Episode Description

What if the answers you've been searching for aren't in your head—but in your body?

In this episode of Hidden Secrets in Books, Dominic welcomes Angel Howard, founder of WildHeart Expressive, host of the Upshift podcast, author of Issues in Your Tissues, somatic movement therapist, executive coach, and speaker.

Angel's journey has taken her from professional dance to executive leadership at organizations including Coca-Cola, and ultimately into somatic therapy and embodied leadership. Along the way, she discovered a powerful connection between the body, emotions, creativity, confidence, and authentic self-expression.

Angel shares how burnout, personal loss, reinvention, and years of professional success ultimately led her to look inward and reconnect with the wisdom of the body. Through WildHeart Expressive, she helps leaders and individuals release what they've been carrying, reconnect with their inner voice, and move toward a more authentic way of living and leading.

In this conversation, Dominic and Angel explore why the body can hold stories we struggle to put into words, how movement can support personal transformation, and why true leadership sometimes begins by slowing down and listening inward.

In this episode, you'll discover:

What somatic movement therapy is and why the body matters in personal growth.

How our bodies can communicate what our minds haven't processed.

Angel's journey from corporate leadership to somatic therapy.

How burnout and major life transitions can become catalysts for reinvention.

Why reconnecting with your body can strengthen confidence and creativity.

How leaders can become more authentic by listening to their inner voice.

Practical ways to begin reconnecting with yourself.

Connect with Angel Howard:

🌐 Website: https://angelhoward.co/

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/howard-angel/

Follow Hidden Secrets in Books for more conversations with authors and thought leaders exploring the experiences, ideas, and stories that can transform the way we understand ourselves.

Why do we sometimes keep attracting the wrong people—even when we know we want something different?

In this episode of Hidden Secrets in Books, Dominic sits down with renowned relationship coach, mentor, and author Valerie Greene to explore the hidden patterns that can keep us from experiencing the love, intimacy, and connection we truly deserve.

For more than two decades, Valerie has helped women and couples break cycles of conflict, overcome emotional patterns, and create deeper, more secure relationships. Together, we explore why successful women may struggle in love, how anxious attachment affects relationships, how to communicate feelings without creating distance, and why conflict can become an opportunity for greater intimacy.

Valerie also shares practical insights on breaking the cycle of attracting unavailable partners, recognizing emotional triggers, building confidence in relationships, and creating the kind of love where both partners feel understood, respected, and connected.

Connect with Valerie Greene:

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Book a free session with Valerie to clarify your relationship vision, uncover hidden challenges that may be affecting your connection, and create a practical path toward the love, intimacy, and connection you want.

What if losing weight was never really about food—but about understanding what you were using food to cope with?

In this episode, Dominic welcomes Jane McGuinness, Registered Clinical Counsellor, author, and recovering emotional eater, whose powerful memoir Always Hungry: How I Lost the Weight and Found Myself explores the deeper emotional story behind a 103-pound weight loss she has maintained for a decade.

Jane shares what she discovered when she stopped chasing diets and began addressing the emotional roots of disordered eating. We explore body-image discrimination, diet culture, emotional eating, self-acceptance, and what it means to heal from the inside out.

Her story also goes beyond food and weight. Jane opens up about divorce, parenting, life as an Australian expat in Canada, raising a neurodivergent child, and finding moments of humor and gratitude through life's most challenging seasons.

This is an honest, deeply human conversation about food, identity, healing, and learning to see yourself beyond the number on a scale.

Listen in as Jane McGuinness shares how she lost the weight—and, more importantly, found herself.

📖 Read Always Hungry: How I Lost the Weight and Found Myself

Available on Amazon

🌐 Connect with Jane:

Jane McGuinness — Website

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What if your age isn’t a limitation—but an invitation to create your next chapter?

In this episode, Dominic welcomes Carolyn Hatton, life success coach and creator of Reclaim Your Second Act: The 6 Pillars to Living Vibrantly, Strong, and Ageless. Carolyn helps women in their 40s, 50s, and beyond challenge the belief that their best years are behind them and discover a stronger, healthier, and more fulfilling second act.

Carolyn shares her personal journey through struggles with weight, confidence, and an eating disorder—and the mindset shift that changed the direction of her life. She explains how mentors, books, nutrition, joyful movement, brain health, and resilience helped her move from feeling stuck to intentionally creating a life filled with more health, joy, purpose, and possibility.

We explore why mindset is so powerful, how women can overcome the fear of aging, and why reinventing yourself doesn’t require waiting for the “perfect” moment.

If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s too late to change your health, confidence, or direction in life, Carolyn’s message is simple: your next chapter can be better than your last.

Listen in as Carolyn Hatton shares practical strategies for reclaiming your energy, rewriting your mindset, and stepping boldly into your second act.

🎁 Get Carolyn’s free ebook, Reclaim Your Second Act

Download the free ebook

🌐 Connect with Carolyn:

Carolyn’s Website

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What was life like when teenagers had no cell phones, no social media, no computers—and parents had no idea where they were half the time?

In this episode of Hidden Secrets in Books, Dominic sits down with bestselling novelist and creator Laura Van Wormer to step into a time machine and revisit the early 1970s through her serialized fiction podcast, The Class of ’74.

Set in a Connecticut suburb beginning in September 1971, the story follows 15-year-old Cynthia Schuyler through friendship, first love, teenage rebellion, family drama, school life, and the unforgettable anxieties of adolescence—all against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, Nixon-era America, changing culture, and a world before smartphones and social media.

Laura shares the remarkable story behind the podcast and how, after a devastating accident left her unable to write as she once had, an idea inspired by her high school reunion gave her a new way to tell stories—and brought her back to fiction.

We also explore the difference between writing for print and serialized audio, why “writing what you know” can create powerful fiction, how stories can combat loneliness, and what modern listeners can learn from looking back at a very different America.

Take a nostalgic journey back to September 8, 1971, meet the Class of ’74, and discover why sometimes looking backward can make us appreciate exactly where we are today.

Listen to The Class of ’74

Connect with Laura Van Wormer

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What if the animals we rescue are actually the ones rescuing us?

In this episode of Hidden Secrets in Books, Dominic sits down with Holly B. Gutwillinger, award-winning author, podcaster, and fiction writer, to explore the powerful connections between storytelling, family, creativity, and the animals who quietly shape our lives.

Holly’s debut novel, North of Broken & Furever Home, explores a woman’s evolving relationship with her rescue dogs through a unique dual narrative—human and canine. Beneath the story are themes of grief, healing, second chances, love, and the question many pet owners eventually ask: Who truly rescues whom?

Holly shares what inspired her to write the novel, how her own experiences with family and rescue animals influenced her storytelling, and what animals can teach us about connection, resilience, and unconditional love.

We also explore Holly’s journey as a self-made creative, her transition from aspiring writer to published author, and what she has learned while pursuing an MFA in fiction. She opens up about balancing writing, podcasting, motherhood, art, and community involvement while continuing to develop her voice as a storyteller.

As the host of a podcast exploring how animals influence the creative lives of writers, artists, entrepreneurs, and other creators, Holly has a unique perspective on the relationship between companionship and creativity. We discuss how pets can provide inspiration, comfort, discipline, and even unexpected motivation to pursue our creative dreams.

This is a heartfelt conversation about the stories we carry, the relationships that transform us, and the quiet ways animals become part of who we are.

If you love books, animals, creative journeys, or stories about finding healing and meaning through connection, this episode is for you.

Connect with Holly and explore her writing, podcast, and creative work:

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What if the problem isn’t that kids hate math—but that they’ve never been shown how to enjoy learning it?

In this episode, Dominic welcomes Alison Meredith, a bestselling author, former professional math teacher, home-educating mother of seven, and founder of the nonprofit Pi Day Party. With more than 30 years of teaching experience and a leadership award from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Alison has dedicated her work to helping parents and teachers make math less intimidating and more engaging for children and teens.

Alison shares the ideas behind her bestselling I Hate Math book and explains what parents can do when a child says, “I hate math.” We explore how to create healthy learning routines without overwhelming the family, how to manage homeschooling with seven children, and how memorable experiences like a Pi Day Party can turn learning into something kids actually want to participate in.

But Alison’s story goes beyond education. She also opens up about navigating a frightening medical crisis when her husband nearly died—and how she and her family found strength, faith, and resilience through an incredibly difficult season.

This is a conversation about mathematics, motherhood, homeschooling, faith, family, resilience, and the power of making learning meaningful.

Listen in as Alison Meredith shares how to help children stop fearing math, build better routines, and discover the joy of learning.

Learn more about Alison and her work:

Alison Meredith’s Website

What happens when illness, trauma, and loss challenge the identity you thought you knew?

In this episode of Hidden Secrets in Books, Dominic sits down with Cheyenne Heflin, motivational speaker, advocate, cancer survivor, above-knee amputee, and counseling trainee, for an honest conversation about adversity, identity, resilience, and finding a way forward.

Cheyenne has faced experiences that could easily become the defining chapters of a life. But rather than allowing cancer, amputation, and chronic illness to tell her entire story, she has learned how to acknowledge what happened without allowing it to determine who she is.

With a unique combination of lived experience, humor, and professional knowledge from her counseling training, Cheyenne shares practical insights for navigating difficult seasons of life. She explores what it means to live beyond survival, how humor can become a powerful coping tool, and how people can rebuild their sense of self when circumstances fundamentally change their relationship with their body and their future.

We also discuss the fear that can follow trauma—the constant anticipation that something bad might happen again—and how learning to be present can help reclaim life beyond simply getting through the next challenge.

Cheyenne offers a powerful reminder that adversity may become part of your story, but it does not have to become your entire identity.

If you've experienced illness, loss, trauma, disability, or a major life transition—or you're supporting someone who has—this conversation offers honesty, perspective, and hope without pretending that difficult experiences are easy.

Learn more about Cheyenne, hear more of her story, and connect with her work:

Cheyenne Heflin's Website

Follow Cheyenne on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, and Threads.

What if burnout isn’t a resilience problem—but a leadership and systems problem?

In this episode of Hidden Secrets in Books, Dominic sits down with Thom Dennis, leadership consultant, executive coach, and author of Rewilding the Corporate Mind, to explore why traditional approaches to leadership may no longer work in an increasingly complex world.

With more than 30 years of experience spanning the Royal Marines, corporate environments, and leadership development, Thom brings a unique perspective on what happens when organisations rely too heavily on control, hierarchy, and outdated assumptions about performance.

Thom explains why sustainable leadership requires more than simply asking people to work harder or become more resilient. Instead, he explores how leaders can learn from living systems—embracing adaptability, interdependence, responsiveness, and human connection to create healthier and more effective organisations.

We discuss burnout, organisational culture, leadership under pressure, navigating change, and the shift from command-and-control leadership toward more adaptive and human-centred ways of working.

Thom also shares insights from Rewilding the Corporate Mind and explains how leaders can begin questioning the systems they operate within rather than simply trying to fix the people working inside them.

If you're a CEO, executive, entrepreneur, manager, or anyone interested in building more resilient and regenerative organisations, this conversation offers a fresh perspective on what leadership can become.

Go deeper into Thom’s work and explore Rewilding the Corporate Mind:

Learn more about Serenity in Leadership:

What happens when a comedian turns years of performing into a mission to reinvent how we experience live comedy?

In this episode of Hidden Secrets in Books, Dominic sits down with Leanne Linsky, comedian turned entrepreneur and founder and CEO of Plauzzable, a live comedy platform connecting comedians, producers, venues, and fans through online and in-person experiences.

Leanne’s journey began with a comedy class in 2001 and eventually took her to New York, where she performed, produced shows, hosted weekly comedy events, and created her own critically acclaimed one-woman show. But after moving to Los Angeles, she encountered a problem many performers face: finding audiences, creating opportunities, and making a sustainable living from comedy can be incredibly difficult.

That challenge inspired Leanne to think differently.

After experimenting with online comedy events, earning a Master of Innovation and Entrepreneurship from UC Irvine, and joining an incubator, she created Plauzzable—a platform designed specifically for live comedy.

In this conversation, Leanne shares the story behind Plauzzable, the challenges of building a new comedy platform, and why she believes technology can make live entertainment more accessible without losing the connection and energy of a real-time audience.

We explore the future of comedy, supporting independent creators, building an audience, entrepreneurship, innovation, and what happens when a performer decides to become the entrepreneur behind the stage.

If you love comedy, entrepreneurship, creativity, or stories about turning a personal frustration into a completely new opportunity, this episode is for you.

Create your free Plauzzable account and discover live comedy:

Plauzzable

Connect with Leanne Linsky:

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