SHE Asked Podcast

What if grief is a story still being written?

In this episode of *She Asked: Tools for Practical Hope*, I sit down with Bronx-raised poet and storyteller Leah V to explore how poetry, memory, and imagination can help us find our way through grief.

After her father’s passing, Leah discovered his poems and journals, finding pieces of him she had never known. Those words became part of *The Long Way Home*, her multimedia performance weaving together her father’s writing, her own poetry, music, movement, and the stories that connect them.

Together, we explore how grief continues to change us, how creativity can help us stay connected to the people we’ve lost, and how making art can become a way of understanding ourselves more deeply.

Because losing someone doesn't mean our relationship with them simply ends. Their words, memories, and the things they leave behind can become part of how we continue to live, love, and discover who we are.

And perhaps finding our way home isn't about returning to who we were before loss. Perhaps it's about learning to carry what we've lost while continuing to become ourselves.

**In this conversation, we explore:**
- How discovering a loved one's writing can change the way we remember them
- The relationship between grief, creativity, and identity
- How art can help us remain connected to the people we've lost
- The role of memory and imagination in making sense of loss
- What it means to find our way home to ourselves

Leah’s story reminds us that grief isn't something we simply finish. It can become part of the story we're still learning to tell.

If this conversation resonates with you, I’d love to hear from you in the comments: **How have the words, memories, or creative work of someone you've lost helped you stay connected to them?**

Thank you for being here.

With love,  
Anna McBride

🎙️ *She Asked: Tools for Practical Hope*

✨ Connect with Anna McBride:  
Website: annamcbride.com  
Instagram: @annamcbride  
Substack: Anna McBride

✨ Connect with Leah V:  
Website: leahvspeaks.com  
Instagram: @LeahVhspeaks

#SheAsked #ToolsForPracticalHope #GriefAndHealing #Poetry #LeahV

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What if there were parts of our parents’ stories we never knew?

In this episode of *She Asked: Tools for Practical Hope*, I sit down with Bronx-raised poet and storyteller Leah V to explore the surprising discovery that changed the way she remembers her father.

After his passing, Leah found a collection of his poems tucked inside a piano bench. In those handwritten pages, she encountered a side of her father she had never known: a young man with his own heartbreak, insecurities, dreams, and questions about life.

Together, we explore the complicated people behind the roles they play in our lives, the stories we inherit, and how grief can sometimes open the door to a deeper understanding of the people we love.

Because our parents existed long before they became our parents. They had dreams we may never have heard about, struggles we may never have understood, and parts of themselves they may never have shown us.

And perhaps making peace with their stories doesn't mean rewriting them or making them perfect. Perhaps it means allowing them to be fully human.

**In this conversation, we explore:**
- Discovering who our parents were before us
- How grief can change the way we remember someone
- The connection between creativity, identity, and purpose
- Finding hope in the chapters of life whose endings we haven't yet seen
- Learning to love someone deeply without needing to rewrite their story

Leah’s discovery reminds us that there is always more to uncover, both about the people we love and about ourselves.

If this conversation resonates with you, I’d love to hear from you in the comments: **What is something you’ve come to understand about your parents differently as you’ve grown older?**

Thank you for being here.

With love,  
Anna McBride

🎙️ *She Asked: Tools for Practical Hope*

✨ Connect with Anna McBride:
Website: annamcbride.com
Instagram: @annamcbride
Substack: Anna McBride

✨ Connect with Leah V:
Website: leahvspeaks.com
Instagram: leahvspeaks

#SheAsked #ToolsForPracticalHope #GriefAndHealing #FamilyStories #LeahV

✨ Schedule your Free Call with Anna

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What if the pain you're trying so hard to escape is actually trying to show you something?

In this solo episode of She Asked: Tools for Practical Hope, Anna McBride reflects on the final days of her training for 29029 in Tahoe—and what preparing to climb a mountain has unexpectedly taught her about pain, vision, trust, and becoming.

For months, Anna has trained her body to climb. But as the event approaches, she's realizing that the deeper challenge may have nothing to do with the mountain itself.

Instead, it may be about what happens when we find ourselves in the “pain cave”—those moments when grief, fear, uncertainty, or disappointment narrow our vision and make it difficult to imagine anything beyond what we're experiencing.

Anna explores what it means to move through those moments with a vision of who we're becoming, rather than simply trying to get out of the pain.

In this episode, Anna explores:

• Why pain can make our world feel smaller—and why we may need a vision of something beyond it
• The “pain cave” and the questions that can help us move through it
• What happens when we stop asking “How do I fix this?” and start asking “What is this teaching me?”
• Why vision can become a compass when we can't see the entire path
• How consistency, courage, understanding, and self-trust create a trail forward
• The connection between achievement, worth, and the beliefs we carry about ourselves
• Why Anna believes she may have been choosing mountains not to prove herself, but to transform
• Learning to move at the pace of trust instead of the pace of fear
• What surrender can teach us about acceptance
• And ultimately, what it means to find our way home to ourselves

Because maybe the goal isn't to become a better, faster, stronger version of ourselves.

Maybe the trail is leading us back to the person we were before we learned we had to earn our worth.     

If you're in your own “pain cave” right now, Anna invites you to consider:

Why is this so hard?
What am I afraid of?
What is this teaching me?
What is this inviting me to do?
And who is this inviting me to become?    

🎧 Subscribe and listen to She Asked: Tools for Practical Hope wherever you get your podcasts.

💬 What is your pain cave asking you to see—and who is it inviting you to become?

✨ Connect with Anna McBride:
Website: annamcbride.com
Instagram: @annamcbride
Substack: Anna McBride

#SheAsked #ToolsForPracticalHope #AnnaMcBride #29029 #PainCave #PersonalGrowth #SelfTrust #Surrender #Resilience #LifeTransitions #HealingJourney #Vision #Becoming #WomenOver50

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What happens when the life you fought so hard to understand is no longer the life you want to live?

In Part 2 of She Asked: Tools for Practical Hope, Anna McBride continues her conversation with Audra Phelps about what comes after you begin questioning the identity you once believed was yours.

Audra talks about the strange freedom that can come with realizing your own information, curiosity, and perspective belong to you again. But freedom can bring its own questions: If I know who I’m not anymore, then who am I?

They explore:

• The parts of ourselves we sometimes bury just to survive
• What happens when curiosity becomes a doorway to change
• The courage it takes to admit, I am meant for more
• Why freedom can feel both exhilarating and terrifying
• The grief that comes with outgrowing an identity
• What it means to rediscover yourself after years of living by expectations
• And the possibility that becoming yourself is not about finding someone new—but reconnecting with the person who was always there

Audra’s story reminds us that transformation doesn't always arrive as a clear answer.

Sometimes it begins with a question.

What if there is more of you waiting to be discovered?

🎧 Watch Part 2 of She Asked: Tools for Practical Hope and continue the conversation with Audra Phelps.

✨ Connect with Audra Phelps
Website: https://mamaaudra.com 
Free Masterclass for exMormon moms: https://mamaaudra.com/training 
Podcast listeners can get a 50% discount off of their first one-on-one session with me. Mention the podcast during our consultation call for the discount. Head on over to https://mamaaudra.com/oneonone to book a time to chat.

IG: https://www.instagram.com/mamaaudraof...
FB: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?...
TT: Mama Audra
You-Tube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpbDyIob0Z_LDe_HfsQ6mJQ  
Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/audra-phelps-b422786a

Subscribe to She Asked: Tools for Practical Hope for more conversations about identity, healing, courage, and the questions that can change our lives.

#SheAsked #ToolsForPracticalHope #AudraPhelps #AnnaMcBride #SelfTrust #Identity #PersonalGrowth #Belonging #HealingJourney #Courage #Transformation

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What happens when you finally believe yourself?

For years, Audra Phelps believed that the life she had been given was the life she was meant to live. She followed the rules, became a wife and mother, went to church, and tried to become the woman she had been taught she should be.

But underneath it all, something wasn’t right.

In this episode of She Asked: Tools for Practical Hope, Anna McBride sits down with Audra to talk about what happens when the life you’ve been taught to want no longer feels like your own.

Audra shares her journey of questioning her faith, rediscovering her curiosity and confidence, finding unexpected belonging outside her religious community, and eventually confronting a truth she had been afraid to say out loud.

They talk about:

• What happens when you’ve been taught not to trust your own questions
• The difference between belonging and truly feeling seen
• What our bodies can reveal when our lives are out of alignment
• Finding parts of yourself you had buried beneath expectations
• Why creating distance can sometimes give us the clarity we need
• The grief and fear that can come with leaving an identity behind
• And the question at the heart of it all: What happens when you finally believe yourself?

Audra’s story is ultimately about more than leaving a religion. It’s about the complicated, courageous process of discovering who you are when you stop letting someone else define you.

Because sometimes the first step toward a bigger life is believing the quiet voice inside you that has been trying to get your attention all along.

✨ Connect with Audra Phelps

Website: https://mamaaudra.com 

Free Masterclass for exMormon moms: https://mamaaudra.com/training 

Podcast listeners can get a 50% discount off of their first one-on-one session with me. Mention the podcast during our consultation call for the discount. Head on over to https://mamaaudra.com/oneonone to book a time to chat.

IG: https://www.instagram.com/mamaaudraofficial/?hl=en

FB: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571178607920

TT: Mama Audra

You-Tube: https://www.youtube.com/@Mama-Audra

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/audra-phelps-b422786a/

🎧 Subscribe and listen to She Asked: Tools for Practical Hope wherever you get your podcasts.

#SheAsked #ToolsForPracticalHope #AudraPhelps #AnnaMcBride #SelfTrust #PersonalGrowth #Identity #Belonging #Faith #HealingJourney

✨ Schedule your Free Call with Anna

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What if becoming isn’t about becoming someone new?

What if it’s about remembering who you’ve always been?

In this episode of She Asked: Tools for Practical Hope, Anna McBride explores the quieter, messier reality of becoming—the seasons when an old version of you no longer fits, but the next version hasn’t fully emerged yet.

Through the metaphor of the butterfly and the chrysalis, Anna reflects on slowing down, learning to nourish ourselves from within, listening to our bodies, choosing ourselves in relationships, and allowing old identities to dissolve rather than constantly trying to improve, achieve, or become “more.”

Because maybe the chrysalis isn’t punishment.
Maybe it’s preparation.

And maybe you don’t have to chase your becoming.
Maybe you just have to become still enough to remember what has been inside you all along.

✨ In this episode, Anna asks:
• What part of you is quietly waiting to be remembered?
• Where might you be forcing something that is asking you to become more willing?
• What would change if you trusted the blueprint that’s been inside you all along?

If you’re navigating grief, divorce, recovery, reinvention, or simply feel like life is calling a new version of you forward, this conversation is for you.

Read Anna’s companion essay, What Becoming Really Looks Like, on Substack and continue the conversation.

🎧 Listen to She Asked: Tools for Practical Hope wherever you get your podcasts.

#SheAsked #ToolsForPracticalHope #Becoming #PersonalGrowth #SelfDiscovery #HealingJourney #Reinvention #PracticalHope

✨ Schedule your Free Call with Anna

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What if the way we make people feel is the greatest legacy we leave behind?

In this deeply personal episode of She Asked: Tools for Practical Hope, Anna shares the story of her sister Margaret, her nephew's wedding, and the unexpected lessons that emerged from a weekend filled with love, grief, and family.

She reflects on the stories we create about other people, the assumptions that can keep us from truly seeing them, and how grief can change the way we choose to live.

Most importantly, Anna asks us to consider: How do you want people to feel after spending time with you?

In this episode, you'll discover three practical ways to begin:
• Go looking for life
• Rewrite a story you've outgrown
• Become someone's legacy today

Because legacy isn't something we build at the end of our lives.

It's built in the ordinary moments of our lives, every day.

✨ If this conversation resonates with you, subscribe, share it with someone you love, and continue the conversation through Anna's weekly Substack essays.

Read The Weddings That Change Us on Substack: [link]

Interested in exploring coaching with Anna? Visit annamcbride.com to schedule a complimentary consultation.

💬 Who has changed your life simply by the way they loved you?

#SheAskedPodcast #AnnaMcBride #TheWeddingsThatChangeUs #GriefAndHealing #Legacy #Love #PersonalGrowth #PracticalHope #HealingJourney

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What if the greatest challenge you're facing isn't meant to change you…

What if it's revealing who you've been becoming all along?

In this solo episode of She Asked: Tools for Practical Hope, Anna reflects on an unexpected lesson she discovered while training for the 29029 Everesting Challenge. What began as physical preparation for climbing the equivalent of Mount Everest became something much deeper: a journey of releasing performance, embracing presence, and redefining what strength really means.

Through stories from the trail, Anna shares how the mountain exposed old patterns of perfectionism, overachievement, and the need to prove herself—and how learning to slow down transformed not only her training, but the way she moves through life.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Why transformation happens long before you reach the summit
• The difference between achieving and becoming
• How performance can disconnect us from ourselves
• What your greatest challenges may be trying to reveal about you
• Practical tools for navigating life's mountains with greater self-awareness and compassion
• How journaling, meditation, and intention can help you move from proving to presence

Whether you're walking through grief, rebuilding after divorce, facing illness, navigating a career transition, or simply feeling called into a new season of life, this episode is a reminder that the goal isn't just to get through the climb.

It's to become someone new because of it.

✨ If this conversation resonated with you, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone who's climbing a mountain of their own.

📖 Read Anna's companion Substack essay:
"The Mountain Isn't Changing Me. It's Revealing Me."
https://substack.com/@annadiazmcbride/note/p-208899736?r=21pxmn&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action

Connect with Anna:
🌐 Website: https://www.annamcbride.com
📸 Instagram: @iam_annamcbride
🎵 TikTok: @iam_annamcbride

💬 I'd love to hear from you: What mountain are you climbing right now—and who is it inviting you to become?

#SheAskedPodcast #AnnaMcBride #PersonalGrowth #Resilience #HealingJourney #SelfDiscovery #29029 #Mindset #LifeTransitions #Women'sGrowth #Transformation

✨ Schedule your Free Call with Anna

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What happens when healing asks you to move beyond what you've always believed to be true?

In Part 2 of this powerful conversation on She Asked: Tools for Practical Hope, Anna and multidimensional healer Min Lee continue exploring what it means to trust your intuition, heal beyond the mind, and courageously step into a new understanding of yourself.

Together, they discuss why healing isn't a destination but an unfolding process—and why true transformation requires more than insight. It asks us to regulate our nervous systems, reconnect with our intuition, and release the stories that have kept us disconnected from who we truly are.

From the power of the divine feminine to the importance of nervous system healing, this conversation invites you to explore beyond fear, beyond certainty, and beyond belief itself.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Why healing is never a one-time event—it's an ongoing unfolding
• How nervous system regulation can reconnect you to your intuition
• Why trauma, identity, and healing are deeply interconnected
• The role of spiritual practices and plant medicine in personal transformation (one perspective)
• What it means to reclaim your power and remember who you truly are
• Why so many women are experiencing a collective awakening
• How healing yourself creates ripples that extend far beyond your own life

Whether you're questioning old beliefs, navigating a season of change, or feeling called to explore a deeper connection with yourself, this conversation is an invitation to trust that healing doesn't require having all the answers.

Sometimes, it simply asks us to be brave enough to explore.

✨ If this episode resonated with you, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone who may need this conversation today.

Connect with Min Lee:

📧 Email: [email protected]
▶️ YouTube: @mindfultripofficial
📸 Instagram: @mindfultripofficial
🎵 TikTok: @mindfultripofficial

Connect with Anna McBride:

🌐 Website: https://www.annamcbride.com
📸 Instagram: @annamcbride_
🎵 TikTok: @annamcbride_

💬 We'd love to hear from you: What's one belief you've outgrown that changed the direction of your life?

#SheAskedPodcast #AnnaMcBride #HealingJourney #PersonalGrowth #SpiritualAwakening #Intuition #NervousSystemHealing #TraumaHealing #Transformation #Women'sHealing #SelfDiscovery #MindBodySpirit

I especially like ending with "What's one belief you've outgrown that changed the direction of your life?" because it ties directly into the title Beyond Belief and is more likely to spark thoughtful comments than a generic question.

✨ Schedule your Free Call with Anna

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What if the questions you've been asking yourself aren't signs that something is wrong—but invitations to heal?

In this deeply thought-provoking episode of She Asked: Tools for Practical Hope, Anna sits down with former television executive turned multidimensional healer Min Lee to explore how curiosity can become the first step toward healing, self-discovery, and transformation.

After spending more than 30 years building a successful career in television, Min found herself quietly wondering if there was more to life than the path she had carefully created. Those questions eventually led her through profound personal change, a spiritual awakening, and a completely new understanding of purpose, intuition, and healing.

Together, Anna and Min explore what happens when we stop resisting the quiet nudges within us and begin following our curiosity instead. They discuss identity, intuition, emotional healing, the courage to leave behind what no longer fits, and why true transformation often begins with asking better questions—not having all the answers.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Why curiosity may be the first step toward healing
• What happens when your life no longer aligns with who you're becoming
• The courage it takes to trust your intuition
• The "dark night of the soul" and why transformation is often uncomfortable
• Why so many women lose themselves trying to meet others' expectations
• One perspective on how spiritual practices—including plant medicine—can support a healing journey
• Why healing isn't about becoming someone new—it's about remembering who you've always been

Whether you're navigating a life transition, questioning your purpose, or simply sensing that life is inviting you into something deeper, this conversation is a gentle reminder that healing doesn't begin with certainty.

It begins with curiosity.

✨ If this episode resonated with you, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone who may need this conversation today.

Connect with Min Lee:
YouTube: @mindfultripofficial
IG: @mindfultripofficial
TikTok: @mindfultripofficial

Connect with Anna McBride:
Website: https://www.annamcbride.com
Instagram: @annamcbride_
TikTok: @annamcbride_

💬 We'd love to hear from you: What question has your curiosity been inviting you to explore lately?

#SheAskedPodcast #AnnaMcBride #HealingJourney #Curiosity #SpiritualAwakening #PersonalGrowth #Women'sHealing #Purpose #Transformation #Intuition

✨ Schedule your Free Call with Anna

💌 Join Anna's Newsletter

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