What happens to the surgeon after a patient experiences a devastating complication?

Clinicians are trained to make life-or-death decisions, perform under extraordinary pressure, and remain calm when everything is at stake. But they are rarely taught how to process the emotional aftermath when an outcome goes wrong.

In this live episode of Notes From the Edge, Lisa Lacy sits down with trauma and acute care surgeon, educator, author, and healthcare leader Dr. Daniel Eiferman for an honest conversation about the side of medicine most people never see.

Dr. Eiferman is a tenured professor of surgery at The Ohio State University and a Castle Connolly Top Doctor. His book, Cut Open: A Surgeon’s Stories of Loss, Resilience, and Growth, explores the complications, difficult decisions, grief, leadership challenges, and moments of self-doubt that exist behind the operating-room doors.

Together, we will explore:

• Why clinicians often experience complications as personal failure
• The psychological toll of a bad surgical outcome
• How the culture of perfection creates shame and isolation
• What it takes to rebuild confidence after failure
• How clinicians can recover without becoming hardened or disengaged
• What healthcare leadership owes the people working under relentless pressure

This conversation is not only for surgeons. It is for anyone who has worked in a high-stakes environment, experienced an outcome they could not entirely control, and quietly wondered whether they still belonged in the work.

Dr. Eiferman will also share practical tools for clinicians who are expected to remain steady, even when they do not feel steady inside.

Access his complimentary guide at:

https://integritysurgery.org/signup/

What did you perform in order to survive?

Welcome to the edge.

How far will we push ourselves before we finally ask what we are running from?

Marc Hopkins has completed the Bigfoot 200, eight Ironman-distance triathlons, and more than 200 endurance events. But the most difficult terrain he has ever crossed was the landscape inside himself.

In this episode of Notes From the Edge, Marc joins Lisa Lacy for a raw conversation about the difference between true endurance and simply enduring life. Together, they explore what happens when grit becomes avoidance, achievement becomes identity, and pushing through becomes the only way we know how to survive.

Marc shares how a grueling 200-mile ultramarathon forced him to confront the anxiety, family patterns, relationship dynamics, and need to prove his worth that had followed him for decades. His memoir, Hard Things, is not simply a story about surviving an extreme race. It is about uncovering the deeper reasons we keep choosing hard things and learning when strength requires us to stop running.

This conversation explores:

• The difference between endurance and enduring
• When grit becomes a form of emotional avoidance
• The hidden motivations behind extreme achievement
• How family patterns shape relationships and parenting
• Who we become when we stop proving our worth
• Why vulnerability may be the hardest form of strength

Learn more about Marc, explore Hard Things, and read the first chapter at HardThingsBook.com.

What did you perform in order to survive?

Welcome to the edge.

Why do relationships feel harder than ever, even when two people genuinely love each other?

In this episode of Notes From the Edge, Lisa Lacy sits down with relationship coach, author, speaker, and ordained minister Andre Paradis for an honest conversation about love, communication, commitment, intimacy, and the survival patterns we unknowingly carry into our relationships.

Before becoming a relationship coach, Andre lived an extraordinary life as a professional dancer, performing alongside artists including Michael Jackson, Prince, Paula Abdul, and Julio Iglesias. He later became a husband, father, and successful business owner before discovering a deeper calling to help people build healthier, more fulfilling relationships.

Together, Lisa and Andre explore:

• Why modern relationships feel so complicated
• How childhood wounds influence adult intimacy
• What men and women misunderstand about each other
• What makes someone commit or walk away
• Masculine and feminine energy without rigid stereotypes
• How trauma and protective behaviors can sabotage love
• What emotional safety looks like in a lasting relationship

Learn more about Andre and Project Equinox Coaching:
http://www.projectequinox.net

Learn more about Lisa Lacy:
https://www.lisalacy.com

What did you perform in order to survive, and is it still serving you?

Subscribe for more honest conversations about trauma, identity, relationships, recovery, leadership, and what it means to be human.

See you at the edge.

We all get the same 24 hours.

So why do some people feel purposeful while others feel overwhelmed?

Join me for a live conversation with keynote speaker, author, and time strategy coach C.W. Hawley as we explore the hidden relationship between leadership, identity, and the way we experience time.

Rather than offering another productivity system, C.W. challenges us to rethink the beliefs, habits, and expectations that keep high performers feeling constantly behind.

Together we’ll discuss:

• Why burnout is often a symptom of misalignment rather than a lack of time.
• How our relationship with time shapes the way we lead, work, and live.
• The connection between identity, expectations, and overwhelm.
• Practical strategies for creating sustainable leadership rhythms.
• How to pursue meaningful success without sacrificing your well-being.

Whether you’re an executive, entrepreneur, leader, or simply someone trying to balance competing priorities, this conversation will leave you thinking differently about what it means to truly own your time.

What did you perform in order to survive?

Welcome to the Edge.

www.lisalacy.com

How to work with C.W.:

Lets Talk Time - Let's Talk TimeC.W. Hawley | LinkedIn

What does success cost when the person carrying it is quietly breaking underneath it?

In this episode of Notes From the Edge, Lisa Lacy sits down with James Lang, Managing Partner and co-founder of OverLang Venture Partners, for a conversation about ambition, identity, leadership, medical crisis, and the human cost of high performance.

Before launching OverLang, James served as COO of a MedTech startup, where he helped grow the company to more than $20 million in revenue, built a global team of 60 people, and helped lead the organization toward a successful exit.

Then a serious medical crisis changed everything.

James was forced to reconsider what he believed about work, leadership, success, and the life he was building. Today, he helps American companies grow through strategy, operations, culture, and artificial intelligence, while challenging leaders to remember that growth must support the humans carrying it, not just improve the numbers on a dashboard.

In this conversation, we explore:

• The hidden internal cost of outward success
• How a medical crisis reshaped James’s identity and ambition
• What human-centered growth looks like inside an organization
• Why company culture matters when scaling quickly
• What businesses are getting wrong about artificial intelligence
• How leaders can separate sustainable AI from expensive hype

Learn more about James and OverLang Venture Partners:
https://OverLang.com

Learn more about Lisa Lacy:
https://www.lisalacy.com

What did you perform in order to survive, and is it still serving you?

Subscribe for more honest conversations about trauma, identity, recovery, leadership, reinvention, and what it means to be human.

See you at the edge.

What happens when the future disappears?

In this episode of Notes From the Edge, I’m joined by dystopian thriller author T.A. Thompson, creator of The Mark, to explore the fascinating intersection of survival, morality, power, and human nature.

Through the lens of fiction, we’ll discuss why stories about collapse often reveal uncomfortable truths about ourselves. From morally complex characters and impossible choices to leadership, identity, and what happens when consequences begin to disappear, this conversation goes far beyond writing a novel.

We’ll also explore:

• Why dystopian fiction continues to resonate today
• Building unforgettable anti-heroes readers love and hate
• The psychology of survival under extreme circumstances
• How a career built around risk shaped an entirely fictional world
• What fiction can teach us about who we become when everything changes

Whether you’re a reader, writer, or simply fascinated by the psychology behind great stories, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss.

Join us live, bring your questions, and be part of another meaningful conversation.

Welcome to the Edge.

www.lisalacy.com

How to find T.A. Thompson's Work:

https://www.tathompsonwriter.com/

What happens after a loss that changes your life forever?

How do we talk about suicide, grief, and mental health in ways that bring healing instead of silence?

Join me for a powerful live episode of Notes From the Edge as I sit down with author, nationally syndicated columnist, founder of The HelpHUB™, Trevor Project crisis counselor, and three-time suicide loss survivor Lisa Sugarman.

Together we’ll explore what it means to survive profound loss, why the language we use around suicide matters, how to support someone in crisis, and how honest conversations can save lives.

This is a conversation about resilience, compassion, hope, and the courage to speak openly about the experiences so many families carry in silence.

Whether you’ve experienced loss personally, support others professionally, or simply want to better understand mental health, this episode offers insight, humanity, and practical wisdom.

What did you perform in order to survive?

Welcome to the Edge.

www.lisalacy.com

How to Find Lisa's Resources:

https://www.thehelphub.co/

Lisa Sugarman (she/her/hers) | LinkedIn

What happens when one extraordinary experience changes the course of your entire life?

In this episode of Notes From the Edge, Lisa Lacy sits down with Australian visionary author Eugene Samolin to explore the intersection of spirituality, consciousness, creativity, and purpose. After a profound spiritual experience reshaped his understanding of reality, Eugene dedicated his life to writing stories that bridge science, faith, philosophy, and the shared human search for meaning.

Together, they discuss identity, awakening, religious traditions, creativity, healing from trauma, and how our deepest experiences can transform the stories we tell about ourselves.

Whether you’re deeply spiritual, cautiously skeptical, or simply curious, this conversation invites you to think beyond labels and explore the questions that unite us all.

In this episode, we discuss:
• The experience that changed Eugene’s life forever
• Spiritual awakening and personal transformation
• Bridging science and faith
• Identity, purpose, and conscious evolution
• Healing trauma through meaning and story
• Why curiosity may be more important than certainty

If this conversation resonates with you, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone who values thoughtful conversations.

What did you perform in order to survive?

Welcome to the Edge.

How to find Eugene's Work:

Eugene Samolin | LinkedIn

Success isn’t always a sign that we’re thriving.

Sometimes it’s evidence of how well we’ve learned to survive.

In this episode of Notes From the Edge, I’m joined by internationally recognized stress management expert, speaker, coach, and six-time Amazon #1 bestselling author Lolita Guarin for a conversation about burnout, nervous system health, boundaries, and the hidden cost of high achievement.

Together we’ll explore why so many successful people confuse chronic stress with resilience, how trauma and overperformance become intertwined, and what it really takes to rebuild self-trust before burnout forces us to stop.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re accomplishing everything while quietly falling apart inside, this conversation is for you.

We’ll discuss:
• The difference between stress and survival mode
• The hidden signs of burnout most people miss
• Why high achievers struggle with boundaries
• Rebuilding self-trust after chronic stress
• Creating sustainable success without sacrificing your wellbeing

Join us live for another honest, human conversation about the stories we perform to survive and what becomes possible when we stop performing.

Welcome to the Edge.

www.lisalacy.com

How to Work with Lolita:

Be Amazing You - Stress Management

Lolita Guarin | LinkedIn

If you’ve ever walked away from betrayal wondering, “What happened to me?” this episode is for you.

Whether the betrayal came from a partner, family member, workplace, friendship, your health, or even life itself, chronic stress and betrayal don’t just break trust. They can change the way your brain processes safety, relationships, and decision-making.

In this solo episode of Notes From the Edge, Lisa Lacy explores the neuroscience behind betrayal, trauma, and survival without shame or jargon. You’ll learn why you second-guess yourself, overthink everything, struggle to trust your instincts, and why those responses may be signs of adaptation rather than weakness.

In this episode, you’ll discover:
• How betrayal affects the brain and nervous system
• Why you’re not “crazy” or broken
• The role of the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex in survival
• Why insight alone doesn’t create healing
• Practical steps to begin rebuilding self-trust
• How neuroplasticity gives us hope for lasting change

If this conversation resonates with you, you’re invited to Betrayal Rewired™, a complimentary live experiential workshop on Sunday, August 2, where we’ll move beyond information and experience practical tools for nervous system regulation, self-trust, and healing.

Because maybe the problem isn’t that you’re broken.

Maybe your brain simply learned to survive.

If this episode speaks to you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs the reminder that they are not alone.

What did you perform in order to survive?

Welcome to the edge.

Betrayal Rewired: Register Here

https://calendly.com/contact-lisa-lacy/betrayal-rewired