My guest, Cathy Fitzgerald is not to be underestimated. She is no stranger to change and uncertainty.

Her story begins at the age of 17 when she became a teen mom. She immediately married and had another child. The marriage ended in betrayal leading to a divorce. She quickly remarried and blended two families all before the age of 30!

If that wasn't enough, she went on to start an incredibly successful dance studio (900 students) and had another child - putting her total to 6!

On the outside things looked perfect. A great career and community, a nice home, 6 beautiful children and a successful spouse.

What others didn't see was an empty marriage where she lived in a constant state of confusion and dread. She worked really hard at holding it all together until it all started to fall apart. It started with her own health, caretaking for her aging parents and the revelation about her husband that would change everything.

This is a story about Cathy finding her honest edge more than once.

She started her entire life over in her 50's and wants you to know that you can, at any time begin again ... again!

You can find her HERE at age-wild.com

Or on her instagram

Susie Grace has always been an independant woman. She left home at 18 to live a creative and adventurous life hoping to one day open her own business. Drawn to visual storytelling, she pursued a career in advertising. She followed her intuition one decision at a time from the coast of Maui, Hawaii to the coast of northern Michigan, riding the wave of opportunities.

The most surprising opportunity came during a frigid winter in northern Michigan: Susie was pregnant and decided to become a single mother ... the greatest adventure of all.

...

This podcast is about the complicated grief of motherhood lost. Susie took her pain and channeled that energy into finding answers. During that pursuit she created skincare that not only helped her heal, it was helping others.

Hear Susie's unexpected journey into an industry that is based on surface level validation and how she has infused it with soul-deep purpose.

Susie is living a life of Valor to honor the one she lost.

You can learn more and purchaseValor Skincare HERE.

Trauma is a very trendy word these days. It's spoken of quite openly. You can't go very far without being fed a reel on socials about how trauma influences our lives. It has made me question what it really is and how do you know if you have experienced it?

More importantly, can you heal from it?

My guest, Trisha Wolfe, a Licensed Clinical Counselor (LPCC, SEP, NARM practitioner) and Ph.D. candidate has a lot to teach us. Her TikTok about people pleasers and intellectualizers went viral, hitting 7 million views! She explains that trauma can even show up as being a very good girl (or boy).

Trisha simplifies for us the primal need to remain close to our caretakers in childhood regardless of safety in the relationship which sets us up for a lifetime of self-betraying patterns.

In an attempt to heal ourselves through yoga, self-help books, classes and doing more we subconsciously attempt to bypass unresolved pain. The intent is good but the results may vary ...

Our work is to get off the highway of well traveled neuropathways to create our own path. This is best done with the help of a guide who has done it themselves. Someone like Trisha. In this podcast she shares her own story which led her to become a counselor.

She is an expert on neuroscience, empowering us to find agency in our choice to heal at the root so that we may flourish in life. In her words, "It's not sexy, but it works!"

Grab a notebook and pen! You're about to be educated :)

> > >

Trisha & her partner have also created Field Day! A deck of cards (she designed!) to guide you through the trails of northern Michigan. This playful deck will inspire curiosity and adventure. Get offline and get outside! You can purchase your deck HERE.

Learn more about Trisha's practice HERE.

Follow her Substack HERE.

She's also on Instagram and TikTok.

We are post election and heading into the holiday season. Yay. This means that we will have to choose how and when to spend time with our families. This is a complicated decision for most people and for good reason. As the saying goes, "Blood may be thicker than water, but blood clots."

Our conversation today is about choosing estrangement from family. This is not a popular choice and it's one that is often questioned by others.

I asked my friend Michael Jon Watt to join me for his 4th episode in our series to talk about his choice to cut ties with his adoptive parents. He is not the "poster-child" on this topic. However, he is very clear and concise about what brought him to that edge.

This is not cancel culture.

It's a thoughtful choice to protect one's mental and emotional health by doing what feels the most unnatural - choosing to leave relationships with family members. It doesn't mean that it has to be forever. Other times, it is necessary to remain no contact if the violations have been severe and damaging.

We hope this podcast will bring clarity and healing.

...

A special thanks to Rhonda and Patrick for sponsoring this podcast. They are big fans of Michael and supporters of the arts and people. They are chosen family.

In this podcast we unpack what it means to find your inner voice - your intuition. What is it? How can you hear it? Is it the voice of God or something else? What happens when we follow that "intuitive hit"? We talk openly about our evangelical upbringing and how it influenced our ability to trust our own knowing.

Michael’s intuition led him down many good paths in his lifetime. In this story, we hear about his search for Paul, his birth father - a man who never knew he existed.

Would he receive the news of Michael well? Would he want to meet with him? What about the other news ... that his son is gay? There is a lot at stake for Michael in this podcast but even more for Paul. Find out why ...

If you haven’t already, I’d highly recommend listening to the first two episodes: Queerly Beloved & Channeling Janice which explore the discovery and unfolding of Michael's life which led him to this point.

This podcast is sponsored by Sawyer Scott of Local Riff Raff Co. and the Bay to Braman Bolt foot race happening this Labor Day Weekend in Northport, Michigan. CLICK HERE to register for a day of family fun and to support history.

Part II of Queerly Beloved:

Michael Jon Watt's adoption cost $200. He knows because he has the receipt. A young woman, 5' 9" and 130 pounds, gave him up for adoption in the state of California on Christmas Eve, 1966. His adoptive family was picture perfect as was he: blond hair, blue eyes and a smile that lit up the room! Looks can be deceiving (as you heard in the first interview).

Michael always longed to know who his birth mom was.

It wasn't until he turned 26 that he began to search. There was a new tool to help speed up the process: the internet. This lead him to a chat room on CompuServe where he found a woman named Janice. Her side hustle: a PI for adoptees looking for their birth parents. It wouldn't be easy. It's estimated that 2 million babies were adopted during the 1960s alone. Janice was on a mission.

This show is a heart-warming story of reunification and redemption that was nothing short of a miracle.

I named this podcast, "Channeling Janice" simple because, the search wasn't done alone and without a little magic.

This podcast is sponsored by our friend Sawyer Scott of Local Riff Raff Co. A brand that supports local artists like myself and Michael! Local Riff Raff Co is also the official sponsor of The Bay to Braman Bolt: A foot race to preserve history. This takes place in Northport, Michigan on Labor Day weekend. Register now!

Michael Jon Watt was raised by his adoptive parents on a Christian fundamentalist commune tucked into the woods near Long Lake in Traverse City, Michigan. His connection to God existed outside of this dark reality as did an inner knowing that he was also gay.

He was told that he could love God or be gay, but not at the same time. He would have to choose.

He tried. For decades.

Multiple confessions, accountability groups, conversion therapy and an eventual engagement to a woman didn't change what he knew to be true. The harder he worked to deny his identity, the more pain consumed him.

This episode isn't about coming out and life becoming easier. It's about the journey of a man destined to live an authentic life and the peace he found along the way back to his birth mom, his identity and his home.

Michael is a graphic designer, Etsy shop owner and improv artist who returned to the north country and made it his own.

We hope you are encouraged by his story and the clarity offered to those searching for identity.

Queerly beloved, “The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of." -Blaise Pascal

On March 25th, 2012 a knock on the door changed Nate & Maggie Blaylock's life forever. As Maggie held her newborn, the person at the door revealed her husband's infidelity. The man she loved and built a family with had a secret life. His past porn addiction had not been resolved. In fact, it had escalated into an out of control sex addiction in their community. Layers of betrayal would unfold in staggered confessions leading them to a therapeutic full disclosure with a polygraph test.

In this episode you will hear directly from Nate & Maggie.

They bravely share the story of tremendous pain, the choice to heal themselves and ultimately their marriage.

We will also discuss whether or not "sex addiction" is real and how it is treated by the professional CSAT (Certified Sex Addiction Therapist) community.

Maggie will speak directly to victims of this abuse and the necessary steps to protect yourself in order to heal.

They have turned their pain into purpose and now work with others to reclaim their lives.

Like a needle in a haystack, I regret not finding them sooner.

GET HELP HERE:

You can find Shea at www.sheapetaja.com if you're ready to experience The Holy Sh/ft in your personal and professional life.

What happens when two podcaster's with theatrical training take the mic to talk about death, moms and comedy?

You won't know until you listen!

Join me and fellow podcaster and actor, Dana Black on this lively episode where Dana reveals WHY she created her podcast, "I Swear on my Mother's Grave" to process the complicated relationship with her dead mother. As an actor, she takes off the mask and turns on the mic to ask the grief community the hard questions she is facing. It's beautiful, heartfelt and hilarious.

No topic is off limits between us ...

In this episode, I share some of my own complicated grief in our banter. You'll laugh, cry and perhaps ... cringe.

If you want to listen to Dana's podcast go HERE! www.danablack.org

This podcast is sponsored by our lovely friends at Michael's Place, a grief support center in Traverse City, Michigan. You can learn more about their FREE services at www.mymichaelsplace.net

Happy New Year!

I'm really excited to have someone special on the show today, my coach and friend Casey Petz. He was born into a family business and was expected to participate. I dare to say, he was "chosen". His ability to see and lead others through complexity is a rare talent that has been hard earned. I asked him how to plan for the new year and he said, "Don't plan for a year unless you plan to be dead."

Join us as we talk about how to create a bigger vision for your life and work backwards into the present. In his words, "It's a close your eyes experience."

For those of you who are in crisis and cannot plan for anything beyond the present moment, he has some solid insight to help you stay on the path.

Remember: Simple isn't easy.

Are you ready to make 2024 your best year in your personal and professional life? I have created a private 1:1 coaching experience for you! Maybe it's time we talked. Learn more about The Holy Sh/ft HERE.

Are you a woman in business? Are you tired of doing it alone and would love coaching in the company of other female entrepreneurs? Join my Inner/preneur's Cohort this coming February! Curious to learn more? READ MORE HERE. I can't wait to hear more about your business!

Speaking of female entrepreneurs ...

This podcast is sponsored by Melissa Laraway, Realtor with CENTURY 21 Northland. She is an expert re-locator who has made the northern Michigan dream a reality for herself and she can do that for you! If you're looking to make an educated decision about your next real estate investment, call Melissa!