing their full story
• Emphasizes the importance of community for veterans who lose their "tribe" after service
• Encourages women to pursue their interests and not sell themselves short

If you want to help veterans, research legitimate organizations providing direct services, volunteer your time, or provide financial assistance. Most importantly, withhold judgment - you never know someone's full story.

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Heather Sharp, a remarkable woman who rose from her cowgirl roots to become an airline pilot when only 1% of pilots were female, shares her extraordinary journey of persistence through adversity, devastating accidents, and an against-all-odds recovery.

• Raised by a veterinarian father and professional rodeo cowgirl mother
• Inspired by a high school teacher who inspired her to choose "pilot" over "flight attendant" on career day
• Navigated the male-dominated aviation world with humor and determination
• Survived a car crash that left her with a crushed pelvis and shattered collarbone
• Overcame a traumatic brain injury from a falling tree that left her unable to identify letters or count money
• Used equine therapy as a crucial element in her miraculous recovery
• Returned to flying commercial jets after six and a half years of rehabilitation

If you want more laugh-out-loud family stories and proof that Heather Sharp's life really is never dull, grab her book "Never Dull" on Amazon or at heathersharp.com. Head over to our Instagram @EverydayWonderWomen, find the post for this episode, and drop a comment to receive a "Why Not Me?" sticker.

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Dr. Amanda Donnelly shares her journey from practicing veterinary medicine in her family's clinic to becoming a successful consultant and speaker despite personal challenges. Her story reveals how financial independence and seeking therapy enabled her to overcome family conflicts, a difficult divorce, cancer, and the loss of close family members.

• Second-generation veterinarian who knew her calling from age nine
• Experienced complicated workplace dynamics practicing with her parents
• Sought therapy to address family issues, temporarily severing communication with parents
• Pursued an MBA at age 41, opening new career opportunities
• Developed public speaking skills through strategic development and professional organizations
• Navigated a 14-year marriage with an unsupportive partner, particularly during breast cancer
• Built financial independence that enabled her to leave an unhealthy relationship
• Lost her mother in 2019 and brother to addiction in 2020
• Emphasizes the importance of women maintaining their own financial security
• Advises young women to seek mentors and start retirement savings early

If this episode resonated with you, please share it with a friend who needs to hear these stories, leave a review to help us reach more women, and grab a copy of "Stop Acting Like a Girl" – especially Chapter Two about financial empowerment.

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I’m chatting with Dr. Caitlin DeWilde—veterinarian, tech nerd, business owner, mom of many species—and someone who’s been through a lot. She opens up about losing her mom, caring for her dad with Alzheimer’s, and how it all forced her to rethink what actually matters in life.

We also talk about building her business (The Social DVM), setting boundaries (like not answering your Sunday morning texts... sorry), and her favorite life filter: “If it’s not a f*ck yeah, it’s a no.”

This one’s real. It’s funny. It’s a little raw. And it’s your reminder that you don’t get forever—so maybe it’s time to stop saying yes to things that drain you and start living like you mean it.

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What happens when a high school English teacher accidentally becomes the Director of Technology at a school with over 1,200 students? You get a woman who knows how to lead a team, command a server room, and keep her cool in a sea of tech bros—and oh yeah, she just happens to be my sister-in-law...Dr. Jennifer Santi

In this episode, we dive into her unexpected journey from the classroom to the IT office, how she navigates being a woman in a male-dominated field, and the deep personal work it took to heal from a chaotic childhood. From calling out inappropriate behavior without losing her cool, to unlearning the pressure to play small, she drops wisdom that every woman needs to hear—especially if you've ever felt like an outsider.

Quotes from Jennifer we love:

• "I think anytime that you are then leading people, guiding people or evaluating people or their performance, that becomes challenging because you have to learn a new way of speaking to someone. You have to have very courageous and fierce conversations that are, and that is not a skill most of us are innate with." 
• "If there's a situation that is uncomfortable, intimidating, or frightening, even let's get to fear, then you need to know that you can say whatever it is that you need to say in any of those situations and do it and not feel that you have to diminish yourself the way that we always do."

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What do you do when life throws you something so heartbreaking, you don’t even know how to breathe through it? For Heather, that moment came when her daughter Natalie was stillborn—just weeks before her scheduled C-section.

In this episode, Heather joins me to talk about what it really looks like to live through grief. Not around it. Not over it. Through it.

She gets real about those first raw moments, the fog, the pain—and how she didn’t try to rush it or numb it. She knew her sadness wasn’t something to fix. It was something to feel. And in honoring that, she found a way to keep going.

We talk about how her faith anchored her, how she clung to the words “Blessed are those who mourn,” and how, somehow, she found purpose again—first through helping others, and then through the beautiful, winding journey of growing her family with twins, foster care, and adoption.

And one of my favorite parts? Heather says, “Confidence is the prettiest thing you can put on.” This is a woman who’s been through it, and she shows us what true strength really looks like.

If you’ve ever experienced loss—or love someone who has—this episode is full of the kind of honest, heartfelt conversation we all need more of. It’s about grief, resilience, and figuring out how to live again when everything’s changed.

Give it a listen. Then send it to the friend who needs it most.