Today marks five years that we have been traveling full-time in our RV.  It also marks the first time in the history of the Journey of My Mother's Son podcast that an entire month passed without an episode being released.  Why the break?  Well, many of you know that Sandy had been in the hospital for eight days back in July.  I you missed that, you can read the details about us looking forward to Brighter Days by clicking this link.

One of the things that I talk about in this return episode is our need as humans to be able to make adjustments when life throws us a curve ball.  That's what Sandy and I had to do last month.  We planning on kicking off the presale campaign for my newest book, A Good Boy's Journey on my birthday and the book was initially slated to be released today.  Obviously, that didn't happen.  Instead, we spent my birthday with Sandy getting a kidney biopsy, so we made some adjustments.  The presale campaign kicked off later than expected and the publication date will be later this month, but that's ok, we made the adjustment.  Sandy's health was the priority and still is.

Just remember in your own life, when life throws you those curve balls, you just have to bear down and make the adjustment.

If you're interested in purchasing a copy of my newest book in the the presale campaign, be sure to do so now by clicking on the link below: A Good Boy's Journey Presale Campaign

From an Ivy League graduate to homeless addict, and ultimately a respected keynote speaker and mentor, Ken Miller has lived every side of the human experience. Now, he shares his journey to inspire others to rise above their past, embrace their true identity, and build lives of purpose. Ken believes it’s never too late to rise, rebuild, and thrive.

Ken Miller’s journey is a testament to the power of resilience, redemption, and choice. Born into challenging circumstances, Ken rose to become a National Merit Scholar and an Ivy League graduate, but a spiral of addiction and poor decisions led him to the streets, homelessness, and incarceration.

After years in a cycle of regret and hardship, Ken faced a turning point: he made the decision to rebuild his life.

Released from prison with nothing but a small box of belongings and $28, Ken committed to a path of positive choices, resilience, and authenticity. Today, he is a successful consultant, speaker, and mentor, dedicated to inspiring others to embrace their true identity and make choices that lead to a fulfilling life.

Through his story, Ken empowers audiences to rise above their past and create lives of purpose, proving that no matter how far one has fallen, it is always possible to rise, rebuild, and thrive.

To find out more about Ken, check out his website at https://kenmillerspeaks.com.

Born in Athens, Greece as an Air Force brat, Teri M. Brown came into this world with an imagination full of stories to tell. She now calls the North Carolina coast home, and the peaceful nature of the sea has been a great source of inspiration for her creativity.

Not letting 2020 get the best of her, Teri chose to go on an adventure that changed her outlook on life. She and her husband, Bruce, rode a tandem bicycle across the United States from Astoria, Oregon to Washington DC, successfully raising money for Toys for Tots. She learned she is stronger than she realized and capable of anything she sets her mind to.

Teri graduated from UNC Greensboro with a multitude of degrees – majors in Elementary Education and Psychology and minors in Math and Sociology – she just couldn’t settle on one thing! While homeschooling her four children, she began her writing career by focusing on small businesses, writing articles, blog posts, and website content.

During this time, Teri published five nonfiction self-help books dealing with real estate and finance, receiving "First Runner Up" in the Eric Hoffman Book Awards for 301 Simple Things You Can Do To Sell Your Home Now, finalist in the USA Best Books Awards for How To Open and Operate a Financially Successful Redesign, Redecorate, and Real Estate Staging Business and for 301 Simple Things You Can Do To Sell Your Home Now, and Honorable Mention in Foreword Magazine’s Book of the Year Award for Private Mortgage Investing.

In 2017, after finally getting out of an emotionally abusive 14-year marriage, Teri began dabbling in fiction, a lifelong dream. Upon winning the First Annual Anita Bloom Ornoff Award for Inspirational Short Story for a piece about her grandfather, she began writing in earnest, and published her debut novel in 2022, Sunflowers Beneath the Snow, a historical fiction set in Ukraine. Her second novel published in 2023, An Enemy Like Me, takes place during WWII. Her latest novel, Daughters of Green Mountain Gap, a generational story about Appalachian healers came out in January 2024. In June 2024, her short story, The Youngest Lighthouse Keeper, came out in the anthology Feisty Deeds: Historical Fictions of Daring Women. Her latest book, 10 Little Rules for a Double-Butted Adventure (Feb 2025), is an inspirational look at the life lessons she learned riding across the United States on a tandem bicycle. In April, her first children's book, Little Lola and Her Big Dream launched.

Teri is a wife, mother, grandmother, and author who loves word games, reading, bumming on the beach, taking photos, singing in the shower, hunting for bargains, ballroom dancing, playing bridge, and mentoring others – especially youth and women who are having trouble discovering their worth.

To find out more about Teri, you can check out her website at https://terimbrown.com/.

Sandy and I met Greg and his wife, Deb at their Harvest Host location, TCB Ranch in Phoenix, Arizona.

While we were there, we tried BEMER Therapy.  It’s an amazing technology that increases blood flow.  As soon as we had completed the therapy, I wanted to have Greg on the show to talk about this amazing technology.

To find out more about Bemer Therapy, check out this link: https://umustsee.net/UZM6BH

Christian was born in Moscow, Russia to a Chilean father and a Russian mother. The family moved to Chile when Christian was nine months old.

During the 1973 military coup of Augusto Pinochet, Christian's father, Americo Flores, was arrested along with thousands of others and spent time in one of the infamous concentration camps. His mother Larisa and two children went into hiding under an assumed name and with a fake Argentinian passport. After Americo's release, the family spent some time in a UN refugee camp and was granted asylum in Germany, moving to Munich. After living in Germany and Russia, Americo and Larisa moved to Mozambique, at the government's invitation, which was recruiting international professionals after a mass exodus of Portuguese upon the nation's independence. Christian learned four languages by age nine: Russian, Spanish, English, and Portuguese. After his parents' divorce, Christian returned to Russia with his mother and sister in 1983. Christian got a master's degree in economics in 1991 from the RUDN University in Moscow.

In 1993, Christian released his first single in Russia and became an instant success, winning awards like Generation ‘93 and Ovation in 1996 and playing nationwide. Back-to-back top ten hits culminated in his number one single, "Our Generation" – an anthem of freedom and change. It became a song widely used as the anthem of Boris Yeltsin's election campaign. Christian campaigned for Yeltsin as part of the Russian version of Rock the Vote, credited to giving Yeltsin the youth vote and victory in the campaign.

After moving to the US in 2004, Christian worked for the international charity HOPE Worldwide, serving as a country director for Latin America, focusing on health care and education in nine different countries. He also developed and directed the Positive Choice education program, implemented around the US and internationally in Mexico, Jamaica, Indonesia.

Christian co-founded a production company, Hollywood World, in Los Angeles with his wife, Deb de Flores. Hollywood World allowed international artists to work with top Hollywood producers and directors. Among other projects, Christian did voice acting for the English and Spanish versions of Masha and the Bear, a popular animated TV series.

After moving to Austin, Texas, Christian and Deb co-founded (with Brandon Knicely) Third Drive, raising millions of dollars for startups and creating digital media projects for emerging businesses, public personalities and non-profit organizations.

Christian speaks to audiences in the US and internationally, hosts the Headspace with Christian Ray Flores podcast and YouTube Channel dedicated to success in career and calling Headapace newsletter. His short film Dance With Me was selected to several international film festivals, and its title song was released on all major music platforms.

In the first days of the war in Ukraine, the Ascend Mission Fund launched the Ukraine Relief Network, serving refugees in Ukraine. Christian and Deb personally visited Ukraine in September 2022.

In 2022, Christian and Deb launched the Xponential career coaching program for high achievers.

Christian and Deb have been active in Christian ministry in the US, Eastern Europe, and Latin America for two decades. They lead The Tribe, a community of faith in Austin, Texas. Ray frequently speaks to different audiences in the US and overseas. They are also active in philanthropy through their charity Ascend Mission Fund and projects like the Ascend Academy in Mozambique that lifts children out of poverty through developing character, communication, and computer skills.

To find out more about Christian, you can check out his website at https://www.christianrayflores.com/.

I was honored to have the opportunity to have my old friend from Berks County, Santo, on my show.  We have been friends for over fifteen years now.  We first got to know each other when we both served on the board of the Berks County Visitors Bureau and through volunteering with the Reading Filmfest.  However, I never really knew Santo’s story of how he arrived in the United States until recently.  It is an incredible story, and again, I feel honored to be able to give Santo a place at my table, and help tell a little bit of his story on my show.

Santo D. Marabella, MBA, DSW, The Practical Prof® is an author, playwright, filmmaker, speaker and educator with writing, directing and producing credits for books, television pilots, a musical, short films and plays. He is the co-founder ReadingFilmFEST and the ReadingFilm Office, for which he served as ReadingFilm Commissioner (2006-2018). Recent projects include writer/director of the play Rocky Road Ain’t Always Sweet, (2024). producer, AVA (2023); producer, FLASHLIGHT (2023); director/co-producer, workshop for Love Is Afoot!, an original musical (2023); writer/producer/director, THE CAREGIVER (2022). Marabella, Professor Emeritus of Management, Moravian University, is a member of The Lambs®, The Dramatists Guild of America and Theatre Communications Group.

His newest film, Il Mio Posto a Tavola (My Place at the Table) is a first-person documentary which examines our universal need to belong, as seen through the heart of the filmmaker. Born in a Catholic orphanage in Aosta, Italy, and flown to the United States just one week shy of his first birthday, Santo D. Marabella was one of over 3700 Italian born children adopted by Italian American parents between 1951 and 1969. Known as the “Baby Scoop” era, tens of thousands of Italian unwed mothers were forced to give their children up for adoption, leaving behind generations of children devastated by their perceived abandonment.

Though he was the treasured only child of his adoptive parents, Santo was bullied by his peers and struggled from an early age to fit in and connect with others. Growing up, the realization that he was gay further deepened this isolation, straining his relationship with the Church to which he was so dedicated and the parents he so loved. Despite self-doubt and fear, he refused to be stopped. He tried harder and achieved more, carving out a life as a caregiver, educator, writer and artist. But he was still on the outside. In this journey to belonging, Santo returns to Italy to find his place at the table (posto a tavola)

To find out more about the film, check out its website at https://ilmiopostofilm.com/.

Vince is a full time RVer, leather worker, photographer, and retired soccer coach. He and his wife Amy have been on the road for six years.

We first met Vince and Amy on volunteer project through A Year to Volunteer at Sam Houston Jones State Park in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Vince has long been an advocate for mental health care and discussion and has been very public about his own struggles with depression and anxiety disorders. His photo series "Dreams" exploring aspects of his mental health journey, has been exhibited in several cities across the country.

To find out more about Vince, you can follow We Could Be Lost on Facebook or Mr Vincepad on YouTube.

In this episode of the Journey of My Mother’s Son podcast, I talk with Eric McHugh.

Eric is a 31-year-old entrepreneur whose philosophy emphasizes the importance of simplicity, adaptability, and a clear mind, which has translated well into the world of web3 entrepreneurship. Eric specializes in leveraging his strategic thinking and adaptability to create innovative and effective solutions to the challenges facing this cutting industry.

Eric’s fierce independence and commitment to self-mastery made him a natural leader and role model for those seeking to live a life of purpose and freedom in the digital age. As a staunch individualist, Eric is a vocal advocate for the decentralization of power and control, promoting the democratization of access and opportunity in the digital world.

Eric has an IQ of over 140, enjoys playing chess and fine cuisine, and main hobbies include fighting, chess, and reading.   

To connect with Eric, follow him on Instagram at @ericdmchugh.

In this episode of the Journey of My Mother’s Son podcast, I talk with Brian Hite, Ph.D.

Brian is "The High-Stakes Performance Whisperer," an expert in transforming how individuals and organizations perceive and navigate high-stakes environments. With over 30 years of experience as a professional stuntman and a decade coaching elite military personnel, Brian has dedicated his life to helping people see through the illusions of stress and pressure, unlocking clarity and achieving extraordinary results.

Blending real-world expertise with academic rigor—including a Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology and a Master’s in Sport Psychology—Brian empowers leaders, athletes, first responders, educators, and creatives to break free from the constraints of outdated thinking about high-stakes situations. Through his groundbreaking FACTs, he equips clients with the tools to master their mindset and act decisively in the moments that matter most.

Brian’s career spans Hollywood and beyond, with over 100 film and television credits and a Screen Actors Guild Award for his work on 24. As a Master Resilience Trainer for the U.S. Army, he spent a decade teaching soldiers how to reframe their perceptions of challenges, enabling them to perform with focus and confidence.

Today, Brian continues to share his expertise through programs like PressureX, PhaseX, and FACTs; his podcast Flow Under Fire; and dynamic keynotes that inspire audiences to rethink their potential and embrace transformative growth. As a faculty member at Grand Canyon University, he mentors future leaders in performance and organizational psychology, ensuring his methods have a lasting impact.

Whether speaking, writing, or coaching, Brian’s mission is to guide others in shifting their perspective, harnessing their strengths, and realizing their full potential in even the most demanding circumstances.

To find out more about Brian, you can check out his website at https://www.brianhiteglobal.com/.

In this episode of the Journey of My Mother’s Son podcast, I talk with Dr. Fred Moss.

A college dropout who found a job at a state mental health facility for adolescent boys. However, he didn't like how these kids were treated and decided to do something about it. So, he returned to college, and the rest is history.

Dr. Fred Moss, MD, is a pioneering psychiatrist and the founder of Welcome to Humanity. With nearly four decades of experience in the field, Dr. Moss has dedicated his career to transforming the conversation around mental health and well-being. Educated at Northwestern University Medical School and board-certified in psychiatry, he has treated over 30,000 patients across various settings, including telepsychiatry, private practice, and correctional healthcare.

Dr. Moss is best known for his unconventional approach to psychiatry, which emphasizes holistic healing through communication, connection, creativity, and self-expression. He challenges the traditional reliance on psychiatric diagnoses and medications, advocating instead for more human-centered and empathetic methods. This philosophy is encapsulated in his Creative 8™ methodology, which encourages activities like music, art, writing, and gardening as therapeutic practices and in his True Voice Methodology which assists people in finding their authentic voice through unconventional means and becoming comfortable speaking it authentically as a form of self-expression. .

Throughout his career, Dr. Moss has been a vocal critic of the overprescription of psychiatric medications and the profit-driven nature of the mental health industry. He believes that true healing comes from understanding and embracing one's authentic self and fostering genuine human connections. His work has led him to develop a range of services, including mental health coaching, public speaking, telepsychiatry training, podcasting, teaching, and consulting.

In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Moss is an accomplished author and podcaster. His books, "Creative 8: Healing Through Creativity & Self-Expression" and "Find Your True Voice," explore the foundational principles of his approach and offer practical guidance for personal growth and healing. He also hosts the Welcome to Humanity Podcast and the Healthy Healer Podcast, where he helps individuals find and express their true selves. He has also been a guest on over 200 podcasts, speaking about his practice and the importance of transforming the narrative of mental health on a global scale.

His career highlights include serving as a psychiatric consultant to over 40 nursing homes, working as an expert witness in court, and founding Mastering TeleHealth, a training service dedicated to enhancing virtual care in healthcare organizations. Dr. Moss's diverse experience and innovative approach make him a leading voice in the field of mental health, advocating for a compassionate, authentic, and holistic approach to well-being. He firmly believes that at the center of all healing is a human connection.

Dr. Fred Moss continues to inspire and guide individuals worldwide through his various platforms, helping them to reclaim their lives and embrace their full potential. His life's work is a testament to the power of communication, creativity, and authentic self-expression in achieving holistic health and well-being. 

To find out more about Dr. Moss and the amazing work that he is doing, check out his website at https://www.drfred360.com/.