What happens when a painful personal struggle becomes a lifelong mission to help others?

In this inspiring episode of Stories from Everywhere, Jill L. Ferguson sits down with entrepreneur and Emani Skincare founder Michelle Doan to explore a journey that spans continents, cultures, and decades of perseverance.

Michelle shares her extraordinary story of escaping Vietnam by boat at age nine, spending nearly a year in a refugee camp in Thailand, immigrating to Canada, and eventually building a life and a business in California. Along the way, she faced chronic cystic acne, poverty, cultural upheaval, two divorces, entrepreneurship challenges, and the ongoing work of learning self-forgiveness and self-love.

What began as a personal search for skincare products that wouldn't aggravate her sensitive skin eventually became Emani, a company dedicated to helping people navigate skin concerns with transparency, education, and compassion. Michelle discusses the science behind sensitive skin, clean beauty, vegan products, menopause-related skin changes, and why listening to customers has shaped her company for nearly three decades.

But this conversation goes far beyond beauty. Michelle opens up about scarcity mindset, meditation, emotional growth, the wisdom she learned from Buddhism and spiritual practice, and why authenticity has become her guiding principle. Together, Jill and Michelle explore resilience, forgiveness, motherhood, entrepreneurship, and the lessons that emerge when life repeatedly asks us to grow.

Whether you're an entrepreneur, a parent, someone navigating life's transitions, or simply seeking encouragement on your own journey, Michelle's story is a powerful reminder that our greatest challenges often become our greatest gifts.

For more than six decades, Dr. Anthony Goodman has lived at the intersection of life, death, hope, and healing. A surgeon, educator, author, and now advocate for Alzheimer’s awareness, he joins Jill L. Ferguson along with his wife, Maribeth Goodman, for a deeply personal conversation about medicine, purpose, resilience, and what it means to care for others.

Drawing from his new memoir, Great Saves and Terrible Losses: The Journey of a Surgeon, Dr. Goodman reflects on extraordinary moments from his surgical career, the evolution of healthcare, and the challenges facing both patients and providers in an increasingly complex medical system. He shares powerful stories of lives saved, heartbreaking losses, and the lessons learned from decades spent serving patients.

The conversation also explores Dr. Goodman’s recent diagnosis of early-stage Alzheimer’s disease and the treatment journey that followed. Together, Anthony and Maribeth discuss the importance of early diagnosis, patient advocacy, destigmatizing dementia, and the remarkable advances being made in brain health research.

Along the way, they discuss the hidden sacrifices made by healthcare professionals and their families, the value of listening to patients, the importance of pursuing lifelong dreams, and why courage, curiosity, and purpose continue to matter at every stage of life.

This is an inspiring and compassionate conversation about healing, humanity, and finding meaning even in life's most difficult moments.

What if the secret to great storytelling isn’t charisma, cleverness, or even creativity, but kindness?

In this engaging conversation, award-winning creative director, TEDx speaker, and Storyfire founder Neal Foard shares lessons from more than three decades in advertising, where he helped shape campaigns for global brands while mastering the art of persuasion. From pitching ideas poolside to executives at major companies to leading creative teams at some of the world’s largest agencies, Neal explains why the people who succeed over the long term aren’t necessarily the most talented; they’re often the most trustworthy, empathetic, and authentic. 

Jill and Neal explore the surprising power of listening, the difference between selling an idea and solving someone’s problem, and why storytelling remains humanity’s oldest and most effective communication tool. Along the way, Neal shares memorable advertising stories, insights into what makes presentations truly persuasive, and his belief that there is a measurable return on investment to treating people well. 

The conversation also dives into truthfulness, reputation, leadership, workplace relationships, and how the stories we tell reveal our values. Whether you're an entrepreneur, writer, executive, artist, or simply someone who wants to communicate more effectively, this episode offers practical wisdom on building trust, creating connection, and becoming the kind of person people want to hear from again and again.

In this episode of Stories from Everywhere, Jill talks with musician, software engineer, and Joy Punk LLC co-founder Robert Moore about creativity, technology, and the deliberate pursuit of joy. Robert shares the story behind KeyJ Music Theory, an app born from his own need to bridge the language gap between DJs using Camelot keys and musicians using traditional Western notation. The conversation moves from harmonic mixing and app development to leaving a stable tech career, building a company with longtime friends, creating electronic music with his wife through Blue Moon Rave, and finding inspiration in Long Beach’s music and arts community. It’s a thoughtful, lively conversation about making tools, making music, taking creative risks, and putting more joy back into the world.

In this episode of Stories from Everywhere, Jill talks with musician, software engineer, and Joy Punk LLC co-founder Robert Moore about creativity, technology, and the deliberate pursuit of joy. Robert shares the story behind KeyJ Music Theory, an app born from his own need to bridge the language gap between DJs using Camelot keys and musicians using traditional Western notation. The conversation moves from harmonic mixing and app development to leaving a stable tech career, building a company with longtime friends, creating electronic music with his wife through Blue Moon Rave, and finding inspiration in Long Beach’s music and arts community. It’s a thoughtful, lively conversation about making tools, making music, taking creative risks, and putting more joy back into the world.

In Episode 56 of Stories From Everywhere, Jill L. Ferguson sits down with writer, editor, and social impact visionary Amy Friedman for a conversation that is as heart-opening as it is urgent. From Amy’s deeply personal journey—falling in love with and marrying a man in prison—to founding POPS [now PATHfinder (Paving a Trail of Hope) Club, thepathfinderclub.org], a national organization supporting youth impacted by incarceration, deportation, and detention, this episode explores how storytelling can dismantle shame, transform identity, and save lives.

Drawing from the powerful new anthology A Secret Chord, Amy shares how creative expression, publication, and community are helping thousands of teens move from silence and stigma to resilience and agency. Together, Jill and Amy unpack generational shifts around vulnerability, the healing power of art, and why being seen may be one of the greatest catalysts for change.

This is a moving conversation about compassion, courage, and what happens when young people are finally given permission to tell the truth.

In Episode 56 of Stories From Everywhere, Jill L. Ferguson sits down with writer, editor, and social impact visionary Amy Friedman for a conversation that is as heart-opening as it is urgent. From Amy’s deeply personal journey—falling in love with and marrying a man in prison—to founding POPS [now PATHfinder (Paving a Trail of Hope) Club, thepathfinderclub.org], a national organization supporting youth impacted by incarceration, deportation, and detention, this episode explores how storytelling can dismantle shame, transform identity, and save lives.

Drawing from the powerful new anthology A Secret Chord, Amy shares how creative expression, publication, and community are helping thousands of teens move from silence and stigma to resilience and agency. Together, Jill and Amy unpack generational shifts around vulnerability, the healing power of art, and why being seen may be one of the greatest catalysts for change.

This is a moving conversation about compassion, courage, and what happens when young people are finally given permission to tell the truth.

What happens when, after decades of marriage, motherhood, and putting everyone else first, a woman finally asks herself: What about my joy?

In this deeply honest and inspiring episode of Stories from Everywhere, Jill L. Ferguson reconnects with longtime friend, former workshop student, software engineer, screenwriter, and bestselling indie author Margie Benedict for a powerful conversation about creativity, courage, divorce after 40+ years, and the unexpected possibility of love later in life.

Margie’s story is anything but ordinary. From writing software for Apple’s early Macintosh computers to award-winning screenplays, fantasy trilogies, and now her newest novel Not My Job Anymore—a senior love story inspired by her own life—Margie shares how she reinvented herself multiple times by following one constant: the need to create.

Together, Jill and Margie dive into:

• The “death by a thousand paper cuts” reality of emotionally unfulfilling marriages

• Why many women stay too long, and what finally changes

• How grief, mortality, and turning 65 became catalysts for transformation

• The physical toll of unhappiness and why the body often knows before the mind admits it

• Navigating divorce later in life

• Online dating in your 60s (and why it may be worth the leap)

• Finding a true partner after believing that chapter might be over

• Writing stories that give hope to women who fear it’s too late to begin again

This episode is a moving reminder that reinvention has no expiration date, and that life after heartbreak can still hold creativity, companionship, healing, and joy.

If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s too late to change your life, Margie Benedict’s story offers a resounding answer: absolutely not.

What happens when, after decades of marriage, motherhood, and putting everyone else first, a woman finally asks herself: What about my joy?

In this deeply honest and inspiring episode of Stories from Everywhere, Jill L. Ferguson reconnects with longtime friend, former workshop student, software engineer, screenwriter, and bestselling indie author Margie Benedict for a powerful conversation about creativity, courage, divorce after 40+ years, and the unexpected possibility of love later in life.

Margie’s story is anything but ordinary. From writing software for Apple’s early Macintosh computers to award-winning screenplays, fantasy trilogies, and now her newest novel Not My Job Anymore—a senior love story inspired by her own life—Margie shares how she reinvented herself multiple times by following one constant: the need to create.

Together, Jill and Margie dive into:

This episode is a moving reminder that reinvention has no expiration date, and that life after heartbreak can still hold creativity, companionship, healing, and joy.

If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s too late to change your life, Margie Benedict’s story offers a resounding answer: absolutely not.

What happens when a single mother says yes to a bold opportunity, moves her daughters across the world, helps scale a company from 20 employees to more than 1,200, and refuses to sacrifice ethics for profit?

In this inspiring episode of Stories from Everywhere, Jill L. Ferguson sits down with Fiona Kesby, Australian-born entrepreneur, global business leader, and co-founder of GoTeam in the Philippines, or a conversation that spans continents, leadership, love, reinvention, and the courage to challenge conventional wisdom.

Fiona shares how what was supposed to be a short-term move to Southeast Asia became an extraordinary life journey: raising her daughters abroad, helping transform the outsourcing industry through transparency and human-centered values, and leading through crisis after losing half her business overnight during COVID only to rebuild stronger than before.

Together, Jill and Fiona explore:

• How ethical outsourcing can empower workers instead of exploiting them

• Why AI should amplify human potential, not replace it

• Fiona’s powerful ACE framework for thriving in the age of AI: agility, articulation, critical thinking, creativity, and empathy

• Building a workplace culture rooted in love, abundance, and dignity

• The mindset shift that helped Fiona create success not only in business, but in love later in life

• Why “If you can dream it, you can create it” applies to relationships just as much as entrepreneurship

This is a deeply honest conversation about leadership, motherhood, reinvention, global citizenship, and refusing to let fear—or outdated social expectations—dictate your life.

If you’ve ever wondered whether you can build a meaningful career, create a life on your own terms, or find love without shrinking yourself, Fiona’s story is proof that you can.