Shift Shift Bloom

This is the story of a body—how it holds pain, how it hides it, and how it sometimes saves your life by refusing to keep going.

In this episode, Kristen talks with Andrea Ciannavei: writer, activist, playwright, TV producer (Mayans MC, Boots), and end-of-life doula. Andrea is also someone who spent decades navigating addiction, trauma, rage, disordered eating, and a complicated relationship with the world—and her own body.

From her early years in New Rochelle and the halls of the Actors Studio, to gastric bypass surgery, 12-step recovery, and a spiritual path paved with dogs, writing, and grief work, Andrea’s story is brutal, funny, brilliant, and deeply felt.

• 🍽️ How growing up in an Italian American family shaped her earliest experiences with food, shame, and visibility
• 🩺 Why her gastric bypass was “a suicide attempt with a side of surgery”
• 🚬 How addiction masked deeper emotional pain—and how 12-step work cracked things open
• ✍️ How writing helped her integrate the past and develop her voice
• 🌈 Why she became an end-of-life doula—and how death work is deeply linked to trauma recovery
• 🧠 How trauma isn’t just a personal wound—it radiates outward like fallout
• 🔥 Why healing is nonlinear and sometimes angry, and why she’ll never stop fighting for her own life

There are moments in this episode that hit like a freight train, and others that feel like a hand on your shoulder. If you’ve ever struggled with body image, addiction, loss, or the long arc of becoming — this one’s for you.

• 📘 Andrea’s Play: Pretty Chin Up Published by Playscripts, Inc.
• 🎤 Andrea Ciannavei – IMDb
• 📚 It Didn’t Start With You by Mark Wolynn – Book link
• 💀 National End-of-Life Doula Alliance – Certification and resources
• 🧰 The RISE Framework – A trauma-informed approach from TCOM
• 🧭 TCOM (Transformational Collaborative Outcomes Management) – Healing-centered strategies for helpers and systems

“I was the biggest I’d ever been, and I knew I was going to die. And I didn’t want to die. I wanted to live—but I didn’t know how.”

TV: Co-Executive Producer on Boots (Netflix/Sony), Mayans MC (FX Networks), The Path (Hulu), Last Men Out (National Geographic);  American Odyssey (NBC Universal), Copper (BBC America), Borgia (Canal Plus). 

Plays: The Winstons, one-act play commissioned by Hangar Theater, Deep Trees, The Hard Sell, 7 Captiva Road, and Pretty Chin Up which received a development production at LAByrinth Theater Company (Artistic Directors: Philip Seymour Hoffman and John Ortiz) at The Public Theater. 

Publications: Pretty Chin Up (Playscripts, Inc.) She has also been published in DAME Magazine.

For a decade, Andrea produced the Helen Deutsch Writing Workshops (aka Veterans Writing Project): free writing workshops for wounded warriors returning from service in Iraq and Afghanistan (as well as their family caregivers) in Colorado, Minnesota, Ohio, Texas, New York, Los Angeles, and the American Military Hospital in Landstuhl, Germany. Sponsored by the Writers’ Guild Initiative and in partnership with Wounded Warrior Project. This workshop has expanded to include Witness to Innocence which advocates for death row exonerees. 

In addition to teaching privately since 2005, Andrea has taught master classes and been a guest lecturer at Carnegie Mellon, Chapman University, Snow College and UC San Diego. She has been teaching writers how to work with beats and outlines exclusively to prepare them for working in writers’ rooms professionally since 2015.

Education: NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts’ Dramatic Writing Program and went on to Juilliard’s Lila Acheson Playwriting Fellowship 2008-2010. 

Proud member of WGA.

Proud board member of Writers Guild Initiative (https://writersguildinitiative.org/) and

Empower Survivors Now (https://www.empowersurvivorsnow.org/).

• EP15: I Raised Myself — Mary Grace Lim on immigration, family wounds, and forgiveness
• EP14: Hold On Tight — Richie Barlow on trauma, dogs, and healing through care

• TCOM
• The Praed Foundation

• Hosted by Kristen Cerelli
• Cover art by @jacksonfall
• Theme Music by Kristen Cerelli. Additional music by Ray Wyssman and The Simoleons
• Podcast production by Timothy Fall

All content Copyright ActuallyQuiteNice, Inc & TCOM Studios, 2022-2025

At five years old, he crossed the U.S.-Mexico border with his mother, hidden on a bus. At twelve, he crossed again—this time on foot, in the cold, through a desert canyon. Years later, Abrahan served in the United States Marine Corps, completed two deployments in the Middle East, and earned his U.S. citizenship.

In this extraordinary episode, Abrahan sits down with Kristen Cerelli to share a story rarely told with such clarity, humor, and humility:

• 🇲🇽 What it meant to be “illegal” at five—and why he thought his whole family was in trouble
• 🧭 The emotional and physical toll of two border crossings before the age of 13
• 🎒 What 12 schools in 12 grades taught him about adaptability and empathy
• 🎖️ Why he enlisted in the U.S. military—and how it shaped, strained, and ultimately stretched him
• 🎭 How acting, self-reflection, and solitude became his path back to joy
• ❤️ The promise he made to his mother as a child—and how it still drives him today

This is a conversation about immigration—but also about what it means to belong, and how we carry the legacy of our family, culture, and trauma into every new identity we forge.

• 📘 It Didn’t Start With You by Mark Wolynn – On inherited family trauma and healing
• 🧭 TCOM (Transformational Collaborative Outcomes Management) – Person-centered tools for change agents
• 🌍 ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) – Understanding the long-term impacts of early adversity
• 🎖️ Military Path to Citizenship – USCIS
• 🎭 Resources for Veterans in the Arts 

“For the first time in my life, I don’t feel like I have to take care of anyone else. I can take care of myself. And it’s beautiful.”

• EP13: I Just Wanted It to End – Richie Barlow’s journey from childhood trauma to business ownership
• EP15: I Raised Myself – Mary Grace Lim on immigration, survival, and forgiveness

• TCOM
• The Praed Foundation

• Hosted by Kristen Cerelli
• Cover art by @jacksonfall
• Theme Music by Kristen Cerelli. Additional music by Ray Wyssman and The Simoleons
• Podcast production by Timothy Fall

All content Copyright ActuallyQuiteNice, Inc & TCOM Studios, 2022-2025

Season Two continues exploring themes of resilience, inheritance, and reinvention. In Richie Barlow’s story, we saw how unmet needs became entrepreneurial muscle. In this conversation, we step through another doorway—immigration—to ask how identity and family are reshaped across borders.

Mary Grace Lim was born in Carmona Cavite, Philippines, and came to the U.S. twice: once at five with her mother and stepfather, and again at eleven with her sisters. Along the way, she was raised largely by her grandmother, navigated her mother’s long absences and addiction, and found safety in community, sports, and faith.

In this wide-ranging conversation, Mary Grace reflects on:

• 💔 Growing up between two countries — and the ache of leaving her grandmother behind
• 🌱 Raising herself when adults fell short, and the survival instincts that gave her strength
• 🏐 Sports as salvation — how volleyball and basketball gave her purpose, discipline, and voice
• 💸 Generational cycles of money and survival — and how she’s working to break them
• 🙏 Faith and artistry as compass points — discovering God, creativity, and self-forgiveness on her own terms
• 🧩 Healing generational trauma — inspired by Mark Wolynn’s It Didn’t Start With You

At the heart of her story is a hard-won lesson: forgiveness of all parts of the self, and the courage to set new boundaries.

• 📘 Book: It Didn’t Start With You: How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We Are and How to End the Cycleby Mark Wolynn
• 🧭 TCOM (Transformational Collaborative Outcomes Management) – Learn more about shared language for healing systems
• 🌍 CDC on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

“I think I raised me. I took what I needed from where it was available—and gave myself what I didn’t get.”

Missed our last conversation? Listen to S2 EP13: Finding Light in the Darkest Places and S2 EP14: Hold On Tight with Richie Barlow for more on resilience, survival, and transformation.

• TCOM
• The Praed Foundation

• Hosted by Kristen Cerelli
• Cover art by @jacksonfall
• Theme Music by Kristen Cerelli. Additional music by Ray Wyssman and The Simoleons
• Podcast production by Timothy Fall

All content Copyright ActuallyQuiteNice, Inc & TCOM Studios, 2022-2025

In the conclusion of this two-part conversation, Richie Daiches Barlow returns to share what happened after he aged out of the UK state care system—abandoned, robbed, and utterly alone. What followed was unlikely, healing, and deeply powerful.

Starting with a pair of rescue dogs named Jack and Ernie, Richie found a new purpose—and inadvertently founded one of the UK’s top-rated pet care franchises, The Dog Walker. But this episode is about far more than dog walking. It’s about transformation, trust, and the invisible work of healing from trauma.

• How dog walking changed his life—and why it’s “not just a walk in the park”
• How his past shaped his deep empathy and his commitment to service
• The trauma-informed principles that guide his leadership today
• Building systems that protect—not exploit—others
• Becoming a volunteer police constable to serve and repair the very system that once failed him
• The love and safety he finally found with his husband, Ben

• 📘 Richie’s Book – Richie Who Cares: A Lost Childhood and a Boy’s Journey for Justice
• 🐶 The Dog Walker Franchise – Visit the official site
• 👮‍♂️ UK Volunteer Police Roles – How to become a Special Constable

• 🧰 The RISE Framework – Recognize, Inquire, Support, and Empower
• A trauma-informed response tool designed for caregivers and systems seeking to provide compassionate, individualized support.
• 🧭 TCOM (Transformational Collaborative Outcomes Management) – Learn more at tcomtraining.com
• A person-centered framework focused on healing, transformation, and shared language across helping systems.
• 🧒 Understanding Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) – CDC resource on ACEs

“I started living when I met Ben—not just surviving, living.”

📍 Missed Part 1? Listen to S2 EP13: “I Just Wanted It to End” to hear Richie’s childhood story of survival inside the UK care system.

If this conversation moved you, please consider:

• Leaving a review or rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
• Sharing this episode with someone working in care, education, or justice
• Exploring more about trauma-informed care, youth advocacy, and healing-centered leadership

• TCOM
• The Praed Foundation

• Hosted by Kristen Cerelli
• Cover art by @jacksonfall
• Theme Music by Kristen Cerelli. Additional music by Ray Wyssman and The Simoleons
• Podcast production by Timothy Fall

All content Copyright ActuallyQuiteNice, Inc & TCOM Studios, 2022-2025

Show Notes

In this powerful first part of a two-part conversation, Kristen sits down with Richie Daiches Barlow—entrepreneur, bestselling author, and survivor—to share a story of unimaginable hardship, resilience, and hope.

Richie’s childhood in the U.K. was marked by neglect, abuse, and systemic failure. Locked in his room for days without food, forced into survival mode, and eventually trafficked while under the state’s care, Richie endured what no child should. But through his boundless imagination, small acts of courage, and the support of a few extraordinary people—including his fierce advocate Pauline and his foster mother Anna Daiches—Richie found a way forward.

Together, Kristen and Richie explore:

• Survival in silence — growing up in an abusive home and learning to endure isolation and hunger
• The power of imagination — creating worlds of freedom when locked behind closed doors
• Life inside the U.K. care system — including the failures that left children vulnerable to trafficking and abuse
• Section 28’s shadow — how anti-LGBTQ legislation shaped Richie’s childhood and compounded his isolation
• Beacons of hope — the mentors and allies who reminded Richie of his worth
• The path toward healing — early signs of resilience, survival instincts, and the first glimpses of possibility

This episode lays the groundwork for Richie’s extraordinary transformation. In Part 2, you’ll hear how he built a life defined by compassion, entrepreneurship, and advocacy—proving that healing and joy are possible, even after the darkest beginnings.

Richie Daiches Barlow

• CEO of The Dog Walker (named Best Pet Care Business in the U.K. by Corporate Vision, 2021)
• Bestselling author of Richie: Who Cares? A Lost Childhood and a Boy’s Journey for Justice

• Richie’s Book on Amazon 
• Learn more about the U.K.’s Section 28 and its lasting impact on LGBTQ+ rights

If you think you know where this story goes, you don’t. What Richie endured as a child will break your heart—but what he becomes will inspire you even more.

🎧 Listen now, and stay tuned for Part 2.

• TCOM
• The Praed Foundation

• Hosted by Kristen Cerelli
• Cover art by @jacksonfall
• Theme Music by Kristen Cerelli. Additional music by Ray Wyssman and The Simoleons
• Podcast production by Timothy Fall

All content Copyright ActuallyQuiteNice, Inc & TCOM Studios, 2022-2025

Episode Summary: In this compelling episode, host Kristen sits down with Perry County resident Brian Lucas to discuss his harrowing experience during the devastating floods in Eastern Kentucky in July 2022. Brian, a clinical engineering director for Appalachian Regional Healthcare, shares his extraordinary story of survival, resilience, and determination as he and his family faced unprecedented natural disaster. This episode also features insights from Dr. Gavin Rienne, a social epidemiologist, who provides expert analysis on disaster recovery and the importance of community resilience.

Key Moments:

• Introduction to the Floods [00:00:00]: Kristen sets the scene, describing the severe flooding that ravaged Eastern Kentucky, focusing on the hardest-hit counties.
• Brian’s Story Begins [00:00:26]: Brian recounts the days leading up to the flood and the initial moments when he realized the severity of the situation.
• Escape and Survival [00:01:54]: Brian details the chaos of escaping his flooded home with his family and the steps he took to ensure their safety.
• Community and Resilience [00:39:13]: Brian discusses the impact of the flood on his community and his determination to rebuild and support his neighbors.
• Impact on Children [00:35:40]: Brian talks about the psychological effects of the disaster on his children and the community's younger members.

Expert Insights with Dr. Gavin Rienne:

• Paperwork and Insurance Struggles [00:25:25]: Dr. Rienne explains the systemic challenges disaster survivors face with insurance claims and paperwork.
• Community Resilience [00:39:13]: Dr. Rienne discusses the importance of community resilience and the need for better disaster preparedness and response.
• Impact on Children [00:35:40]: Dr. Rienne provides insights into the long-term effects of disasters on children’s mental health and the critical support systems needed for recovery.

Additional Topics Covered:

• Brian’s Heroic Actions: Brian shares the moment-to-moment decisions he made to save his family and help his neighbors during the flood.
• Rebuilding Lives: The process of starting over from scratch and the community’s role in recovery.
• Policy and Preparedness: Discussion on what can be done to better prepare for future natural disasters.

Quotes:

• “We weren't ever going to go back to where we were. We were starting over, and you have to take one day, one hour, one minute at a time if that's what it takes.” - Brian Lucas
• “Disasters are local, and how a disaster affects a neighborhood in Area Code A may look entirely different than Area Code B.” - Dr. Gavin Rienne

Resources and Links:

• Appalachian Regional Healthcare
• Washington State Governor's Interagency Council on Health Disparities

If you were moved by Brian’s story and Dr. Rienne's insights, consider supporting disaster relief efforts in your community or donating to organizations focused on disaster preparedness and recovery.

Contact and Social Media:

• Visit our website: www.shiftshiftbloom.com

• TCOM
• The Praed Foundation

• Hosted by Kristen Cerelli
• Cover art by @jacksonfall
• Theme Music by Kristen Cerelli. Additional music by Ray Wyssman and The Simoleons
• Podcast production by Timothy Fall

All content Copyright ActuallyQuiteNice, Inc & TCOM Studios, 2022-2025

About this episode:

In this inaugural episode of Shift Shift Bloom's second season, host Kristen Cerelli delves into the transformative world of equine therapy with Belle Shook, a former professional counselor turned equine guidance expert. Belle shares her journey from conventional talk therapy to founding Equine Guidance, a unique ranch in Arizona’s Verde Valley, where American Bashkir curly horses aid individuals in healing and personal development. This episode also features expert analysis from Dr. Kimberly Tumlin, founder of the Equine Assisted Collaborative for Health.

About our guest:

Belle Shook has trained in the science of healing, and is also an intuitive therapist and coach who focuses on personal development, clarity after trauma, and spiritual interconnectedness. Pioneers in the field of equine therapy, Belle and the herd of Bashkir Curly horses, Salsa, Penny, and Mimi, assist people in accessing and developing their potential for living lives of greater health and happiness.

Where to find our guest(s) online:

Belle's Website

@equine_guidance on Instagram

@BelleEquine on X

Other Resources Mentioned:

• Bessel Van Der Kolk, MD
• Peter Levine, PhD
• Somatic Experiencing International
• Stephen Porges, PhD
• Polyvagal Institute
• Fight, Flight, Freeze and Fawn Responses
• Kimberly Tumlin, PhD

Additional Resources:

• TCOM
• The Praed Foundation

Credits:

• Hosted by Kristen Cerelli
• Cover art by @jacksonfall
• Theme Music by Kristen Cerelli. Additional music by Ray Wyssman and The Simoleons
• Podcast production by Timothy Fall

All content Copyright ActuallyQuiteNice, Inc & TCOM Studios, 2022-2025

Notes to Come.

About this episode:

Host Kristen Cerelli talks to African immigrant "Leonie" who fled the same abusive marriage to save herself and her children, not once, but twice. In the process she lost her ability to practice medicine with patients, but she found an unwavering strength and ability to "just do it" that puts the cliched Nike slogan in its place.

About our guest:

"Leonie" was born in Africa, into a large family that valued education. She attended medical school, practiced gynecology and had two children with a very influential man who, despite his power, did not treat her with the respect she deserved. When the relationship became abusive, she fled with her children and has reinvented herself in both Europe and the US.

Other Resources Mentioned:

• Stats on Female Physicians in Africa
• The Social Distance between Africans and African Americans
• Not Without My Daughter book

Additional Resources:

• TCOM
• The Praed Foundation

Become a Supporter:

If you like what you hear, please consider making a donation on our Patreon site!

Credits:

• Hosted by Kristen Cerelli
• Cover art by @jacksonfall
• Theme Music by Kristen Cerelli. Additional music by Ray Wyssman and The Simoleons
• Podcast production by Timothy Fall

All content Copyright ActuallyQuiteNice, Inc & TCOM Studios, 2022-2025

About this episode:

John & Kristen discuss Gabe Fazio & Brandy Hotchner

Some things that came up for John & Kristen:

Additional Resources:

• TCOM
• The Praed Foundation

Become a Supporter:

If you like what you hear, please consider making a donation on our Patreon site!

Credits:

• Hosted by Kristen Cerelli
• Cover art by @jacksonfall
• Theme Music by Kristen Cerelli. Additional music by Ray Wyssman and The Simoleons
• Podcast production by Timothy Fall

All content Copyright ActuallyQuiteNice, Inc & TCOM Studios, 2022-2025