Survive and Thrive 8791 ☆ Mental Health Help ☆ ANXIETY ☆ DEPRESSION ☆ RECOVERY ☆WELLNESS

On this episode of Survive & Thrive 8791 Podcast, I welcome Christine Quinn to the Buck & Honey's remote studios. Christine is the founder and creator of the nonprofit organization Living Kindness, an organization born out of lived experience, compassion, and an unwavering desire to support families facing some of life’s most difficult challenges.

For much of her professional career, Christine worked in higher education leadership at the University of Wisconsin–Stout, balancing a demanding career with a deep commitment to service. Along the way, she built a family through adoption and motherhood, embracing the joys and responsibilities that came with raising children. As her children grew, Christine faced another major life transition—divorce—which placed even greater demands on her time, energy, and emotional resilience as she worked to provide stability and care for her family.

It was during this time, Christine began to notice concerning changes in one of her children, who had started experimenting with substances in high school. Despite seeking professional help and hoping for improvement, the situation escalated. A pivotal and frightening moment occurred during a flight to a treatment facility, when her child experienced a serious mental health episode midair. That moment would forever change Christine’s path.

Refusing to let other parents feel as isolated as she once did, Christine transformed her pain into purpose. She founded Living Kindness to ensure families navigating substance use and mental health challenges have access to support, resources, and community. Today, Living Kindness is making a meaningful impact across southern Wisconsin—reminding parents they are not alone, and that help, hope, and understanding truly exist. This will be a good one, CAN’T WAIT!!!

On this episode of Survive & Thrive 8791 Podcast, I welcome Jason Nachreiner to the Buck & Honey's remote studios. Jason’s story is one of finding an answer to a lifelong question, family, and the courage to take a leap of faith. Adopted shortly after birth, Jason was welcomed into a loving home in Madison, Wisconsin, where he grew up living a wholesome life like most, except, he was adopted. While he thrived, graduating high school, going to college, marrying, and raising an incredible family, a thought that was always in the back of his mind kept coming back, finding his birth parents someday remained.

What Jason didn’t know was that his birth parents hoped that one day, he might try to search them out. Years passed, life went by, and as he entered his fifties, Jason felt the time was right. As a New Year’s resolution in January 2024, he told his wife, “This is it.” He filled out the application to begin the process of locating his birth parents.

What happened next was nothing short of amazing. His phone rang, he picked up, and answered a call that would alter his life forever. It’s been a little over a year, Jason has reconnected with his birth parents, new extended family, and began making new bonds that he hopes will last forever.

His story is a heartwarming reminder that if you don’t take a chance to reconnect, you may regret that opportunity. This will be a good one, CAN’T WAIT!!!

On the next episode of Survive & Thrive 8791, I welcome author Danielle Ehlert to the Buck & Honey’s remote studios. Ehlert’s story is a powerful and deeply personal conversation about resilience, loss, and the courage to survive and thrive.

Danielle’s story begins in Richland Center, Wisconsin, where she was raised by her grandmother while her mother followed her husband, professional baseball player Steve Barber, as he chased his career from Major League Baseball team to team. Eventually, Danielle joined her parents, moving from Arizona to Las Vegas, Nevada. What looked like an opportunity from the outside soon became emotionally difficult. At age 14, Danielle made a tough and life-altering decision—she bought her own plane ticket and returned to Wisconsin to live with her grandmother. Her sister would later make the same choice.

After graduating, Danielle returned to Las Vegas to begin her professional life, but unresolved family strain and unhealthy relationships followed her. In an attempt to cope with stress, grief, and chaos, she turned to alcohol and substances. Over time, the profound losses of her parents, grandmother, and sister compounded her pain and pushed her deeper into health issues and addiction.

After years of off and on sobriety and facing life-threatening health issues, on August 29, 2019, Danielle made the courageous decision to get sober and reclaim her life. That decision became the foundation for healing, self-discovery, and creativity. Through poetry and reflection, she found a way to heal by putting her thoughts to paper.

Now, six years sober, Danielle has published her poems and authored her memoir, Dance of the Dragonfly, released on August 29, 2025—a symbolic milestone marking her sobriety anniversary. You won’t want to miss this episode of Survive & Thrive 8791. CAN’T WAIT!!!

On this episode of Survive & Thrive 8791, we relaunch Cory Poole's episode from early 2025. I welcome Cory Poole to the Buck & Honey’s remote studios. We share the inspiring story of Poole family. Their powerful story of love, family, and the strength to overcome life’s toughest challenges is inspiring. 

Cory Poole, a devoted husband and father whose life was changed forever when his second daughter, Aubrey, began missing developmental milestones shortly after birth. The diagnosis was devastating—Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Type 1, a rare genetic disorder with a historically short life expectancy.

For Cory and his wife Katie would become Aubrey’s 24-7 care team. When not sharing in the care, Cory would work as mortgage officer. Wanting to make sure their oldest daughter Avery received the love she needed, Cory started coaching Avery and that became an outlet, providing balance and purpose as he and his wife navigated the emotional and physical challenges of caring for Aubrey. Through open dialog, acceptance, and an unbreakable family bond, they found a new perspective on life—one that embraces perspective on life, balance, and gratitude.

Today, against all odds, Aubrey is nearly 18 years old, a testament to SMA Type 1 protocols enacted by their medical care team and the importance of early screening, which has given many infants with SMA a longer life expectancy. Cory’s story is one of love, family, and learning to accept what life throws at you. Tune in to hear his journey, the coping skills he’s learned, and the message of hope for families facing such insurmountable circumstances. You won’t want to miss this episode of Survive & Thrive 8791, CAN’T WAIT!!!

On the next episode of Survive & Thrive 8791, I welcome Keith Batenhorst to the Buck & Honey’s remote studios. Batenhorst is the creator and founder of the Mental Mountains Project, a non-profit organization with a mission to provide financial assistance to those who cannot afford mental health services.

For years, Batenhorst battled anxiety and depression from an early age. A gifted basketball player in his youth, the sport was his outlet. But as he entered adolescence and his body began to change—as all young boys experience—those changes negatively impacted his self-esteem. Without coping skills, he decided to quit the sport that once brought him joy. He also began experimenting with alcohol and other substances to manage his anxiety and depression.

Batenhorst graduated from Berlin (WI) High School and later from the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse with a degree in business management. During college, he took a summer job with a building supply company to earn extra money. That summer job ultimately became the professional career he still enjoys today.

In 2023, his relationship with alcohol began to shift. A blackout drinker for years, he eventually reached sobriety in December 2024. Along the way, he climbed the Grand Teton with a friend—a turning point that helped him realize life would be better without alcohol. He found a new purpose, raising money by climbing mountains and supporting those who cannot afford mental health care.

Keith Batenhorst’s mission is currently helping three people receive the mental health support they need, and he hopes to help many more in the future. You won’t want to miss this episode of Survive & Thrive 8791. CAN’T WAIT!!!

On the next episode of Survive & Thrive 8791, I welcome Mallory Zuhde to the Buck & Honey’s remote studios. Zuhde has been with the New Berlin (WI) Fire Department since April 2025, but her path to this role came with plenty of adversity and adaptation.

Soccer was her vehicle to college. She began her athletic career with the women’s soccer team at Madison (WI) College, then transferred to the University of Wisconsin–Platteville to pursue both a four-year college experience and a degree in Criminal Justice. Around that time, she discovered a new avenue—working as an ambulance driver for a volunteer fire department near her hometown of Waunakee, WI.

Her dream was to become a police officer. But after applying to several law-enforcement agencies across Wisconsin without success—and receiving little feedback—doubt began to creep in. Zuhde started to question herself.

Not one to give up, she shifted gears and pursued the next best path: becoming a firefighter and EMT. Drawing on her ambulance experience and a renewed drive to succeed, she completed fire service training and the EMT program at Madison College.

Since then, her motivation has soared. Zuhde is now among more than 17,000 female professional firefighters in the United States. She loves that every call is different, that she is tested every day, and that she can serve her community in meaningful ways.

You won’t want to miss this episode of Survive & Thrive 8791. CAN’T WAIT!!!

On the next episode of Survive & Thrive 8791, On the next episode of Survive & Thrive 8791, I welcome Jared Staege to the Buck & Honey’s remote studios. Staege graduated from Waunakee (WI) HIgh School in 2011 after an extremely successful academic and athletic career for the Warriors.

Staege took his talents to the University of Minnesota where he wanted to prove to himself that he could leave home and live on his own. His first year in St. Paul, MN went well but Staege was missing something. After one year, he decided to transfer to the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire where he would join the Blugolds football team and his older brother Ryan. Though he loved his time playing football, he missed his favorite sport, basketball.

 After experiencing life without basketball, the itch to play grew. Jared Staege contacted the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse men’s basketball coach Ken Koelbl who had a couple of spots open for the upcoming 2013-14 season. Staege would earn a spot with Eagle’s men’s basketball team but would have to prove himself. He would see action as a reserve and part-time starter in his first two seasons in LaCrosse.

In the 2015-16 season, Staege would start all 26 games and help the Eagles to their first Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship in 51 years. With team success comes individual success. Jared Staege would earn the conference player of the year award. 

Jared Staege’s story is one of following your dreams and passion, trusting the process, and putting the work in to achieve your goals. Any high school student-athlete who is debating on whether they should play college athletics or not will have a blueprint to follow by listening to this episode of Survive & Thrive 8791. CAN’T WAIT!!!

On the next episode of Survive & Thrive 8791, I welcome Varsity Head Boys Basketball Coach Sean McGann to the Buck & Honey’s remote studios. 

This week, we kick off an exciting five-episode series following Coach Sean McGann, the Varsity Head Boys Basketball Coach at Sauk Prairie High School. Throughout the season, we’ll sit down with Coach McGann once a month to track his journey—on and off the court—as he navigates life as a coach, teacher, husband, and new father.

The Sauk Prairie Eagles compete in the always-tough Badger Small Conference, where preparation, leadership, and resilience are tested every night. Over the next few months, we’ll get an inside look at the highs and lows of a high school basketball season—how Coach McGann builds team culture, manages adversity, and balances the many roles that come with life in and out of the gym.

Now entering his seventh season as head coach, Sean brings a strong basketball pedigree to the program. A Baraboo High School graduate, McGann was a three-sport athlete who went on to play basketball at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point, where he helped the Pointers capture the 2015 NCAA Division III National Championship.

After student teaching at Sauk Prairie, he joined the staff as a full-time physical education and health teacher, and just a year later, took over the head coaching job.

Join us as we follow Coach McGann’s season—his challenges, triumphs, and lessons learned—as we see what it truly takes to lead, teach, and inspire at the high school level.

On this episode of Survive & Thrive 8791, I welcome Felicia Raye Diny, a survivor, advocate, and founder who is helping women rebuild their lives after domestic abuse. Through her nonprofit organization, Felicia’s Donation Closet, Raye Diny has supported over 200 women and 361 children, helping them rise above their circumstances and transition into safe, comfortable homes. Her team provides everything from beds and couches to kitchen and bath essentials—turning empty spaces into places of healing and hope.

Raye Diny’s journey is one of remarkable strength. After enduring years of unhealthy relationships and the emotional toll of abuse, she made the courageous decision to take back control of her life. Through reclaiming her voice, prioritizing her healing, and rebuilding her independence, she found a better life and rebuilt herself. Along her journey, she found love again in a healthy, supportive relationship with her husband, Ryan Olson.

In addition to her nonprofit work, Raye Diny launched Glowing Generations, a natural skincare company built on the healing power of beef tallow—rich in essential vitamins and minerals. What makes her venture even more special is that proceeds from each purchase go directly back to Felicia’s Donation Closet, extending her mission of giving and empowerment.

Raye’s story is a beacon of hope for anyone trapped in an unhealthy relationship. Her message is simple but powerful: you can overcome, you can rebuild, and you can thrive. This will be a good one. You won’t want to miss this episode of Survive & Thrive 8791. CAN’T WAIT!!!

On the next episode of Survive & Thrive 8791, I welcome Avree Antony to the Buck & Honey’s remote studios. From a young age, Antony of Sun Prairie, WI was destined for greatness on the basketball court. A standout athlete with rare talent, she caught the attention of college recruiters early, receiving her first full scholarship offer from Illinois State University while still in eighth grade. As her high school career took off, she became one of the most sought-after players in the state of Wisconsin, earning 19 Division I scholarship offers and national recognition.

But on February 26, 2022, during her junior year, everything changed. Driving to the basket in a state tournament game, Avree felt a sudden pop in her knee, a moment that would alter her path forever. The diagnosis: a torn ACL. Despite surgery and an optimistic outlook for a senior-year comeback, complications with her cartilage would keep her sidelined.

Ultimately, Avree narrowed her college choices to Butler, Illinois State, and Colorado State. It was a visit to Fort Collins that sealed her decision to become a Colorado State Ram. Yet, even there, her knee continued to challenge her with multiple surgeries and setbacks.

On November 2, 2024, after an emotional conversation with her doctor, Avree made the courageous choice to medically retire from college basketball. Now, she shares her journey of resilience, heartbreak, and self-discovery—hoping her story inspires others facing life’s toughest decisions. This will be a good one. You won’t want to miss this episode of Survive & Thrive 8791. CAN’T WAIT!!!