Catalina’s story is one of survival, awakening, and learning how to live beyond inherited pain.

Born into instability and abuse, Catalina entered the foster care system at a young age, navigating trauma, abandonment, and identity loss throughout her childhood and early adulthood. For years, survival shaped her decisions, relationships, and sense of self.

In this deeply honest conversation, Catalina shares how a life altering relationship ending became the turning point that forced her to confront patterns of self-abandonment and begin rebuilding her life with intention.

Through healing practices, reconnecting with creativity, and learning to be present, Catalina discovered her voice and purpose. Today, she uses her lived experience to advocate for trauma-informed foster care reform and support others in rediscovering their identity beyond survival.

This episode explores how generational patterns influence identity, why presence is a powerful form of healing, and how reclaiming your voice can transform pain into leadership and service.

If you have ever felt defined by your past, struggled with abandonment, or wondered how healing shapes who you become, this conversation offers both perspective and hope.

To connect with Catalina:

• Websites: https://catalinarising.com
• IG: https://www.instagram.com/catalinarises/

If this conversation stirred something in you, join the Inner Circle a private space for listeners and guests to stay connected and continue the reflection beyond the show

www.willijahdawson.com/innercircle

What we inherit isn’t just tradition it’s how we care for ourselves, how we nourish others, and how we understand wellness.

In this episode of Raised by Women, Tess shares her journey growing up in Hong Kong in a household shaped by strong, nurturing women. Raised by her mother and sisters, she learned early that food was more than sustenance it was love, connection, and culture.

Her life shifted when she was diagnosed with hypoglycemia in her thirties, forcing her to examine long-held habits shaped by family tradition. What began as a personal health wake-up call became a global journey spanning London, New York, Los Angeles, and Miami ultimately leading Tess to build a career in nutrition and holistic wellness coaching.

Together, we explore:

• How cultural traditions influence health and identity
• The hidden wisdom passed through mothers and family rituals
• The power of female support systems during major life transitions
• Why strength and softness are not opposites but complements
• How small, sustainable changes create lasting transformation

This conversation is a reminder that wellness is deeply personal, culturally rooted, and often shaped long before we realize it.

If you’ve ever questioned the habits you inherited or felt called to redefine wellness on your own terms, this episode invites you into that reflection.

To connect with Tess, visit the following sites:

• Websites:https://glowithtess.com
• IG: https://www.instagram.com/glowithtess/?hl=en
• FB: https://www.facebook.com/Glowithtess/
• Book: https://confidentyoubook.com/ 

If this conversation stirred something in you, join the Inner Circle a private space for listeners and guests to stay connected and continue the reflection beyond the show

www.willijahdawson.com/innercircle

In this episode, Shelby shares the deeply personal story of what happens when a marriage, faith, and long-held life plans begin to unravel. Several years into her marriage, Shelby’s husband experienced a profound shift in belief and mental health setting her on a decade-long journey of uncertainty, caregiving, grief, and self-abandonment.

We talk about what it means to grieve the children you never had, the quiet toll of living in survival mode, and the moment when the body and soul finally ask for space to heal. Shelby reflects on the women who held her through it, the ancestral presence of her grandmother, and how lineage can guide us when clarity feels out of reach.

This conversation explores resilience without bypassing pain and the power of listening to intuition when life no longer fits the blueprint you were given.

To connect with Dr. James, visit her following sites:

• Websites: 
  • https://www.shelbyeloria.com/
  • https://www.allsetstyle.com/
• IG: 
  • https://www.instagram.com/shelbyeloria/?hl=en
  • https://www.instagram.com/allset.style/?hl=en
• LinkedIn: 
  • https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelbyeloria/

If this conversation stirred something in you, join the Inner Circle a private space for listeners and guests to stay connected and continue the reflection beyond the show

www.willijahdawson.com/innercircle

What happens when you’ve done everything right… and your body still breaks?

In this episode, Michelle shares the turning point that changed her life from growing up on a farm with real food and homegrown meals, to city living and processed convenience, to eventually landing in San Francisco at the start of the modern food movement. But the real shift came when her health collapsed.

After 10 years of severe bleeding and anemia, repeated ER visits and procedures, injuries, infections, and a season of depression that left her feeling stuck, Michelle finally hit a breaking point with the medical merry-go-round. That’s when she began rebuilding her health from the ground up starting with fermented foods, the microbiome, and the ancestral practices we’ve largely forgotten.

Michelle explains:

• Why fermented foods can support gut health, mood, and resilience
• How “sterilized” modern food systems affect our bodies (and why diversity matters)
• What she learned hosting off-grid events where people reset—physically and emotionally
• How she created her two-week “Gutsy Reset” framework (7 simple steps added to your current diet)
• Why monitoring digestion (yes… poop) is real data your body is giving you
• The wisdom she inherited from her grandfather: Who did you help? What did you create? What did you learn?

This conversation is part wellness, part legacy, part truth-telling: get back to basics, stop outsourcing your health, and start listening to your body again.

Michelles Links & Resources

Visit The Guts of Fermentation and download the free Gutsy Two-Week Reset.

• Website: https://thegutsoffermentation.com/
• FB: https://www.facebook.com/TheGutsofFermentation
• IG: https://www.instagram.com/thegutsoffermentatio
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heberling/

If this conversation stirred something in you, join the Inner Circle a private space for listeners and guests to stay connected and continue the reflection beyond the show

www.willijahdawson.com/innercircle

What happens when you grow up in a system that never taught you freedom then spend your life reclaiming it?

In this episode, Dr. James shares her journey from a post communist childhood in Europe to becoming a U.S. citizen, scholar, mother, and advocate for women healing from narcissistic abuse. After living in six countries and navigating generational trauma, rigid parenting, and coercive relationships, she reflects on identity, forgiveness, and the power of repair.

We talk about:

• Growing up without emotional safety and how that shaped resilience
• Generational trauma without blame or shame
• Leaving academia to turn pain into purpose
• Parenting with intention after trauma
• Faith as relationship, not religion
• Why you are not your job, your past, or one single identity

This is a conversation about freedom, narcissist abuse, self-authorship, and choosing a different legacy for yourself and the next generation.

To connect with Dr. James, visit her following sites:

• Website: https://echonomorecoaching.org/home
• FB: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61579623976158
• IG: https://www.instagram.com/echonomorecoachingllc
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/echo-no-more-coaching

If this conversation stirred something in you, join the Inner Circle a private space for listeners and guests to stay connected and continue the reflection beyond the show

www.willijahdawson.com/innercircle

In this episode of Raised by Women, Doug reflects on the frustration of doing the books, listening to the podcasts, and doing the “work”only to find the same patterns repeating.

A pivotal moment led him to examine belief-based filters formed in childhood, and how they shape what feels possible, how we show up in relationships, and what we quietly expect will end. As Doug begins to untangle stories like “I don’t matter” and “people leave,” a new path starts to open personally and professionally.

We also talk about his parents relationship and the legacy of his mother a Gold Star mom and lifelong community leader whose courage and service stand worthy of respect regardless of political viewpoints, including introducing Barack Obama at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, and whose influence is woven into Doug’s life and work. 

Watch his mom’s speech here → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CThvYYuvHvA

If you’d like to connect with Doug you can find him via the following:

• FB: forgingtruthllc
• IG: forging_truth
• LinkedIn: forging-truth-llc
• Website: https://forgingtruth.com/

If this conversation stirred something in you, join the Inner Circle a private space for listeners and guests to stay connected and continue the reflection beyond the show

www.willijahdawson.com/innercircle

If your life didn’t follow a straight line and you’re in a season of making sense of it, you’re in the right place. Raised by Women reflects a name change that brings clearer language to the same heart exploring emotional inheritance and the experiences that quietly shape how we lead, decide, and carry responsibility.

Join the Inner Circle:

If something stirred or feels like it’s shifting, you’re invited to join us www.willijahdawson.com/innercircle

Connect hang out with me:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/willijahdawson/ 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@willijahdawson 

Ever felt like everything would fall apart if you didn’t hold it all together? In this episode, I share my personal experience with martyr syndrome the silent burnout of being the one everyone counts on. The truth? People don’t need you as much as you think they do. 

In today’s episode, we’re talking about what it means to lead, inspire, and create impact even when no one acknowledges you. If you’ve ever felt overlooked while others mimic your moves or take inspiration without credit, this one's for you.

When you’re aligned, your presence shifts things. Whether they admit it or not, your work is working.