Out Loud With Cindy Schwartz

What if the thing that finally helped you love yourself was… taking your clothes off?

Lyane spent most of her life believing her body was something to fix.

Years of doing anything at any cost to finally feel comfortable in her own skin.

Something her mother said in the final days of her life shifted everything. Lyane slowly started questioning the beliefs she had held her whole life and began looking for a different way to see herself and her life.

Then an influencer suggested something that sounded completely outside her comfort zone: try doing yoga at home naked.

So she did.

And it opened up her curiosity about what else might happen if she was willing to try something unconventional.

What followed was a journey into naturism with her husband, some hilarious early experiences, and eventually a trip together to a naturist resort that Lyane describes as life changing.

But what happened there went far beyond getting comfortable being naked. By giving herself permission to do something unconventional, Lyane discovered a completely different way of seeing herself. And that freedom began to spill into every part of her life.

This is a conversation about courage, curiosity and the unexpected ways we can liberate ourselves when we're willing to step outside the rules we've been living by.

Come for the nudism. Stay for the liberation.

Humanitarienne with Dr. Kirsten Johnson

What happens when the girl who once lived in a punk rock house, survived on odd jobs and soup kitchens, and didn't even finish high school goes on to become a physician, scholar and humanitarian?

That is just the beginning of Kirsten Johnson's extraordinary story.

In Humanitarienne, Kirsten takes us from a difficult childhood and a teenage search for somewhere to belong, through a life of risk, adventure and service across the globe. From a kibbutz in Israel to refugee camps on the Thai-Burma border, the killing fields of Darfur, earthquake-ravaged Haiti, the Canadian Arctic and the front lines of global health, she keeps following the same instinct: go where the need is greatest and figure out how to help.

But this isn't just a book about the places Kirsten has been or the things she's survived. It's about the woman those experiences created.

We talk about the young woman who was desperate to escape, the experiences that taught her she could navigate the world, and the many places where she found pieces of belonging along the way. We talk about near-death experiences, absorbing fragments of other people's pain, motherhood and guilt, and the complicated reality of working inside systems designed to help people that don't always get it right.

And eventually, Kirsten stops asking how she can keep responding to broken systems and starts asking how she can change them. The impact she made on the world and the lives she touched will forever define her legacy

This is a story about courage, purpose, belonging, worth and what it means to build a life that actually feels like your own.

Kirsten thoughtfully asks; What does it mean to live a meaningful life?

Join us for this first episode of the Author Series, to find out.

Humanitarienne is published by Douglas & McIntyre.

https://douglas-mcintyre.com/products/9781771624862?srsltid=AfmBOoo5rkmCjbLng9oidmq0yyKi5gBc81WHtpzwyfIMVjuT79slwMAD

Kirsten's instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kirstenjohnsonexplorer/

Kirsten's clinic: https://medalma.com/

Season 1 taught me a lot. And now I'm taking those lessons into Season 2.

After 12 conversations with women I thought I knew, I realized Out Loud isn't just about stories of resilience and liberation. It's about becoming, and who we are on the other side of coming Out Loud to share our stories.

In this bridge episode, I share what I learned making Season One, and what I'm taking with me into the next chapter.

And then, a preview at what's coming in Season Two: new women, new conversations, a new additional series, and a new community!

Season One was the beginning.

Here's what's next in a BIGGER, BOLDER SEASON 2!

29 years going strong… but it all started with a very questionable courtship....

In this special episode of Out Loud, I'm joined by my husband, Brian, for a very honest, sometimes very funny and sometimes very heartbreaking look back at the first year and a half of our relationship.

It was the late '90s. We were young, figuring ourselves out, and navigating a courtship that was… let's just say, not exactly a straight line to happily ever after. There were many missteps, hurt feelings, questionable decisions, and plenty of moments that, at the time, felt like the end of the world.

Think Reality Bites, or Ross and Rachel (were they on a break?) only we actually stayed together. 😉

I wanted to give you, my audience a glimpse into young Cindy: the woman I was becoming, and the ways having this great love by my side helped shape the person I am today.

I also a reveal a very traumatic event of our past that I have shared with very few people since it happened. I decided to be courageous and finally come Out Loud.

We go back to where it all began, tell the stories we still laugh about, and reveal some things that may have been better left in the '90s.

Come hear how it all unfolded. ❤️

There are moments in life when everything seems to happen at once. When the circumstances are so overwhelming that you can't imagine how you're going to get through them, and yet, somehow, you do.

This is Jen Smordin's story.

In the same month that the world shut down, Jen was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, standing on the precipice of separating from her husband, raising two young children, and suddenly finding herself in lockdown with her entire family.

It was, in every sense, the perfect storm.

But this episode isn't really about cancer, divorce, or the pandemic. It's about what happens to us when life strips away the structures we've relied on, and what we discover about ourselves when we're forced to find another way forward.

For Jen, this extraordinary convergence of circumstances brought her face-to-face with the conditioning and generational beliefs that had shaped how she thought she was supposed to live, behave, and be in the world. And somewhere in the middle of all that uncertainty, something shifted. She began to challenge those beliefs, trust herself in new ways, and discover a resilience she didn't know she had.

And there's another really special layer to this story.

Joining us is Jen's best friend, who was actually living with Jen and her family when the world went into lockdown. She witnessed this chapter unfold from the inside, giving us a perspective that only someone who was there could offer.

Together, the two of them take us through the chaos, the choices, the lessons, the moments of doubt, and ultimately, the woman Jen emerged as on the other side.

And at the heart of it all is Jen's relationship with her children and the extraordinary lengths she went to put them at the forefront of every decision.

This is a story about motherhood. About resilience. About challenging the stories we inherit. About discovering that sometimes the life we thought we were supposed to live is not the life we're meant to keep living.

And perhaps most of all, it's a beautiful testament to the human spirit, female friendships and to the choices we still get to make when life gives us circumstances we never would have chosen for ourselves.

This was her The Perfect Storm.

What if you grew up believing that most of the people you loved were destined for hell?

Casey Rae Nunn was born into what she believed was simply a devoted Christian community in rural Manitoba. From an early age, she was taught there was one right way to live, one right way to believe, and one path to salvation. As she met children outside her community at school, she was told by the adults in her life that anyone who wasn't part of their faith would spend eternity in hell.

But even as a child, Casey sensed something wasn't quite right. She remembers wondering, What do you mean all of my friends are going to hell? She was naturally curious and quietly questioned the messages she was being taught, even if she didn't yet have the words, or the freedom, to challenge them.

It wasn't until she left home to attend university that her world began to expand. In her twenties, Casey started to wonder whether the community she had grown up in was not simply a strict Christian sect, but a cult.

One of the most fascinating parts of Casey's story is the contrast between the world that shaped her and the woman she is today. A vibrant, creative, artistic, and deeply thoughtful person, Casey grew up in an environment that saw life in stark black and white. Her journey has been one of reclaiming curiosity, embracing nuance, and redefining who she is on her own terms.

In this episode, we talk about growing up in a high control religious community, questioning everything you thought you knew, untangling identity from indoctrination, and finding the courage to build a life that feels authentically your own, while still loving family members who remain part of that world.

This wasn't an easy story for Casey to tell. Following public scandals involving the group she grew up in, she has chosen to share her experience because it is an important part of who she is and because she knows others may recognize pieces of their own story in hers.

This conversation is about faith, identity, belonging, courage, and what happens when you finally give yourself permission to ask the questions you've carried your whole life.

If you want to learn more about 2 X 2

Trust Me: Cults, Extreme Belief, and the Abuse of Power Hosted by Lola Blanc and Meagan Elizabeth (an ex-2x2)

- "Kyle & Kari, Part 1 – Deconstructing the 2x2s" (August 16, 2023) – Apple | Spotify - "Kyle & Kari, Part 2 – Uncovering Widespread Sexual Abuse" (August 23, 2023) – Apple | Spotify - "Mike & Abbi Prussack, Part 1: A Church with No Name, Isolated Childhoods, and Doomsday Fear" (November 12, 2023) – Apple | Spotify - "Mike & Abbi Prussack, Part 2: Predators in Power, Institutional Denial, and the Fight to Expose It" (November 19, 2025) – Apple | Spotify

Let's Talk About Sects

- "Two by Twos / The Truth" (October 13, 2020) – featuring Laura McConnell, an ex-2x2 from Australia – Apple | Spotify - "Interview Episode: Two By Two Update" (February 6, 2025) – featuring Abbi and Mike Prussack – Apple | Spotify

The Mass Exodus

- "Anguish, Abuse, and Ankle Length Dresses: Growing Up in a Nameless Cult" (March 29, 2022) – featuring Kristin Warnaca – Apple | Spotify

What happens when your greatest fear becomes your reality?

For Melanie Roy, the fear of abandonment wasn't just something she worried about, it became the defining circumstance of her life. Over the years, she experienced the unimaginable loss of every member of her immediate family, forcing her to navigate profound grief, heartbreak, and loneliness long before most people ever face those challenges.

But this is not a story about loss.

It's a story about resilience.

In this deeply moving conversation, Melanie shares what it was like to carry grief through every season of her life, how she learned to keep moving forward when the people she loved most were gone, and why she refused to let tragedy define who she would become.

Today, Melanie has transformed her pain into purpose. She has dedicated her life to caring for some of the most vulnerable people in our communities, individuals who are often overlooked, forgotten, or left behind. Her story is a powerful reminder that while we cannot always choose what happens to us, we can choose what we do with it.

This episode is about loss, healing, courage, and the extraordinary strength of the human spirit. Most of all, it's about discovering that sometimes our greatest wounds can become our greatest gifts.

What if the darkest moments of your month weren't simply PMS, but a serious and treatable medical condition?

In this powerful and deeply personal conversation, Christine shares her experience living with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD), a severe and often misunderstood condition that affects millions of women yet remains significantly underdiagnosed.

For years, Christine found herself trapped in a cycle of emotional and psychological symptoms that seemed to take over her life. During certain phases of her menstrual cycle, she experienced intense shifts in mood, thinking, and emotional regulation that left her feeling as though she had lost access to mental facilities. As she describes it, it felt like her mind was in a cage.

Because PMDD symptoms can closely resemble anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions, many women spend years searching for answers without realizing that their symptoms may be linked to their hormonal cycle. Despite its prevalence, awareness of PMDD remains surprisingly low, leaving countless women struggling in silence.

Christine shares her journey to diagnosis, the challenges of navigating a condition she didn't understand, and the relief that came with finally finding the right support, treatment, and medication. Today, she is living well and using her story to help others recognize the signs, ask questions, and seek the care they deserve.

Whether you've heard of PMDD before or are learning about it for the first time, this conversation offers hope, validation, and a deeper understanding of a condition that deserves far more awareness.

If this conversation resonates with you, please share it with someone who may need to hear it. Greater awareness can help more women find answers, support, and hope.

christine-guenette.com

At just 28 years old, a week after getting engaged, Lisa Braidwood was diagnosed with stage 3C breast cancer and was forced to confront an uncertain future at the very moment her life was just beginning.

Twenty-one years later, she is living proof that the story doesn't always end where it's predicted to.

In this episode, Lisa shares the raw, unfiltered reality of her diagnosis, treatment, but this is not just a cancer story. It's a story about what happens after: the unexpected paths, the identity shifts, the resilience built over time, and the deep gratitude that comes from simply being alive.

Lisa's perspective is grounded, powerful, and deeply human. She doesn't sugarcoat what she went through, but she also doesn't live there. Instead, she brings us into how she learned to move with life rather than resist it, and how overcoming cancer shaped her into someone who meets every chapter with presence, grace, and acceptance.

A story of living, but more importantly, a story of becoming.

What happens when the life you've been told to want isn't the life you actually want?

In this episode, Cindy sits down with Erin Marguerite to talk about choosing an unconventional path long before it became trendy to do so.

Growing up as the oldest of four children, Erin learned early that her role was to help. She describes feeling "shrink-wrapped" by family expectations, often putting her own needs aside while caring for her younger siblings and becoming the dependable people-pleaser everyone counted on.

Like many of us, Erin followed the path that seemed laid out for her. She went to university with plans of becoming a teacher, but quickly realized that a traditional career and a 9-to-5 life didn't fit who she was. Sitting behind a desk and following a prescribed path felt disconnected from the freedom and creativity she craved.

Rather than continuing to live according to other people's expectations, Erin began creating a life that reflected her own values. Over the years, she has continually reinvented herself, giving herself permission to evolve, explore new possibilities, and choose herself again and again.

Now, as she steps into her next chapter, Erin is helping other women break free from the roles they've outgrown and build lives that feel authentic, expansive, and fully their own.

This conversation is about people-pleasing, identity, self-trust, belonging and the courage it takes to create a life that looks different from what others imagined for you.

Erin's podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/own-your-wild/id1518657803

Erin's website

https://www.erinmarguerite.com/

Erin Book: BOOK LINK