In this episode, Tashima Ricks shares some of her life’s journey. Tashima is cool for more reasons than I can count. What I first loved about her was how she stepped right out of her comfort zone and on to the skating rink after nearly 30 years off skates, but as I got to hear more of her story I got a glimpse of what a deeply compassionate person Tashima really is. She told me about her career as a nurse, providing health care for inmates in the correctional system, her family, her crazy adorable dog, her volunteer work … Lets just say I’m just super thankful to have met her and to have the chance to share some of her light with you. Enjoy!

The good news is that I’m back today with a new episode in which I chat with my friend Stephanie Rhodes. Stephanie is a Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy practitioner like myself. One of the things I love about Stephanie is that she embraces spirituality while having a pretty low tolerance for bullshit. I think you’ll love what she has to say about her personal journey, and I hope you’ll find her as refreshingly open and honest as I do.

Here’s where you can reach Stephanie and learn more about her work:

Stephanie Rhodes

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In Episode 5, I get to reconnect with one of my favorite creative partners of all time, Ellie Di Julio. Ellie and I were very close in the years that we were both work-from-home writers, but eventually life moved on, she had a baby and I started playing roller derby. It’s crazy how much our lives have changed as we’ve been pursuing our own paths, yet the inspiration I found in this friendship is still there.

Ellie and I have an honest chat about friendships, relationships, balancing work and family, and where faith figures into it all. Ellie shares about finding purpose for her work through her spiritual journey and how that journey continues to shape her. We explore that weird territory of talking faith with a friend who doesn’t share your beliefs, and so much more.

You can find Ellie’s writing and learn how to connect with her at ElliDi.com.

I’ve decided this podcast is like a beauty pageant, except instead of pitting my friends against each other to see who’s the most photogenic, we just talk about how great they all are in different ways. For example, let me introduce my friend Autumn.

Autumn is an online dominatrix, and in this episode, she very kindly allows me ask her questions about sex work and her journey through it. We talk about how she found her way to the industry, the very real job of online sex work, and how the women in the community support one another. Autumn talks about inequality in her industry, how people can work against it, and how running a business based on sex, attraction and power has shaped her view of herself. It’s a pretty incredible conversation in my opinion, and I really hope you enjoy it.

If you’re interested in finding Autumn online, you can connect with her on Twitter @Misstress_Autumn. Heads up: As her work is sexually explicit in nature, so is her Twitter feed. Please consume adult materials responsibly and respectfully.

In this episode, I interview Sasha “Kim Deal With It” Morrigan. I know Sasha from roller derby where she is well-known and loved personality. I cannot quite tell you how happy this conversation made me. To be honest, there’s more than one moment where I probably sound like a bit of a dolt, but Sasha is just lovely. We talk about roller derby, diversity in our community, and Sasha’s personal experience of gender transition. Sasha tells me about her best friend, the roots of her derby name, who she’d love to know better — Shoutout to the lucky person who is Sasha’s friend crush! I hope she’s listening. ;p

If you want to learn more about what it means to be transgender and resources for trans people, Sasha recommends the National Center for Transgender Equality. Their web site includes lots of great information about health care, legal and social issues, and the personal experiences of trans people.

For episode 2, I interviewed Lindsay DiFabbio, a self-made, Baltimore-based artist who dresses like the opening credits of Saved by the Bell and thinks farts are hilarious. Lindsay also has the most incredibly snugly cat named Gummers. Being a self-taught artist, Lindsay has some great things to say about building new skills and valuing your work. I definitely felt more inspired to take on new challenges after chatting with her.

Here’s where to find Lindsay on the internet!

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Friendships between women can be a powerful force for change on a personal and societal level. That’s something I learned from my best friend, Jennanigans and continued to learn throughout our adventures in roller derby. This new podcast series is … a lot of things. It’s fun for me, and it’s also feminism. It’s part therapy and part celebration. It’s exploring what I can learn from other women while holding them up for the world to appreciate. It is bound to be flawed, and probably not everyone will like it, but that’s ok.

Without further ado, I present Episode One: A Chat With My Bestie!

If you want to reach Jenn for your home-finding needs, check out her web site: JennBrantmier.com