Tessa Hulls is an artist, writer and solo bicyclist who thrives in spaces where she can use her art and unique voice to illuminate the beauty and brutality that intersect in both our personal and collective histories.

Her brand new graphic memoir, Feeding Ghosts (March 5, 2024) is a beautiful, illustrated retelling of her family's troubled history. In her own words, this memoir "explores loss of culture, mixed race identity, mental illness, loss of language, immigration, and generational inheritance of trauma, it is ultimately about the ways in which mothers and daughters both damage and save each other."

In this conversation, Tessa dives into how hard it is to bring creative works into the world sometimes, and how to navigate the launch of a highly-anticipated book when said book nearly broke her spirit. Tessa is brutally honest about the emotional cost of this project, and how little she wants to be in the spotlight as she steps into a massive media launch.

This is an episode about connection, duty, obligation, and authenticity. It's a conversation about birth and death, beginnings and endings, and how to come back from darkness.

You can (rarely) find Tessa on IG @tessahulls

Here's her website: https://tessahulls.com/home.html

You can preorder her book, Feeding Ghosts, anywhere books are sold.

Kendall shares an unedited, on-the-fly episode about how it's ok to do life unedited, on-the-fly and imperfectly, because there is no test. You can take it easy on yourself, and stop trying to live up to some impossible standard you have set for you life.

She also shares a practice she has implemented in her life that has helped her be far less critical and far more loving and grace-filled towards herself: she writes letters to herself from unconditional love.

Join her! (And and whole host of other beautiful people) at Elizabeth Gilbert's Substack community called "Letters from Love".

https://elizabethgilbert.substack.com/

An Ironman Triathlon consists of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bicycle ride, and a full marathon (26.2 mile run). It is widely considered one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world.

Liz Flint has completed multiple half Ironman races, one full Ironman, and participated in another full Ironman that she was unable to complete. Amazingly, she had barely even run a full 5k when she began her long-distance triathlon journey in her thirties, following a very difficult period in her personal life.

This conversation really highlights how to tackle huge goals by just taking one step at a time. More importantly, it dives into how important it is to celebrate our achievements, and how perhaps it's even more important to hold sacred space for our failures. Liz and Kendall talk about how integral it is to have community in during both the high and low points in our lives- people to cheer us on, and to sit outside our doors when we are hurting.

May we all sign up for something that scares us a little, and stand beside someone we love who is in the mess or glory of life's ups and downs.

Liz Martin was living in Minnesota, working as an assistant principal, when she decided to upend her life and move to Lima, Peru with her best friend, who is a single mom of two small children. Now they are living under one roof, sharing an expanded view of what family can look like. They drink wine on the balcony overlooking the ocean in the evening and dream about what the future might look like for two women in their mid-lives who are crafting a new vision for themselves.

This conversation will invigorate your own imagination about what is possible when we open our heart to new life paths, even if you are, like Liz, a self-proclaimed Type A personality who likes spreadsheets and known quantities.

You can follow Liz's adventures on Instagram at: @oakliz

In this episode, Kendall talks to Iris Walsh about her ascent of the highest mountain in North America, Denali, deep in the interior of Alaska. She tackled this enormous challenge at the age of 23, using a route traversed by less than 2% of climbers.

This conversation takes us on an inspiring journey up the mountain, but it also addresses what it takes to enjoy yourself and have fun during new adventures, even in the midst of discomfort.

Join Iris on her backcountry explorations on IG @iris.neary

https://www.instagram.com/iris.neary/

Also, if you want to check out the amazing backcountry lodge where Iris and Kendall worked, and the backdrop for this episode, check out Camp Denali.

https://campdenali.com/

In this solo episode, Kendall talks about the difference between fear with a lower case "f" and fear with a capitol "F" as she recalls a story about an almost-really-bad shark encounter while night snorkeling with kids.

It turns out, Fear can be our friend.

For info about upcoming episodes and events, follow along:

Instagram: @kendalllamb.wanders

FB: Kendall Lamb

Why is it that works of fiction often lead us into thoughts and discussions about our actual lives, the here and now, even more than non-fiction books are able to?

In this episode, bestselling author, speaker and artist Rob Bell talks to Kendall about his new book, "Where'd You Park Your Spaceship? An interplanetary tale of love, loss and bread."

Despite the fact that this book seems to be a departure from Rob's many non-fictional spiritual works, the conversation gets to the heart of what it is to be human, the fears that keep us small, and how we respond to grief and discomfort. They also talk about the beauty of "doubling down" when we are determined to show up in all of our vulnerability, and what it means to stop caring so much about how others may perceive us.

Storytelling ignites our collective imagination in a way that defies explanation, and Rob's new book takes us to a place where we are invited to think about the world we are living in in a whole new light.

You can find Rob Bell at:

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

Website: www.robbell.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theworkofrobbell

Find Kendall at:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kendalllamb.wanders/

Kendall interviews her friend, a boy named Barbara, and they talk about breaking out of conventional containers, and learning how to trust yourself. They also discuss what holds us back from pursuing our dreams, love that is based in fear, and the expansive nature of growth.

You don't want to miss this incredibly joyful conversation!

If you'd like to follow Barbara for updates on his album release and upcoming tour dates, follow him on Instagram at:

@aboynamedbarbara

@calcalhudson

You can find information about the podcast on Instagram at:

@kendalllamb.wanders

An introduction to the Wandering Roots Podcast. Let your wild roots unfurl!