Sometimes life doesn’t fall apart all at once.

Sometimes it cracks.

In this episode of MercyCast, I sit down with Rachel Krentzman, author of As Is: A Memoir on Healing the Past through Yoga, to talk about what happens when the world you thought you understood suddenly looks different—and you can’t unsee it. Rachel shares the story behind her memoir, including the cost of vulnerability, the courage it took to tell the truth, and the long, uneven road of healing that followed.

We talk about what it means to go first, to name discomfort instead of escaping it, and to learn compassion not from a distance but from the inside of our own pain. Rachel reflects on how practices like yoga, writing, and time in nature helped her separate her identity from her experiences—and how being truly seen and accepted changed everything.

This conversation is honest, tender, and grounded in the reality that healing is rarely quick or tidy. It’s about learning to sit with what hurts, trusting that growth isn’t linear, and discovering that we are always more than our stories.

If you’ve ever felt broken—but not destroyed—this episode is for you.

Listen now, and if this conversation resonates, I’d love for you to share it with someone who needs permission to slow down, be seen, and begin again.

In This Episode, We Explore:

• How compassion is often learned through adversity, not comfort
• Why vulnerability always costs us something—and why it’s still worth it
• The power of writing as a way to process pain and tell the truth
• Why healing is not linear and what it means to honor the ups and downs
• How mindfulness helps us notice thoughts without letting them define us
• The importance of sitting with discomfort instead of numbing or escaping it
• Why nature has a grounding, restorative effect on our minds and bodies
• The role of safe community in healing—and why being seen matters
• How professional guides can help us see what we can’t see alone
• What it looks like to transform pain into compassion for others

If something in this episode stirred something in you, I’d love to hear from you.

Reach out, share your story, or let us know how you’re learning the art of compassion through adversity.

You’re not alone—and you don’t have to rush the healing.

Find Rachel’s new book on Amazon.

You can follow MercyCast on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

You can follow Raleigh on Twitter and Instagram.

Thanks for listening. We want to hear from you!

Email us at [email protected].

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-mercycast/exclusive-content