The Kapitol Life

It’s another edition of “Keepin’ It Real with Real People” featuring the incredible Eva Vennari.

This episode, “Built in the Fire – Mastery Forged Under Pressure,” is a conversation about what happens when life knocks you down, your body starts waving the white flag, and you realize there’s so much more to your healing than you ever imagined.

Eva is a true holistic healer who brings together different areas of healing, nutrition, emotional awareness, and spirituality. But her work didn't come from theory alone. After years of struggling with chronic symptoms and searching for answers, Eva found her own path toward healing. Then, after the sudden death of her children's father, she experienced a spiritual wake-up call that pushed her to share what she'd learned and help others explore different approaches to their well-being.

Abby and Eva get into intuition, childhood beliefs, the layers of our physical and emotional experiences, and why looking at ourselves as whole beings matters. We talk about the importance of boundaries, building a stronger relationship with yourself, and recognizing that sometimes the answers aren't found by looking at just one piece of the puzzle.

Because sometimes the fire that changes your life isn't there to destroy you.

Sometimes it's where you discover the strength, purpose, and wisdom that were there all along.

You can find Eva here: Website, LinkedIn, Facebook

This episode of The Kapitol Life is brought to you by HNG.

It’s another edition of “Keepin’ It Real with Real People” featuring my awesome friend, Dustin Jones.

This episode, “Don’t Stop Me Now – Why Staying Power Matters,” is a conversation about resilience, vulnerability, leadership, and what happens when you finally decide to stop shrinking yourself.

Dustin opens up about rebuilding her life after divorce, raising two young children, staying in Texas when she could have gone back to California, and learning who she was at her core. What started as a season of uncertainty became a journey of rediscovering herself, building her career, stepping into leadership, and eventually creating a business of her own.

We talk about the power of staying, the courage to make a correction when something isn't working, and the vulnerability required to become the same person in both your personal and professional life. Dustin also shares what it took to stop second-guessing herself, own her accomplishments, and refuse to shrink in rooms she had every right to be in.

And honestly? Sometimes staying power isn't about forcing yourself to stay in the same place.

It's about staying committed to who you're becoming.

You can find Dustin here: Website, LinkedIn, Facebook

This episode of The Kapitol Life is brought to you by Newmyer Peak Performance Chiropractic.

It’s another edition of “Keepin’ It Real with Real People” featuring my very good friend, Cathy Derksen.

This episode, “Trust Your Gut – Trusting My Intuition Saved Me,” is about something we all have, but don't always listen to: that little voice inside that says, “Something isn't right.”

Cathy shares how she spent years following one path after another, from medical genetics to financial planning, while knowing deep down that something still wasn't quite right. She didn't have all the answers. She just knew she had to keep moving until she found what felt aligned.

Then came a life-changing wake-up call that forced her to take a much harder look at the environment she was living and working in, and ultimately make some massive changes for herself and her children.

We talk about intuition, courage, starting over, motherhood, healing, and what it means to trust a depth of knowing even when you're standing in a whole lot of not knowing.

Because sometimes your gut doesn't give you the entire map.

It just tells you it's time to move.

You can find Cathy here: Website, LinkedIn

This episode of The Kapitol Life is brought to you by Back2Basics Juicery.

It’s another edition of “Keepin’ It Real with Real People” featuring my awesome friend and colleague, Joanna Zhang.

This episode, “Fix You – The Blessing of Seeing What’s Broken,” gets into something we don't always want to admit: sometimes the things that keep happening in our lives are trying to show us something.

Joanna opens up about her own journey of recognizing repeated patterns, especially in relationships, and realizing that the challenges she experienced weren't just things happening to her. They became opportunities to look deeper, understand herself, and grow through self-love, self-acceptance, and independence.

We talk about awareness, alignment, external validation, imposter syndrome, and what happens when you stop simply knowing something intellectually and actually begin to feel it, embody it, and live it.

Because maybe seeing what's broken isn't a punishment.

Maybe it's the blessing.

Sometimes identification is the first step toward change. And sometimes the thing you most want to “fix” is actually showing you exactly where your next level of growth is waiting.

You can find Joanna here: LinkedIn, LinkedIn

This episode of The Kapitol Life is brought to you by Molloy Chiropractic Center.

It’s another edition of "Keepin' It Real with Real People" featuring the incredible Gayle Goodman Lynch.

This episode, "Body Speaks, Soul Listens – Realizing What My Body Had Been Trying to Say," is a powerful conversation about intuition, inner listening, self-awareness, and the messages we often miss when we're too busy pushing through.

Abby and Gayle get real about what happens when we spend years operating on autopilot. Gayle shares how she built a successful life on the outside while carrying so much internally that eventually, her body said, "I'm done." A week in bed forced her to stop, listen, and recognize the weight she'd been carrying without even realizing it.

Together, they explore what it means to notice the subtle signals before they become impossible to ignore, from physical tension and discomfort to emotional friction and the need to pause. They also talk about grief, self-trust, surrender, and the long process of learning to stop fighting the current and start moving with the flow.

Because sometimes your body isn't working against you.

It's trying to get your attention.

And sometimes listening isn't about finding another answer.

It's about finally being still enough to hear the one that's already there.

You can find Gayle here: Website, LinkedIn

This episode of The Kapitol Life is brought to you by Restorative Function Massage.

It’s another edition of "Keepin' It Real with Real People" featuring the incredible Amrita Mukherjee.

This episode, "Comfortable in My Skin – Living in Your Skin with Ease," is a powerful conversation about identity, self-acceptance, embodiment, and what happens when life forces you to slow down and really look at who you are.

Abby and Amrita talk about the expectations and cultural patterns that can shape our identities, from the careers we're expected to pursue to the roles we're taught to prioritize. Amrita shares how growing up in a strict household, building a corporate career, and becoming intensely focused on success eventually led her to realize she had lost sight of what truly mattered, including her own health and presence with her family.

Then came a life-changing accident, a long recovery, and a hospital room that gave her something she hadn't had in years: time to stop, reflect, and ask what she actually wanted from her life. That experience shifted her perspective from simply achieving more to being more present, intentional, and connected to the people she loved.

This is a conversation about remembering that you are more than your job, your relationships, your responsibilities, or anyone else's expectations.

Because sometimes life doesn't ask you to become someone new.

It asks you to finally come back to yourself.

You can find Amrita here: LinkedIn, Facebook

This episode of The Kapitol Life is brought to you by Madison’s Closet.

It’s another edition of “Keepin’ It Real with Real People”, featuring the incredible Rhona McBain.

In this episode, “Lost and Found – The Creative Edge of Confusion,” Abby and Rhona dive into what happens when life completely disrupts the identity you thought you knew. Rhona opens up about losing her husband to ALS, facing her mother’s terminal cancer, and finding herself stripped of the roles and labels that once defined her.

This is a raw conversation about loss, grief, vulnerability, identity, and the unexpected creativity that can emerge when you realize you get to start again.

Together, Abby and Rhona explore what it means to get back into your body, trust yourself, and turn confusion into an opportunity to create something new.

Because sometimes losing the life you thought you had is what finally gives you the freedom to create the life that’s actually yours.

You can find Rhona here: Website, LinkedIn

This episode of The Kapitol Life is brought to you by Be Zen Holistic Wellness Center.

It’s another edition of “Keepin’ It Real with Real People” featuring the incredible Jeannie Dougherty.

This episode, “Guide on the Side: The Difference Between Guidance and Advice,” is a powerful conversation about financial empowerment, inner authority, discernment, and learning to trust yourself when making decisions.

Abby and Jeannie dive into what it really means to reclaim your financial power, recognize your own values, and stop looking outside yourself for every answer. They explore how our stories, beliefs, and past experiences can shape the way we relate to money, and why having better money skills is about so much more than simply having more money.

Because sometimes the guidance you’re looking for isn’t coming from someone else.

It’s already within you.

You can find Jeannie here: Website, LinkedIn

This episode of The Kapitol Life is brought to you by The Bminds.

It’s another edition of "Keepin' It Real with Real People" featuring the incredible Joyce Odidison.

This episode, "It’s All in the Details – When Details Make the Difference," is a powerful conversation about resilience, grief, wellbeing, and the moments that force us to slow down and pay attention to what our lives are really telling us.

Abby and Joyce dive into the nine dimensions of well-being, the interconnectedness of our lives, and what happens when we keep pushing forward without realizing we've reached our limit. Joyce opens up about the unexpected loss of her brother, the physical toll that followed, and the experience that changed the way she understood resilience and well-being.

Together, they explore why high performers can miss the warning signs, how grief and stress can show up in the body, and why paying attention to the details can help us reconnect with ourselves before we reach a breaking point.

This is an episode about slowing down enough to listen, recognizing what your body and life are trying to tell you, and understanding that true resilience isn't just about bouncing back.

Sometimes, it's about building the awareness and capacity to keep yourself from falling as hard in the first place.

You can find Joyce here: Website, LinkedIn

This episode of The Kapitol Life is brought to you by Fred Shots Photography.

It’s another edition of "Keepin' It Real with Real People" featuring the incredible Angel Jones.

This episode, "Light My Fire – The Spark That Pulled Me Back to Myself," is a powerful conversation about trauma, identity, healing, and the courage to reclaim the parts of yourself that life tried to take away.

Abby and Angel dive into the realities of PTSD, manipulation, grooming, self-worth, and the long road to healing. Together, they explore how trauma can quietly become part of our identity, why breaking free isn't as simple as walking away, and how tools like therapy, EMDR, journaling, and honest conversations can help us reconnect with who we truly are.

This is an episode about giving yourself permission to heal, releasing the shame that was never yours to carry, and discovering that your story doesn't end with what happened to you.

Because healing isn't about becoming someone new.

It's about finding your way back to the person you've always been.

You can find Angel here: Amazon & Tiktok

This episode of The Kapitol Life is brought to you by Nektar Juice Bar.