The Life Shift

The Wildfire Didn’t Burn Her House – But It Changed Everything with Katie Svoboda-Rini


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What if the perfect time never comes?

Katie Svoboda-Rini spent years waiting for things to settle before she could finally chase her dream. But life had other plans, including the loss of both parents, a lifetime of body shame, and a wildfire that didn’t burn her house down but still took almost everything. In the rubble of grief, burnout, and survival mode, Katie found something deeper than resilience. She found softness. And she gave herself permission to start anyway.

In this episode, Katie shares:

  • Why grief sometimes takes decades to process, and why that’s okay
  • How caregiving at sixteen shaped her sense of responsibility and shame
  • What it meant to finally start her baking business after losing almost everything
  • If you’ve ever felt stuck waiting for the “right time,” this one might meet you where you are.

    🎧 Listen and subscribe: www.thelifeshiftpodcast.com

    Katie Svoboda-Rini is a classically trained pastry chef, lifelong home baker, and the creative force behind Confessions of a Wayward Baker and Sweet Skills Workshop. With more than 25 years of experience spanning home kitchens, pastry school, professional bakeries, and her own custom cookie business, Katie’s become known as the butter-covered cheerleader helping bakers ditch perfection and embrace the mess. Her work is rooted in lived experience — shaped by personal loss, grief, and the healing power of creativity — and she believes baking is more than a skill. It’s a way to connect, honor tradition, and make room for joy in the middle of life’s chaos.

    Katie now shares recipes, reflections, and real-life kitchen moments on her blog and YouTube channel as The Wayward Baker

    🔗 Website: waywardbaker.com - in development
    📺 YouTube: @waywardbaker
    📸 Instagram: @sweet.skills.workshops

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    The Life ShiftBy Matt Gilhooly

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