By age 7, Jojo had already faced the very adult ideas of murder and self-loathing. Now in her early 20s, she is grounded, healing, and absolutely lovely. The story of how she arrived at said loveliness is fascinating, and lucky for us, she is here to tell it. She is here also to ask Renée why, after so much healing, she still struggles so desperately with confidence. They talk families, psychedelics, racism, and lateral violence before identifying the wound that keeps Jojo stuck and developing a plan to resolve it.

Support the show

Vivian and her story are both so compelling that they defy summary. She is hilarious and engaging - and she has been through unthinkable trauma. Fortunately, she has a brilliant therapist and a seemingly bottomless well of resilience. What she doesn't have, however, is a way out of her current emotional predicament. She comes to the podcast hoping Renée has some advice to offer where this predicament is concerned. Guess what? Renée does. Vivian has questions, Renée has answers, and everyone does a lot of laughing.

Support the show

Matt "had no idea" what he wanted or was expecting from being on the show, but he did know that he had a story to tell. He is 41 years old, funny, whip smart, stunningly resilient, and he has never been in a relationship or on a date. This will make sense when you hear what he has survived. Renée and Matt discuss the terrorizing abuse he endured at two different Catholic schools and the complicated path to his recoveries from both trauma and substance abuse. Due in large part to Matt's inspiring spirit, everyone does a lot of laughing -- including Ari, who is back as a guest cohost. Be prepared to be stunned by both Matt's story and his tenacity.  

Support the show

Back by popular demand! Renée returns this week as the guest on her own show to follow up on Episode 60 and answer listener questions - this time, she traces the development and resolution of both her eating disorder and her chronic illness and explains how the two intersect. This is a raw, rogue, really Renée episode: no planning, no editing, no breaks, no outro - just a whole lot of content. Next week, we will return to our regularly scheduled guests and our finicky editing, But for now, Renée lets it rip. Enjoy!

Support the show

When Kaila was a 16 year-old runaway, she was tricked into coming home only to be virtually kidnapped and taken to residential treatment. Her experiences that followed were so intense that she has written a book about them. But now, just as the book is about to be released, Kaila is panicking. Why is she suddenly riddled with fear about sharing her truth? She comes to the show hoping Renée can help her reclaim her confidence. Almost as exciting as Kaila's story is her relief when Renée sorts it! Be prepared to be blown away by Kaila, her story, and her remarkable resilience.

Support the show

"Feelings really aren't me," Dalton told Renée about halfway through their conversation. In addition to making Renée laugh, his sentence sums up the problem he brings to the podcast. Dalton has suffered more than a few tragic losses in the 28 years he has been alive, and the experiences have left him less than friendly with his emotions. It is often said that comedy comes from tragedy, and in Dalton's case, this idea holds true. He has managed to retain his humor - and then some - but loss after gripping loss have stranded his more tender feelings. Renée goes on an excavation mission to find Dalton's exiled emotional self, and in the process they touch on issues from pet loss to parenting. In the end, Renée gives Dalton a plan for stepping back into his feelings, and Dalton leaves Renée with a stomach sore from laughing.

Support the show

In the three decades they have been alive, Kaeden has survived some profoundly traumatic events, including their mother's suicide and their own nervous breakdown. Despite a childhood they describe as "terrorizing," Kaeden astonishingly emerged with a beautifully tender heart. Likewise, after years spent recreating their childhood dynamics with problematic partners and self-defeating behaviors, Kaeden is now happily married, reinvested in creating art, and steeped in insight. Still, they struggle with dissociation, chronic feelings of unworthiness, and the general sense that they are "stuck." They come to the show hoping Renée can get them unstuck and on the path to true healing. After navigating the gripping story of Kaeden's life to date, Renée maps the path to wholeness and liberation. And, as always, both of them manage to laugh plenty along the way.

Support the show

Makensi and Mick are artistic, articulate Aussies. Parents to a 3 year-old daughter, they share the desire to have a more harmonious relationship, and they come to the show hoping Renée can help them get there. Renée talks first to Makensi and then to Mick, exploring their childhoods, their current emotional landscapes, and the fights they hope to extinguish. As the conversation unfolds, clear patterns emerge, and thanks to the couple's remarkable insight and honesty, Renée is able to tie the strands of their individual childhood wounds to their current marital conflicts. It's couple's therapy, deconstructed!

Support the show

What do you get when you mix a traumatized nervous system and a new relationship? For Love, a 37 year-old single mom with an uber-social boyfriend, it's a whole lot of anxiety. So much anxiety, in fact, that she and her new man are fighting almost every weekend. She comes to the podcast hoping Renee can help her figure out how to build intimacy while navigating the many triggers associated with her unresolved trauma. Renee helps love leverage the, well, love that the couple shares and gives her a plan towards deeper healing. 

It's an extra episode this week to mark the switch to our new schedule. New episodes will now be released on Wednesday mornings. We know a lot of you are used to listening on Mondays, so this way you will still have a new one if you want to stay on schedule. We gotchu!

Support the show

Yes, that Renée. The host of the show. She's the guest. What's going on? Well, a whole bunch of stuff! This episode is something a little different. Rather than get into it here, We'll just let you listen.

Support the show