The Angsty Pod

Content Warning: This episode describes multiple sexual assaults.

It's 2002. It's the summer before high school starts. I am straddling the line between young, innocent 13-year-old girl who just wants to decorate my journal with glitter and go to the mall with my friends, and a very grown-up young woman who is about to experience one of the most traumatic events of her life.

Listen to the episode to find out what Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah and Vitamin C's Graduation have in common.

From The Episode:
If you are struggling with suicidal ideation, you can call or text 988 anytime to match with a counsellor. 

To connect with the wonderful folks who support this podcast, go to:
- https://good2talk.ca/ontario/ (or call 1-866-925-5454 in Ontario)
- https://www.betterhelp.com/

Join The Monday Club:
https://themondayclub.substack.com/

For more info on my work as a writing coach, head to www.doulaofwords.com
To sign up to be a guest, email Yoda at [email protected]

For more info on my work as a writing coach or to sign up for workshops, head to www.doulaofwords.com

Follow on IG & threads @doulaofwords

To sign up to be a guest, please email Yoda at [email protected] - we'd love to have you!

Find my books here <3

------------

Kid's Help Phone: You can reach a professional counsellor at Kids Help Phone in English or French 24/7 by calling 1-800-668-6868

9-8-8: Call or text from anywhere in Canada or the U.S., anytime

CMHA: Call Reach Out at 1-866-933-2023 to receive mental health and/or addictions support

I read my diary from 2017, through tears, as I recount the events that led to me filing for bankruptcy. 

I re-live some of the most anxiety-ridden days of my life and talk about what it was like for me to move back in with my father when I was 29-years-old. I take you on some twists and turns and get choked up more than once. It's all in the name of honestly though, and I hope this episode helps you feel less alone.

In this episode, I challenge the shame around staying in relationships that aren't healthy (and the stigma around bankruptcy!), I gripe about the audacity of men, and I prepare myself to fact something really, really hard.

In this episode, I also reference a podcast I was recently a guest on. You can listen to my conversation about abortion with Amanda Star Kingsley by clicking here: https://www.amandastarkingsley.com/speaking-light-into-abortion/236

To connect with the wonderful folks who support this podcast, go to:
- https://good2talk.ca/ontario/ (or call 1-866-925-5454 in Ontario)
- https://www.betterhelp.com/

For more info on my work as a writing coach or to sign up for workshops, head to www.doulaofwords.com

Follow on IG & threads @doulaofwords

To sign up to be a guest, please email Yoda at [email protected] - we'd love to have you!

Find my books here <3

------------

Kid's Help Phone: You can reach a professional counsellor at Kids Help Phone in English or French 24/7 by calling 1-800-668-6868

9-8-8: Call or text from anywhere in Canada or the U.S., anytime

CMHA: Call Reach Out at 1-866-933-2023 to receive mental health and/or addictions support

"Fruit for breakfast. Veggies, fruit, and crackers for lunch. Something light for dinner. No snack."

It's New Year's Day, 2002. I am 13 going on 14 and have just gotten drunk for my first time. I am eternally embarrassed by my mother. I am worried about my sister. My dad asks me if I'm anorexic and I share a lot about my disordered eating which is festering. Calista Flockhart is my style icon and I'm rushing home to spend hours on MSN. I'm stressed about high school and graduating from eighth grade and am really going to miss recess!! I quote Chicken Soup for The Soul and my Dead Journal. If that's not enough, I also delve into religion and perfectionism and forgiveness. 

For more info on my work as a writing coach or to sign up for workshops, head to www.doulaofwords.com

Follow on IG & threads @doulaofwords

To sign up to be a guest, please email Yoda at [email protected] - we'd love to have you!

Find my books here <3

------------

Kid's Help Phone: You can reach a professional counsellor at Kids Help Phone in English or French 24/7 by calling 1-800-668-6868

9-8-8: Call or text from anywhere in Canada or the U.S., anytime

CMHA: Call Reach Out at 1-866-933-2023 to receive mental health and/or addictions support

"I don't know how to love myself when I'm sad..." 

When I set out to launch a podcast, my main goal was to have a space to sit and talk to my writer friends about not just words, but grief and mental health and psychology and healing. This episode is my wish embodied! 27-year-old me got to hang out with 27-year-old Maria Mosca and tea was spilled!!! 

So grab a beverage (or three!) and sit down with me and my pal Maria as she reads four entries from the journal she started in 2014. Listen as we dive into the insanity that is the hospitality industry and as we discuss nervous system regulation, mental health, neurodivergence, poetry, pain, and FOOD. 

You can follow Maria on Instagram at @mashka_zaraza - her account is private but she likes new friends :)

If you want to sign up for one of the workshops Maria and I discussed in this episode OR build your writing practice, you can reach Yoda at www.doulaofwords or @doulaofwords on IG. 

For more info on my work as a writing coach or to sign up for workshops, head to www.doulaofwords.com

Follow on IG & threads @doulaofwords

To sign up to be a guest, please email Yoda at [email protected] - we'd love to have you!

Find my books here <3

------------

Kid's Help Phone: You can reach a professional counsellor at Kids Help Phone in English or French 24/7 by calling 1-800-668-6868

9-8-8: Call or text from anywhere in Canada or the U.S., anytime

CMHA: Call Reach Out at 1-866-933-2023 to receive mental health and/or addictions support

In this episode, I have just entered eighth grade and the World Trade Centers were attacked. I am angry and bitter and confused about life, death, my sexuality, and my sister's indifference. I'll also share the story of how I met my very best friend and why we never dated. This episode is loaded with the kind of angst that really made me giggle. 

--

Do you have an embarrassing or endearing journal you'd like to read on the pod? Reach me at www.doulaofwords.com or @doulaofwords on IG

Don't have a writing practice but want one? Let's talk! I help people write, edit, format, and publish their books every single day!

For more info on my work as a writing coach or to sign up for workshops, head to www.doulaofwords.com

Follow on IG & threads @doulaofwords

To sign up to be a guest, please email Yoda at [email protected] - we'd love to have you!

Find my books here <3

------------

Kid's Help Phone: You can reach a professional counsellor at Kids Help Phone in English or French 24/7 by calling 1-800-668-6868

9-8-8: Call or text from anywhere in Canada or the U.S., anytime

CMHA: Call Reach Out at 1-866-933-2023 to receive mental health and/or addictions support

"We met. We fell in love. We went to Paris. We said goodbye." <3

In this episode, I read from my diary titled, "Eurotrip 2018." I eat pot brownies in Amsterdam, turn thirty in Alfama, fall on my face in Porto, fall in love-ish with a man named Marco in Paris, and end my trip in Spain.

During this season of my life, I was six months out of an eight-year relationship and deep in my healing journey. I wanted to have an open heart, but my heart was aching. This was also my first solo trip I'd taken in eight years and was bit by the travel bug. Listen as I talk about the ups and downs of solo travelling and grieving the life you thought you'd have. 

--

Do you have an embarrassing or endearing journal you'd like to read on the pod? Reach me at www.doulaofwords.com or @doulaofwords on IG

Don't have a writing practice but want one? Let's talk! I help people write, edit, format, and publish their books every single day and would love to chat!

For more info on my work as a writing coach or to sign up for workshops, head to www.doulaofwords.com

Follow on IG & threads @doulaofwords

To sign up to be a guest, please email Yoda at [email protected] - we'd love to have you!

Find my books here <3

------------

Kid's Help Phone: You can reach a professional counsellor at Kids Help Phone in English or French 24/7 by calling 1-800-668-6868

9-8-8: Call or text from anywhere in Canada or the U.S., anytime

CMHA: Call Reach Out at 1-866-933-2023 to receive mental health and/or addictions support

In this episode, I'll be reading my very first diary... or at least, the first diary that I kept. Its cover is decorated in the phone numbers of every kid in my class plus some glitter for good measure. In the back, there is a glossary where I define "love," "like," "dump," and "crush." Listen as I meet up with ten-year-old me for a tea - we talk about marriage, OCD, loneliness, and of course... Justin! (Sorry, Justin... I'm over you!)

--

Do you have an embarrassing or endearing journal you'd like to read on the pod? Reach me at www.doulaofwords.com or @doulaofwords on IG

Don't have a writing practice but want one? Let's talk! I help people write, edit, format, and publish their books every single day and would love to chat!

For more info on my work as a writing coach or to sign up for workshops, head to www.doulaofwords.com

Follow on IG & threads @doulaofwords

To sign up to be a guest, please email Yoda at [email protected] - we'd love to have you!

Find my books here <3

------------

Kid's Help Phone: You can reach a professional counsellor at Kids Help Phone in English or French 24/7 by calling 1-800-668-6868

9-8-8: Call or text from anywhere in Canada or the U.S., anytime

CMHA: Call Reach Out at 1-866-933-2023 to receive mental health and/or addictions support

Welcome to, "The Angsty Pod!"

The podcast where I, your host, will be reading you pages from the stack of diaries I've kept since I was 10 years old, one stupid page at a time!

For more info on my work as a writing coach or to sign up for workshops, head to www.doulaofwords.com

Follow on IG & threads @doulaofwords

To sign up to be a guest, please email Yoda at [email protected] - we'd love to have you!

Find my books here <3

------------

Kid's Help Phone: You can reach a professional counsellor at Kids Help Phone in English or French 24/7 by calling 1-800-668-6868

9-8-8: Call or text from anywhere in Canada or the U.S., anytime

CMHA: Call Reach Out at 1-866-933-2023 to receive mental health and/or addictions support