Unabridged You

Many people believe their life isn’t interesting enough to be written down. They assume that stories belong to famous people, public figures, or those who have achieved something extraordinary. 

But what if the stories of everyday lives are just as powerful—perhaps even more so? 

In this episode of Unabridged You, Julie speaks with biographer, ghostwriter, and journalist Joy Persaud, founder of the I Have A Story Project, about the power of capturing the stories we often overlook—our own. 

Joy has interviewed well-known figures as well as people whose stories may never make the headlines, and through her work she has come to believe that everyone carries experiences, memories, and lessons that are worthy of being remembered and shared. 

Together, Joy and Julie explore how our early experiences with writing in school can shape our confidence, and why writing for ourselves can be very different from writing to be judged. 

They also discuss the importance of preserving authentic human stories in a time when so much content is being generated by artificial intelligence, the role of nostalgia and music in unlocking memories, and the importance of caring for ourselves when revisiting difficult parts of our past. 

Whether you have ever thought about writing your life story or simply reflecting on the moments that shaped you, this conversation is a gentle reminder that everyone has a story worth telling. 

In this episode, we explore: 

• The value of everyday life stories and personal histories
• How our school experiences with writing can affect our confidence
• The difference between writing for evaluation vs writing for yourself
• Storytelling as a way to make meaning of life experiences
• The idea of legacy and preserving personal history
• Why authentic human stories matter in an AI-driven world
• How music and nostalgia can unlock memories
• The importance of self-care when revisiting difficult life experiences
• How Joy supports people in writing and capturing their life stories

You can connect with Joy here:

Website: ihaveastory.co.uk

Social: Instagram 

As always please follow along with Unabridged You wherever you have found the podcast, be sure to leave a review and share the episode with someone who you think might find it interesting or helpful.  To connect further you can email us at [email protected] 

Website: https://unabridgedyou.buzzsprout.com/ 

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/UnabridgedYou

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unabridged_you 

In this episode of Unabridged You, Julie sits down with UK-based breathwork facilitator, trainer and founder of Breathguru, Alan Dolan to explore the depth and integrity of breathwork. 

Breathwork has been mentioned by several guests on this podcast as a powerful part of their journey toward becoming more authentic and unabridged. In this conversation, we go deeper. 

Alan shares how he first came to breathwork over 22 years ago — long before it entered mainstream wellness spaces — and why he continues to choose this work today, explaining that it is not a trend but a powerful tool. 

At the heart of the episode is the big question: What is breathwork? 

Alan answers by bringing together both physiology and lived experience. He explains how this foundational human function, when engaged with intentionally (and safely), has the potential to directly influence the nervous system and create a kind of “factory reset” — a bridge that recalibrates and re/connects the visible and invisible aspects of self and existence. 

We also touch on the growing research around breathwork, including doctoral-level study exploring its potential role in supporting anxiety. 

This episode invites you to reconsider your relationship with your breath — not as a trend or quick fix, but as a powerful tool for awareness, regulation and self-acceptance.  

About Alan Dolan 

Alan Dolan is a UK-based breathwork facilitator, trainer and retreat leader with over two decades of experience. He works with individuals and trains practitioners in high-quality, ethical facilitation, with a particular focus on Conscious Connected Breathwork. His work integrates physiology, nervous system awareness and deep personal inquiry. 

Links to Alan and BreathGuru

Breathguru Trainings

Breathguru Retreats

Alan's workshops & free events

Online 1:1s with Alan

London 1:1's with Alan

Instagram

Facebook

LinkedIn

Any questions can be directed to [email protected] 

As always please follow along with unabridged you wherever you have found the podcast, be sure to leave a review and share the episode with someone who you think might find it interesting or helpful.  The links to connect with Unabridged You are:

Website: https://unabridgedyou.buzzsprout.com/ 

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/UnabridgedYou

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unabridged_you 

This episode is a table of contents for Season Three to Date.

The links for the similar episodes for Season One and Season Two are as follows

Season One: An Update, A conclusion and a Plan (7min) 

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2271523/episodes/14302181

Season Two: Season Two Wrap-up (6min)

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2271523/episodes/15331397

If you would like to connect with Unabridged You, you can do so through these links:

Website: https://unabridgedyou.buzzsprout.com/ 

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/UnabridgedYou

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unabridged_you 

We open this episode with our guest's thoughtful words — a reminder that pain is never just physical, and never just medical: 

Laura is a pain clinician and educator who approaches pain through a whole-person lens. In this conversation, she gently expands the way we think about pain, inviting us to step beyond the usual medical framework and consider pain as a deeply human experience — one shaped by our stories, identities, relationships, and the world we live in.
 
In this episode, we explore: 

• Why understanding pain requires more than a medical model
• The emotional, social, and existential layers of the pain experience
• How chronic and persistent pain shape — and are shaped by — identity
• How curiosity and conversation can move our understanding forward

This is an episode for anyone living with pain, supporting someone through it, or simply curious about a more humane, connected way of understanding the complexity of pain.

If you would like to connect with Laura, you can find here through these links:

website: laurarathbone.com 

Instagram: instagram.com/laura.painspecialist 

If you would like to connect with Unabridged You, you can do so through these links:

Website: https://unabridgedyou.buzzsprout.com/ 

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/UnabridgedYou

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unabridged_you 

In this powerful follow-up episode, Alicia returns to share her personal story — a story marked by dark chapters, deep resilience, and a fierce commitment to choosing joy. Building on the themes introduced in the previous conversation, Alicia opens up about navigating neurodivergence, assault, life-threatening illness, unsafe relationships, and the complexities of becoming a mum.

Through it all, she has shaped a life grounded in purpose, cultural connection, and the desire to uplift others.

Alicia speaks beautifully about finding strength through her Māori culture, the Kaupapa Māori approach to walking alongside someone in their healing, and her relationship with matakite — intuition, insight, and seeing beyond what is immediately visible. Her story is a reminder that even the heaviest chapters can become sources of wisdom, and that joy is not something we wait for; it’s something we harness.

This episode holds space for:

• The realities of surviving trauma and reclaiming your narrative
  
  
• How cultural knowledge, connection, and community can anchor healing
  
  
• The power of standing in your story rather than shrinking from it
  
  
• What it means to transform lived experience into a source of guidance and support for others
  
  
• Choosing joy as an act of resistance, grounding, and self-determination

Alicia’s resilience is deeply felt, and her insights carry both heart and hope. If her story resonates with you — or you know someone who might draw strength from it — please share this episode. 

Connect with Alicia 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicia-durbin-a4873a300?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=android_app 

Tiktok: @wahinemaoriandherkuri

Previous episode: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2271523/episodes/18162525

Listen and Follow Unabridged You:   

Website: https://unabridgedyou.buzzsprout.com/ 

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/UnabridgedYou

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unabridged_you 

Twenty-five years after their last conversation, Julie reconnects with an old classmate, whose story of reconnecting to her a Māori cultural roots and understandings of matakite offers a powerful lens on identity and belonging.

In this episode, they explore what it means to search for your place after growing up in a world shaped by The Machine — the social, religious, and colonial pressures that often silenced identity and intuition. Together, they reflect on how rediscovering cultural roots, listening to ancestral wisdom, and embracing spiritual gifts can become acts of self-liberation.

This is the first part of a deeply personal conversation about remembering who we are, standing in our stories, and finding the courage to live unabridged.

This heartfelt conversation explores themes of cultural identity, healing, intuition, resilience, and personal transformation — all core to the journey of becoming unabridged.

In this episode:

• The journey of reconnecting with Māori culture and ancestry
• Understanding matakite and spiritual sensitivity
• How colonial systems shape identity and belonging
• What it means to live authentically and unabridged

Connect with Alicia 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicia-durbin-a4873a300?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=android_app 

Listen and Follow Unabridged You:   

Website: https://unabridgedyou.buzzsprout.com/ 

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/UnabridgedYou

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unabridged_you 

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to step away from the noise of daily life and experience a silent retreat? To remove all distractions and responsibilities and simply be with yourself? 

Earlier this year, I attended an 8-day Vipassana meditation retreat — a profound journey into silence and self-observation. In this episode of Unabridged You, I’m joined by our teacher, mentor, and guide Martin Pack, who shares his story, experience, and expertise in the practice of Vipassana. 

Together, we explore the mechanics of Vipassana, the deeper meaning of mindfulness versus awareness, and what happens when we consciously face the tension between boredom and distraction. This is a thoughtful, grounded conversation that invites you to consider your own relationship with silence — and what you might discover there. 

✨ Connect with Martin:
Website: risingfalling.org 

Email: [email protected] 

Listen and Follow Unabridged You:   

Website: https://unabridgedyou.buzzsprout.com/ 

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/UnabridgedYou

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unabridged_you 

In the previous episode we spoke with Edward about Resilience, Parenting, Happiness and Values.  We shared a formula for happiness:  When what you personally feel, think, say and do are in harmony.  All the ideas discussed here were more directed toward the individual and their growth.

In this episode, Edward joins us again, and we take the conversation from that focus on the individual to more of a focus on the community.  We talk about the Global Happiness Scale and ideas around how once a person takes the time to consciously figure out their current purpose (with the idea that this is not a fixed destination) it can contribute positively to their communities.  

A key takeaway from this episode is that this journey in life is not about figuring out the meaning of life, but how you want to give meaning to your life.

If you’d like to connect with Edward, you can find them at: 

https://www.positivecontribution.nl/ and https://thepurposecompany.nl/

Follow Unabridged You:   

Website: https://unabridgedyou.buzzsprout.com/ Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/UnabridgedYou
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unabridged_you  

And if you — or someone you know — would like to share your own story of becoming unabridged, email me at [email protected] 

What if we treated Resilience like a muscle and realised it is something we need to help our kids strengthen?

In this episode, Edward Haarmans, a coach, consultant, keynote speaker and parent among many other roles, joins me to share their story of understanding resilience from the perspective of a parent. Together we explore the ideas of Resilience, Happiness and Values and how they help us make meaning in the world. 

You will hear reflections on the mechanics of parenting from the perspective of wanting to grow humans who are well-balanced individuals, while at the same time recognizing that we adults are constantly evolving in our thoughts and understandings, values and meanings of concepts such as happiness as well.  

This episode can help support your children's growth but your own as well.

If you’d like to connect with Edward, you can find them at: 

https://www.positivecontribution.nl/ and https://thepurposecompany.nl/

Follow Unabridged You:   

Website: https://unabridgedyou.buzzsprout.com/ Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/UnabridgedYou
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unabridged_you  

 And if you — or someone you know — would like to share your own story of becoming unabridged, email me at [email protected] 

What does it mean to look for the answer?

When I turned 42, I couldn’t help but wonder if this was the year it would all click — the age where everything made sense. After all, 42 is famously “the answer to life, the universe, and everything” in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

But as I reflect back, I found something very different. Not one neat answer, but many small lessons, questions, and surprises.

In this solo episode, I share 

• the five lessons I took (learned, re-learned or had emphasised while being 42 
• why the search for the answer might be too rigid — and what happens when we let our answers evolve, just as we do

Instead of one destination, life keeps offering us shifting questions and ongoing becoming. Maybe that’s the real answer after all.

I’d love to hear from you: was there an age, season, or moment that felt like it might hold the answer? Looking back, what did it teach you? Share your reflections at [email protected] 

Follow Unabridged You:   Website: https://unabridgedyou.buzzsprout.com/ Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/UnabridgedYou
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unabridged_you