What if there were a roadmap for everything you need to know to take care of yourself and your family when you get a serious diagnosis for your child or someone you love? Now there is. 

In this powerful episode, we sit down with Laura Lang-Ree, author of The Cancer Parents Handbook, who transformed her family's childhood cancer journey into a roadmap for other parents facing medical crises.

When Laura's three-year-old daughter Cecilia said, "It hurts everywhere, mama," no one expected a cancer diagnosis would soon follow. What began as another doctor's visit quickly spiraled into years of treatment, hospital stays, and learning to navigate the complex medical system as her daughter's fiercest advocate.

Laura shares the raw, unfiltered reality of parenting a child through cancer—from the initial shock to the development of practical coping strategies. She introduces us to her daughter's concept of "positude," and explains how this simple idea became their family's rallying cry through the darkest days of treatment.

With refreshing candor, Laura breaks down her no-nonsense "get your shit together" philosophy that helped her family not just survive but find moments of joy despite overwhelming circumstances. She offers actionable advice on creating "hospital parties," managing medical information, and ensuring siblings don't get lost in the chaos.

This conversation isn't just for parents dealing with childhood cancer. Laura's insights apply to anyone facing a crisis that demands resilience, advocacy, and the courage to ask for help when you need it most.

In This Episode, You'll Learn:

• How to actually get your shit together
• How to become your child's best advocate 
• Practical ways to create a "new normal" 
• How to distinguish between what you need to know right now versus what can wait
• Specific ways friends and family can actually help (not just offer) during a medical crisis
• Strategies for protecting siblings when one child requires intensive medical care
• Self-care techniques that work even when you think you don't have time for them
• Ways to reclaim agency and control in situations that feel completely uncontrollable
• How to find "positude" even on your darkest days, without falling into toxic positivity

Learn more about Laura:

Website

Instagram

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Order Jessica's memoir, Breath Taking: A Memoir of Family, Dreams, and Broken Genes

Music credit: Limitless by Bells

What would happen if you tried to live by Gandhi's principles in today's world?

In this episode, we welcome journalist and author Perry Garfinkel, who embarked on an extraordinary 18-month journey to follow Mahatma Gandhi's six principles of moral living: truth, nonviolence, simplicity, faith, vegetarianism, and celibacy.

Perry's experiment, chronicled in his book Becoming Gandhi, took him across three continents as he literally walked in Gandhi's footsteps, from retracing the famous 240-mile Salt March in India to visiting South Africa where Gandhi spent 20 years developing his strategies of peaceful resistance.

With refreshing candor, Perry shares how his "Gandhi Light" experiment transformed his understanding of moral living in our modern world. Rather than making abrupt changes, he discovered the power of "tapering" - gradually reducing behaviors that don't align with your values. From clearing out his closet to examining his relationship with truth, Perry reveals practical ways to incorporate Gandhi's wisdom into everyday life.

This conversation explores what it means to "be the change you want to see in the world" beyond the slogan on t-shirts and bracelets. As Perry notes, "If we want the world to change, we have to change ourselves." In an age where moral heroes seem scarce, this episode offers both inspiration and practical tools for anyone seeking to live with greater integrity and intention.

You'll Learn:

• How to apply Gandhi's six principles to modern life through the practice of "tapering" rather than making abrupt changes
• Why "living your truth" goes beyond not lying to examining deeper questions about your purpose and identity
• How nonviolence extends to self-talk, media consumption, and even the language we use
• Practical strategies for simplifying your life and reducing attachment to possessions
• The interconnected nature of spiritual principles and how they reinforce each other
• How to notice when you've fallen off your path and develop the discipline to return without self-judgment
• Ways to begin meaningful personal transformation that can ultimately influence those around you

Learn more about Perry:

Website  

Instagram 

Facebook  

LinkedIn

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"This is my go-to podcast for inspiration and to discover new approaches to embrace the challenges in my life." If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me reach more people -- just like you -- find strategies and insights to do the things that feel undoable. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

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Order Jessica's memoir, Breath Taking: A Memoir of Family, Dreams, and Broken Genes

Music credit: Limitless by Bells

In this irreverent, informative, and inspiring episode, Blair and Alana Kaplan of The Global Resilience Project share their journey through profound loss and how it sparked a global movement to help others strengthen their "resilience muscle." After losing both parents within a year—their mother to unexpected cancer and their father shortly after—they created a framework for resilience that combines neuroscience, storytelling, and practical tools. The sisters discuss their annual "Grief Week" getaway, their "Dead Parents Society" merchandise, and Blair's transformative plant medicine journeys, while explaining how practices like daily gratitude and intentional storytelling can rewire our brains for greater emotional resilience.

At the core of their work is the concept that resilience is a muscle that can be strengthened through specific practices. They emphasize that building this muscle before tragedy strikes is crucial—just like going to the gym prepares you for physically demanding tasks.

Key Takeaways:

• Start a daily gratitude practice at the same time each day, listing three specific things you're grateful for from the past 24 hours
• Strengthen your resilience muscle before you need it by practicing coping strategies regularly, even when things are okay
• Share your story through journaling, conversations with trusted friends, or professional support rather than keeping difficult experiences bottled up
• Identify aspects of your life you can control and focus your energy there, especially during uncertain times
• Schedule specific "worry time" to give yourself permission to feel difficult emotions while preventing them from consuming your entire day
• Be intentional with media consumption by removing news apps or setting specific times to engage with potentially distressing content
• Create meaningful morning routines that center and ground you rather than immediately exposing yourself to external stressors

Learn more about Blair and Alana:

Global Resilience Project 

Blair's Website

LinkedIn

Facebook
IG (Blair)

IG (Global Resilience Community)

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"This is my go-to podcast for inspiration and to discover new approaches to embrace the challenges in my life." If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me reach more people -- just like you -- find strategies and insights to do the things that feel undoable. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

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Order Jessica's memoir, Breath Taking: A Memoir of Family, Dreams, and Broken Genes

Music credit: Limitless by Bells

In this powerful episode marking Rare Disease Awareness Day, we bring together two remarkable guests whose lives have been profoundly shaped by rare diseases. Erin Paterson, who carries the gene for Huntington's disease and cares for her father with the same condition, and Laura Will, mother to five-year-old Alden who has polymicrogyria, share their unique yet interconnected journeys.

The conversation explores the complex reality of being both a caregiver and advocate while maintaining one's own identity. From Laura's innovative concept of "soul to soul communication" with Alden to Erin's approach to involving her daughter in her father's care, these stories highlight how rare diseases, though individually uncommon, create universal experiences of love, resilience, and finding joy in unexpected moments.

Erin discusses her journey from hiding her diagnosis to becoming an advocate and voice for the rare disease community. Laura, a former palliative care nurse turned "Dragon Mom," shares insights on finding strength in uncertainty and creating support systems for other parents navigating similar challenges.

Key Takeaways:

• Connection doesn't require identical diagnoses - finding others facing similar challenges is what matters most
• Life with rare disease can be both challenging and beautiful simultaneously
• Small achievements others take for granted can become meaningful victories worth celebrating
• Pain can be transformed into purpose through advocacy and support for others
• Setting boundaries around caregiving is essential for sustainability
• Managing uncertainty becomes easier with practice and specific strategies
• Sharing your story, whether through casual conversation or published work, helps build understanding about rare disease

To learn more about rare disease awareness and support, check out the anthology Positively Rare, which benefits Global Genes, and Jessica Fein's memoir Breathtaking: A Memoir of Family, Dreams, and Broken Genes.

Learn more about Erin:

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Order Jessica's memoir, Breath Taking: A Memoir of Family, Dreams, and Broken Genes

Music credit: Limitless by Bells

How do you rebuild your life after devastating loss? At age 12, Casey Mulligan Walsh lost both parents within months of each other. Relocated from suburban New Jersey to upstate New York, she spent years dreaming of creating the perfect family life she'd been denied. In this powerful episode, Casey shares how her search for belonging led her through marriage, divorce, and the tragic loss of her 20-year-old son Eric. Her memoir The Full Catastrophe chronicles this journey from being the ultimate people-pleaser to finding true strength and authenticity. Whether you're dealing with grief, struggling to belong, or trying to break free from people-pleasing patterns, Casey's insights about resilience, fear, and developing healthy boundaries will transform how you think about loss and liberation.

Key Takeaways:

1. Ask yourself: "Am I acting from love or fear?" This simple question can transform how you view difficult behaviors - both your own and others'
2. There's a huge difference between fitting in and truly belonging. Are you changing yourself to please others, or standing strong in who you are?
3. Develop healthy boundaries by identifying areas where you need more "f*ck you" energy - especially if you tend to be the "good" one who always accommodates
4. Practice staying connected to lost loved ones without letting "what ifs" become your emotional foundation
5. Remember that growth rarely comes in lightbulb moments - trust that you'll recognize the patterns when looking back

Want to dive deeper? Get Casey's memoir The Full Catastrophe and scan the QR code for her curated Spotify playlist that accompanies the book.

Learn more about Casey:

website
Substack
Facebook 

Instagram

Bluesky
LinkedIn 

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"This is my go-to podcast for inspiration and to discover new approaches to embrace the challenges in my life." If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me reach more people -- just like you -- find strategies and insights to do the things that feel undoable. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

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Order Jessica's memoir, Breath Taking: A Memoir of Family, Dreams, and Broken Genes

Music credit: Limitless by Bells

In this episode, Amanda McKoy Flanagan shares her journey through multiple losses, spiritual awakenings, and discovering how to break generational patterns of emotional protection. A New Yorker turned Colorado resident, Amanda opens up about losing five family members in three years, saving her marriage to a 9/11 first responder, and learning that what first appeared as emotional breakdowns were actually spiritual breakthroughs.

Amanda discusses the "great myth" passed down through generations - the belief that we should love less to protect ourselves from inevitable loss. Through therapy, meditation, and deep inner work, she discovered how this unconscious operating system affected her relationships and ability to connect. She shares insights about marriage, PTSD, and how couples can heal together through understanding their generational patterns.

The conversation takes an unexpected turn into meditation guidance, with Amanda offering practical wisdom about different ways to meditate and connect with higher consciousness. She emphasizes that meditation isn't about achieving a quiet mind but rather an open one, and that it can take many forms beyond sitting in silence.

Key Takeaways:

1. When experiencing major life changes, recognize that even positive changes involve loss - of familiarity, routine, and certainty.
2. Meditation doesn't have to be perfect - find your own way in through whatever puts you in a flow state, whether that's running, walking, writing, or sitting quietly.
3. Consider how your family's approach to grief and loss has shaped your own - these patterns often go back generations.
4. Focus on being "all in" with yourself before trying to be all in with another person.
5. Trust that painful experiences can lead to spiritual awakening and growth, even if it doesn't feel that way in the moment.

Learn more about Amanda:

Instagram

Facebook

Website

Podcast

Youtube

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"This is my go-to podcast for inspiration and to discover new approaches to embrace the challenges in my life." If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me reach more people -- just like you -- find strategies and insights to do the things that feel undoable. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

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Order Jessica's memoir, Breath Taking: A Memoir of Family, Dreams, and Broken Genes

Music credit: Limitless by Bells

On a TEDx stage in Concord, Massachusetts, two mothers met and discovered they shared a deep bond – both had lost teenage daughters. In this intimate conversation, Morgan Motsinger and I explore what happens when life's bubble of safety gets punctured, how to navigate ongoing loss while caring for a child with a degenerative disease, and why it's so important to give ourselves permission for joy even in our darkest moments.

We dig into the destabilizing events that change how we see the world, what it means to hope when circumstances feel hopeless, and why comparing our grief to others' never serves us. Morgan shares her insights from positive psychology about human flourishing, and together we explore how to remain open to life's beauty even after experiencing profound loss.

This conversation touches on:

• The different "flavors" of grief and how they shape us
• What happens when your worldview gets shattered
• Finding hope that isn't tied to external circumstances
• The importance of maintaining your identity beyond caregiving
• Why joy isn't a betrayal of grief
• The power of being a "student of yourself"
• What meaningful self-care actually looks like

Learn more about Morgan:

Website 

Instagram

Youtube

Morgan's TEDx Talk

Jessica's TEDx Talk

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"This is my go-to podcast for inspiration and to discover new approaches to embrace the challenges in my life." If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me reach more people -- just like you -- find strategies and insights to do the things that feel undoable. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

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Order Jessica's memoir, Breath Taking: A Memoir of Family, Dreams, and Broken Genes

Music credit: Limitless by Bells

What does adventure mean to you? For Tim Brown, it once meant charging down ski slopes as a patrol member and catching waves as a dedicated surfer. But on February 13th, 2011, a devastating accident on the slopes left him quadriplegic at age 25. Rather than marking the end of his adventurous spirit, this became what Tim calls "the biggest adventure I'll ever have."

Today, Tim isn't just surviving - he's thriving as an adaptive athlete who has competed in the U.S. Open Adaptive Surfing Championships and made history as the first quadriplegic to heliski at Silverton Mountain. As Director of Strategic Development at Empower SCI, he helps others with spinal cord injuries rediscover their own path to living fully.

Join us for an honest conversation about redefining adventure, challenging societal barriers, and finding joy in unexpected journeys. Tim shares how he moved from chasing a return to his old life to embracing new ways of experiencing the outdoors, proving that living an adventurous life is all about your attitude.

You'll learn:

• How you can experience seemingly contradictory emotions simultaneously - grief and joy, challenge and fulfillment, frustration and peace. 
• Why a beginner's mindset can make all the difference.
• How your identity is connected to your values. 
• Why it's critical to seek out people who not only won’t limit your possibilities, but will encourage you to expand them.
• Why inspiration porn doesn't help anybody, and what to do instead

Learn more about Tim:
Instagram
The Unexpected Journey

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"This is my go-to podcast for inspiration and to discover new approaches to embrace the challenges in my life." If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me reach more people -- just like you -- find strategies and insights to do the things that feel undoable. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

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Order Jessica's memoir, Breath Taking: A Memoir of Family, Dreams, and Broken Genes

Music credit: Limitless by Bells

When Larry Carlat's 28-year-old son Rob died by suicide six years ago, Larry never imagined it would lead him to find his life's calling as a grief counselor, or to become, in his words, "the Pied Piper of psychedelics for grieving parents"

In this raw and surprisingly hopeful conversation, Larry shares insights from his new book A Space in the Heart about what it means to be part of what he calls "the world's cruelest club" and how bereaved parents develop unexpected superpowers. From his transformation from skeptical New Yorker to spiritual seeker, to his radical take on what grieving people actually need (hint: it's not your words), to his belief that those we've lost are still with connecting us from the other side, Larry offers a refreshingly honest guide to life after devastating loss. As he puts it, we may all have spaces in our hearts that never close - but they can be filled again with purpose, love, and meaning. And, as his son Rob would say, "hope is dope."

Key Takeaways:

• The best thing you can do for someone who's grieving? Skip the words and start with a hug
• You can stay connected to someone you've lost without staying connected to the pain
• Extraordinary parents are everywhere - they're your neighbors, coworkers, the quiet couple at the next table
• Healing doesn't mean "getting over it" - it means learning to integrate loss into your life in a way that allows both grief and joy to coexist
• Sometimes the most powerful transformations come through unexpected paths 
• While the space in your heart may never close, it can be filled again with new purpose, love, and meaning

Learn more about Larry:

Read Larry's blog
Get the book

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"This is my go-to podcast for inspiration and to discover new approaches to embrace the challenges in my life." If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me reach more people -- just like you -- find strategies and insights to do the things that feel undoable. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

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Order Jessica's memoir, Breath Taking: A Memoir of Family, Dreams, and Broken Genes

Music credit: Limitless by Bells

What do you do when by age 30 you're the oldest living member of your family? Do you live in fear or take action?

In this powerful and humorous episode, author Gila Pfeffer shares her journey as both a "previvor" and survivor of breast cancer. After losing her mother and grandmother to breast cancer, Gila took proactive steps to prevent the same fate, only to find cancer anyway – and then write about it with unexpected wit and wisdom in her memoir Nearly Departed: Adventures in Loss, Cancer, and Other Inconveniences.

Gila opens up about choosing a radically different approach to illness than her own mother took, making the controversial decision to shield her young children from her diagnosis, and how her incredible network of friends showed up in exactly the right ways during her treatment. Through stories both touching and hilarious – including an intake form that asks about everything from frozen ribeye steaks to forgotten surgical tools – Gila demonstrates how humor can help us navigate life's darkest moments.

Her experience offers valuable insights for anyone facing health challenges, supporting loved ones through crisis, or making difficult parenting decisions. With warmth and wit, she reminds us that there's no one-size-fits-all approach to handling life's biggest challenges.

Key Takeaways:

• Trust that you know what's best for your family. What works for one family might not work for another, and that's okay.
• Create a small, trusted circle of support rather than trying to include everyone who wants to help. Choose people you feel completely comfortable being vulnerable with.
• Remember to check in on the partner and kids of someone going through a health crisis - they often get overlooked but need support too.
• Take preventative health measures seriously, especially if you have family history. Don't let fear stop you from getting screenings or genetic testing.
• Make decisions based on what feels right for you and your specific situation, not what others think you should do.

Learn more about Gila:

Instagram
Gila's website 

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"This is my go-to podcast for inspiration and to discover new approaches to embrace the challenges in my life." If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me reach more people -- just like you -- find strategies and insights to do the things that feel undoable. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast. Follow now!

Sign up for my newsletter and learn more about these remarkable stories at www.jessicafeinstories.com

Order Jessica's memoir, Breath Taking: A Memoir of Family, Dreams, and Broken Genes

Music credit: Limitless by Bells