Amanda introduces her guest Maria Ortega, a transdisciplinary poetry therapy practitioner and educator.

Together, they explore the profound intersection of journaling, poetry & self-discovery.

Tune in to hear

• How creative expression serves as a vital tool for verbal and visual processing, particularly for those navigating late-diagnosed ADHD or childhood invisibility.
• How using metaphor and inner landscapes allows individuals to bypass subconscious barriers and safely witness their own emotional wounds.
• The healing power of being witnessed, both through personal reflection and within a supportive community

Connect with Maria

WEBSITE

INSTAGRAM

Sometimes the bravest thing is admitting the year kicked your ass, and you're still here.

After months of silence, Amanda and Melanie reunite in Jupiter, Florida for their first-ever family Christmas in 30 years; and the most honest conversation they've ever recorded.

You've been wondering where they went. Why the podcast went quiet. What happened.

Here's the truth: Life happened. Hard.

Tune in to witness the death of ideals, the birth of surrender, and two sisters who've learned that awareness without embodied experience means nothing.

Welcome back to The Road Back Home. We missed you too.

Subscribe to Journal for Your Life on Substack for monthly community calls, exclusive tools and more subscriber-only content.

Silly season is upon us & for many, this also means enduring the increased stress & anxiety that often accompanies the holidays.

We discuss the common stress triggers & offer you our best tried & true ideas to help you navigate it all with more ease and joy.

Whether your challenge is tricky family dynamics, towering expectations or managing your own energy, we discuss creative ways to reduce holiday pressures & develop your own self-care plan to support you through it all.

If you need inspiration for staying centered & creating space for yourself amidst the chaos, this conversation is packed with actionable insights to help you enjoy a more peaceful holiday season.

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We'd love to hear from you, come on over to our ⁠SUBSTACK⁠, share your feedback & subscribe to receive episodes straight to your inbox.

Music Credit: ⁠Holes⁠ by Bradley James Grace. 

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#holidaystress, #selfcare, #familydynamics, #boundaries, #copingstrategies, #anxiety

June Curtain joins Amanda for a conversation that will completely redefine how you think about kindness - and why you might have given up on it for all the wrong reasons.

You've tried being kind. You've bent over backwards for people. You've given until it hurt. And what did you get? Taken advantage of. Unappreciated. Burnt out.

So you decided kindness doesn't work. People don't deserve it. You're done.

Plot twist: What you were doing probably wasn't kindness at all.

Meet June Curtain:

• Founder of "Snámhaí Sásta" (The Happy Swimmers) in Spanish Point, Clare
• Daily sea swimmer who found healing in the ocean after losing her husband to suicide
• Daughter of renowned Johnny Burke (who gave Brendan Grace his first gig)
• A woman who embodies kindness so completely, it's infectious

Why Kindness Matters: "Nobody escapes this life without walking a step in pain. Nobody."

We don't wear badges announcing our struggles. You pass hundreds of people daily who are barely holding it together. Your kindness might be the only softness they encounter all day.

Follow Snámhaí Sásta on Instagram.

"I know I should leave this WhatsApp group because it's draining me, but what if they think I'm a terrible person?"

Sound familiar? Amanda breaks down the exhausting pattern that's probably running your life without you realising it.

You stay in conversations that drain you because you don't want to seem rude. You keep saying yes when you mean no. You override your instincts because you're terrified of disappointing someone.

Here's the uncomfortable truth: You've been programmed to believe other people's comfort matters more than your own integrity.

Want to go deeper? Download the free guide "5 Signs You're Unconsciously Choosing Chaos Over Serenity" HERE

This pattern is just one of the five - and they're all connected.

After 16 years of iterations, false starts, and "almost there" moments, Amanda finally reveals what's been trying to be born through her all along.

You know that feeling when you've been trying to solve the same problems for years? Reading every self-help book, listening to every podcast, trying every method, but nothing sticks?

Here's what no one tells you: Information isn't transformation.

In this deeply personal episode, Amanda traces the journey from her first business attempt in 2009 (Girlwise - helping 8-13 year old girls) all the way to today's revelation.

Spoiler alert: It was always the same thing trying to emerge.

The game-changing moment:

A client says "I wish I was an alcoholic" and suddenly everything clicks.

• Recovery wisdom works for EVERYONE
• You don't need to qualify for transformation
• The principles that can transform ANY life

Amanda breaks down how to transform draining patterns without abandoning who you are. You're not giving up caring - you're learning to care WITHOUT depleting yourself.

Real-life proof it works: The €35 lipstick that got crushed under her car wheel. Old Amanda would have lost her sh*t. New Amanda shows up a different way.

This episode is for you if...

• You're tired of being at the mercy of your emotions and circumstances
• You want to respond to life instead of constantly reacting
• You're ready to admit your way isn't working and you need something better
• You don't want to wait until everything falls apart to access transformation

Big announcement: The Road Back Home Podcast is becoming The Serenity Project to align with this new offering.

Download the FREE guide "5 Signs You're Unconsciously Choosing Chaos Over Serenity" at www.theserenityproject.ie

School taught you that creativity, individuality and questioning authority were problems to be solved. But in today's world? Those are the exact skills that make you unstoppable.

Laura Canavan Hayes joins Amanda for a raw conversation about everything the education system got wrong - and how to reclaim what they tried to strip away.

In this deeply personal episode, Amanda and Laura unpack:

• What uniforms are actually about
• The rebellion that led Laura from banking to acting (via the dole queue)
• How Amanda's dad's "scrappiness" became her entrepreneurial superpower
• The moment Laura realised she could "be many things" instead of picking one lane

Laura's journey: From painting maintenance sheds in rebellion to walking away from a six-figure banking job to pursue acting and why a particularly demoralising "failure" was actually perfect preparation.

Amanda's realization: At almost 50, she's finally learning what it actually means to "apply herself"

The game-changer: What if everything you were told to suppress to "survive" in the world is exactly what you need to thrive?

The permission slip you've been waiting for: You can be many things. It's never too late to pivot, create, or claim your space in the world exactly as you are.

• Connect with Laura & claim her free e-book 'Six tips for a Healthy Home' HERE.
• LAURA'S INSTAGRAM
• BIOWEAVER INSTAGRAM

Mentions:

• The Artist's Way
• Marian Williamson Quote from her book 'A Return To Love'

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Subscribe on⁠⁠ ⁠SUBSTACK⁠ for BONUS tools & resources.

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Music Credit:⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Holes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ By Bradley James Grace

Today's guest didn't show up. So Amanda spills the tea on the ONE thing that's kept you stuck your entire life.

You think the problem is your partner. Your weight. Your boss. Your bank account.

Plot twist: You've been trying to solve the wrong problem.

Amanda lost 100lbs TWICE and was still miserable. She tried the geographic cure more times than she can count. Same drama, different zip code.

Here's what she learned from recovery programs that changed everything...

The secret isn't waiting for a miracle. It's using a method.

In this raw solo episode, Amanda reveals:

• The "miracle thinking" trap that's exhausting you (and why your brain loves it)
• Why Jim Carrey was depressed even after making millions
• The 3-step method that's helped millions find serenity (hint: you already know it)
• What's launching in 10 days that could change your life
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Plus: The one question that will show you exactly where you're bleeding energy.

Stop trying to control what you can't. Start changing what you can.

Your happiness isn't selfish—it's service.

Ready to stop waiting for everyone else to change? The Serenity Project launches mid-August.

Join the NEWSLETTER to be first in line.

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Music Credit:⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Holes⁠⁠⁠⁠ By Bradley James Grace.

This one's for everyone who's tired of feeling like they have to keep pulling rabbits from a hat to deserve a seat at the table.

In this unscripted solo episode, Amanda challenges herself to just talk. No outline, no plan, no trunk full of wisdom to unpack.

What emerges is a beautiful meditation on recovery, control and the radical act of being enough exactly as you are.

Fresh from re-entering the world after hermit mode, Amanda reflects on the insights that come from working a 12-step program while navigating business networks, social media and the simple act of house-training a new dog.

It's all connected: the way we try to control our environment, manage other people's experiences and reach outside ourselves to fix internal discomfort.

This episode captures the messy, real work of recovery. Not just from substances, but from the addiction to productivity, people-pleasing and the exhausting need to prove your worth through performance.

Amanda shares how she's learning to give her brain a break and trust that she's enough without constantly adding to herself.

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🎧 Listen now and subscribe on SUBSTACK for podcast companion articles, tools & resources.

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Music Credit:⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Holes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ By Bradley James Grace.

Ashleigh Tobin is a master storyteller who uses words as colours and her voice as a paintbrush.

As a hormone health coach, registered nurse with 35+ years experience and TEDx speaker, she helps women navigate the profound transformation of midlife not as decline, but as awakening.

In this conversation, we dive deep into the four stages of womanhood: maiden, creative, enchantress, and sage.

That third stage, enchantress or warrior woman, coincides with our forties and fifties, exactly when society tells us we're "over the hill."

But Ashleigh reveals this as the time when our greatest resources are waiting to emerge.

We explore how the stories we tell ourselves either open or close possibilities, why curiosity is the antidote to certainty and criticism and how to navigate the break in continuity when you start becoming someone new.

This conversation also touches on the profound moment when Amanda chose her creative calling over traditional motherhood, leading to an identity shift from "escape artist" to "creative wayfinder", proof that we can rewrite our stories at any stage of life.

Key Themes:

• Four stages of womanhood & midlife as a beginning
• How the stories we tell ourselves shape our reality
• Moving from certainty to curiosity as a way of living
• Why "someday" is the enemy of a life well-lived
• How small moments of noticing create profound change
• Creating space for your evolving self

Connect with Ashleigh:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• TEDx Talk: "How Menopause Will Change Your Life"
• Instagram