2 Lives

Before 2020 Laura worked night and day to achieve her dream of being on Saturday Night Live. Then she got Covid and months later woke up from a coma completely paralyzed and unable to communicate. Today she lives with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome caused by scarred lungs and a whole new outlook. With new found grit and purpose Laura shares her humor on TikTok and hosts a podcast called "Iconically Ill."    2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Subscribe to Laurel's Substack here. Support 2 Lives at https://ko-fi.com/2livespodcast You can learn more about how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.   Find out more about Laura Lyons and read the episode transcript at our website.  

After two scary surgeries Rachel Stone lived in fear of a rare orbital tumor returning. It was only when she left the corporate world to pursue her writing dream that her tumor shrank. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Subscribe to Laurel's Substack here. Support 2 Lives at https://ko-fi.com/2livespodcast You can learn more about how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.   Find out more about Rachel Stone and read the episode transcript at our website.  

Alysse Dalessandro posted a picture of herself in a bikini because after years of bullying she finally understood that being confident in her body and telling her story changed hearts and minds. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Subscribe to Laurel's Substack here. Support 2 Lives at https://ko-fi.com/2livespodcast You can learn more about how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.   Find out more about Alysse Dalessandro and read the episode transcript at our website.  

Today Sara Cunningham gives free mom hugs to any member of the LGBTQ+ community who needs them after years of rejecting her son's coming out because she had adhered to rules of her church. Still she doesn't feel she's done enough to make up for that lost time with him. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Subscribe to Laurel's Substack here. Support 2 Lives at https://ko-fi.com/2livespodcast You can learn more about how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.   Find out more about Sara Cunningham and Free Mom Hugs and read the episode transcript at our website.  

Amy's at the top of her game as a marketing consultant and journalist doing what she loves but it took a major setback before she could fully embrace this second chapter and reinvent her life. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Subscribe to Laurel's Substack here. Support 2 Lives at https://ko-fi.com/2livespodcast You can learn more about how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.   Find out more about Amy Shoenthal and read the episode transcript at our website.  

In her twenties Amy Downs was living what she calls a complacent, shallow existence. When she discovered her husband couldn't fix her life, she coped by eating. It wasn't until tragedy struck on April 19, 1995, that she made a promise to change her life. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Halle Hewitt helped produce this episode. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Subscribe to Laurel's Substack here. Support 2 Lives at https://ko-fi.com/2livespodcast You can learn more about how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.   Learn more about Amy Downs at our website.

Stacy Blemaster loved being up on stage because she knew what role to play. It took a bipolar diagnosis, many years of therapy and Emotions Anonymous before she fully accepted herself as she is. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Subscribe to Laurel's Substack here. Support 2 Lives at https://ko-fi.com/2livespodcast You can learn more about how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.   Find out more about Stacy Blemaster and read the episode transcript at our website.  

Susan Lieu shares her family's trauma in a one-woman show and memoir in an effort to find understanding and healing, despite the fact that her family refused to talk about it and saw her as "too emotional." But by using her voice she found she could let go of the shame and help others at the same time. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Subscribe to Laurel's Substack here. Support 2 Lives at https://ko-fi.com/2livespodcast You can learn more about how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.   Find out more about Susan Lieu and read the episode transcript at our website.  

2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Subscribe to Laurel's Substack here. Support 2 Lives at https://ko-fi.com/2livespodcast You can learn more about how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.    

TW: We describe a violent situation in this episode. If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence go to thehotline.org or call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Darcy Alexandra course corrects and unlearns the violent messages and behaviors she was taught as a child. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Camila Kerwin of the Rough Cut Collective edited this episode, which originally dropped in February of 2022. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Subscribe to Laurel's Substack here. Support 2 Lives at https://ko-fi.com/2livespodcast You can learn more about how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.    Find out more about Darcy Alexandra and read the episode transcript at our website.  

This is a conversation with wilderness guide Scout Wilkins about resilience of the natural world, trees specifically, and how she has found her own resiliency by being a part of it.  2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer who reported this episode. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Subscribe to Laurel's Substack here. Support 2 Lives at https://ko-fi.com/2livespodcast You can learn more about how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.   Find out more about Scout Wilkins and read the episode transcript at our website.  

Rattled by the loss of a loved one and how little she knew about death, Sairey Luterman found  her true calling as an end of life counselor to help others be more prepared. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Subscribe to Laurel's Substack here. Support 2 Lives at https://ko-fi.com/2livespodcast You can learn more about how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.     Find out more about Sairey Luterman and read the episode transcript at our website.  

TW: Mention of suicide. Rachel Zients Schinderman helps people heal through storytelling because that is how she and her mom dealt with her dad's death by suicide, but she's learned to make way for new stories. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Subscribe to Laurel's Substack here. Support 2 Lives at https://ko-fi.com/2livespodcast You can learn more about how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.   Find out more about Rachel Zients Schinderman and read the episode transcript at our website 2lives.org.  

Jeff Morris has made it his mission to prevent suicide after he attempted to kill himself six times but it wasn't until he received a bipolar 2 diagnosis and figured out how to manage instead of cure his depression that he learned how to live. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Subscribe to Laurel's Substack here. Support 2 Lives at https://ko-fi.com/2livespodcast You can learn more about how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Drop us a note on Facebook or Instagram.   Learn more about Jeff Morris and his book here, and read the transcript at our website.  

2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” For most of her life Viki Stein has struggled to learn so much that she became a teacher to help other kids who felt frustrated and dumb. It wasn't until age 53 that she learned that she had dyslexia and became better trained to understand herself and help others like her. 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Subscribe to Laurel's free Substack here. Support 2 Lives at https://ko-fi.com/2livespodcast You can learn more about how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.   Find out more about Viki Stein and read the transcript at our website.  

At 31 a psychiatrist finally solved the mystery inside Joan Kopczynski and told her she could manage her mental illness. But first she had to reconcile a series of traumatic events that would plague anyone with or without schizoaffective disorder. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. You can learn how to support the show here. You can make a one-time donation at paypal.me/2LivesPodcast Or order merch here. Subscribe to Laurel's Substack here. Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.   Find out more about Joan Kopczynski and read the transcript at our website.

2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” Anna Runkle calls herself the crappy childhood fairy and has helped a million people deal with their Complex PTSD. But it took 11 therapists and dozens of self help books before she found a name for what she has and a practice that worked. 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our pod art illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Learn how to support the show at 2lives.org/support. Or go to  paypal.me/2LivesPodcast to give a one-time donation. Or order merch here. Subscribe to Laurel's Substack here. Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.    

2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” Subscribe to Laurel's Substack here. We had planned to launch season 11 today with a new episode. But at the last minute the guest we interviewed asked us to hold off.  At 2 Lives we share the script with the person we interview before the story is finalized to make sure we got everything right. We do that for two reasons: one, because I'm often asking people to share their worst day and I want them to feel comfortable with the way we share it. And two, because the same courtesy was shown to me when I was featured in a newspaper and I caught an error. We all make mistakes. I've been told by other journalists that this practice is “radical,” but these aren't investigative exposés of corrupt political leaders, these are people's most vulnerable personal stories and heartfelt truths. I thought this might be an opportunity to share with you another practice we have and that is in the pre interview with assistant producer Valerie Shively she makes sure people are in the right time in their life to share their story. And before every interview I say, while sharing stories can be therapeutic, I am not a therapist. What I ask and share might be triggering. I also say there are seasons when we are more open to sharing our stories. And there are seasons when we are closed. Obviously this was one of those for our guest; she just didn't realize it.  At a time when it's so easy to click submit and share and over share on social media in an effort to sell our book or our brand, I think we often don't listen to that voice inside that's saying NO don't do it. This thing you're about to exploit, we haven't gotten enough distance from it yet. It feels too raw to share. At 2 Lives, our intention to shine a light on stories of transformation is governed by the principle that these stories shared are symbiotic in nature, mutually beneficial for both the teller and the listener. We don't share a person's story unless they really want to share it. We honor that, even if it is to our own detriment. And those ethics are more important than numbers.  So when today's guest asked that we not share at the last minute, although we were disappointed, we understood, and saw it as a perfect opportunity to reflect on the importance of ethics in storytelling. The importance of an internal moral code that helps us live above the numbers, especially when things don't go our way. So instead of a 2 Lives episode, I'm sharing with you an episode of a podcast we love called Ladies of Lore. On this most consequential Election Day, we thought we'd give you a break from the noise by casting a wink and a nod to all the ancient female powerhouses throughout time and space. 

2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Become a 2 Lives patron at https://www.patreon.com/2lives Or give a donation at paypal.me/2LivesPodcast You can learn how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Subscribe to Laurel's Substack here. Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.   Episode transcripts are posted on our  website.  

Kiersten Parsons Hathcock became a medium after discovering an unexpected psychic ability. Today Kiersten helps investigators around the country solve missing children's cases, and the spirits have helped her uncover and heal from her own traumatic past. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Become a 2 Lives patron at https://www.patreon.com/2lives Or give a donation at paypal.me/2LivesPodcast Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can learn how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Episode transcripts are posted on our  website. Find out more about Kiersten, her book Little Voices, and the National Institute for Law & Justice at her website.  

When Heather Straughter's son got sick, her perspective shifted. She discovered how fragile life is. She had to keep pivoting, when she was forced to change her expectations and recalibrate hope.  2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Become a 2 Lives patron at https://www.patreon.com/2lives Or give a donation at paypal.me/2LivesPodcast When you become part of the 2 Lives Crew, we'll send you an uncut episode of your choice. Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can learn how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Episode transcripts are posted on our  website. Learn more about Heather Straughter, Jake's Help From Heaven, and her podcast A Place Of Yes on our website.  

2 LIVES - STORIES OF TRANSFORMATION As a teenager Michael discovered he was a great tennis player. He fell into a flow state that he spent decades studying and striving to achieve again. He became a psychologist in the process. After years of telling clients to face their fears, Michael Brady has taken his own advice and confronted his perfectionism, but it's still difficult to let go. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Become a 2 Lives patron at https://www.patreon.com/2lives Or give a donation at paypal.me/2LivesPodcast Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can learn how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Episode transcripts are posted on our  website. Find out more about Michael Brady or M Brady's music on Spotify or our website.  

2 LIVES - STORIES OF TRANSFORMATION For years Sonia Kahlon succeeded by her parents' and husband's standards, but it was only after getting sober and volunteering at a women's prison that Sonia found her true calling. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Become a 2 Lives patron at https://www.patreon.com/2lives Or give a donation at paypal.me/2LivesPodcast Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can learn how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Episode transcripts are posted on our  website. Find out more about Sonia Kahlon, Sisters In Sobriety, their substack, and ACE scores on our website.  

2 LIVES - STORIES OF TRANSFORMATION After years of relying on cocaine and caffeine to focus Kathleen discovers she has ADHD. The diagnosis and subsequent tools help her achieve her dream of becoming a therapist. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Become a 2 Lives patron at https://www.patreon.com/2lives Or give a donation at paypal.me/2LivesPodcast Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can learn how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Episode transcripts are posted on our  website. Find out more about Kathleen Killen and her podcast "Sisters In Sobriety" on our website.

2 LIVES - STORIES OF TRANSFORMATION After years of capture kill missions Kervin Aucoin now employs his military training to help people thrive. He says sharing his story keeps his PTSD at bay. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Become a 2 Lives patron at https://www.patreon.com/2lives Or give a donation at paypal.me/2LivesPodcast Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can learn how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Episode transcripts are posted on our  website. Find out more about Kervin Aucoin on our website.  

2 LIVES - STORIES OF TRANSFORMATION At 15 Meghan Callaghan was left alone with her grandfather for the day. What started out as a seemingly ordinary day became a defining moment in Meghan's life. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Become a 2 Lives patron at https://www.patreon.com/2lives Or give a donation at paypal.me/2LivesPodcast Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can learn how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Episode transcripts are posted on our  website. Find out more about GUEST on our website.  

2 LIVES - STORIES OF TRANSFORMATION Rod Nordland, author of "Waiting For The Monsoon," doesn't plan to die from an incurable brain cancer. He's a survivor — of violence, war, and now disease. "Although it's been terrible, I wouldn't change it back, his partner Leila Segal says. "Even though I was in love with him and I loved him before, I would never have got the relationship I now have with this man unless this had happened. Not only to him, to me too, because of course I've had to change."  "Learning to love and express love was a very important part of my second life," Nordland says.  2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Become a 2 Lives patron at https://www.patreon.com/2lives Or give a donation at paypal.me/2LivesPodcast Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can learn how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Episode transcripts are posted on our  website. Find out more about Rod Nordland and his partner Leila Segal on our website.  

2 LIVES - STORIES OF TRANSFORMATION Shawna Beesley, known to most as Adaline, says there's no dopamine hit like saving someone from hell. Today she finds that high performing on stage. She discovered she had to shed her golden child identity and reconcile with her evangelical upbringing to be true to herself and come out to her family. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Become a 2 Lives patron at https://www.patreon.com/2lives Or give a donation at paypal.me/2LivesPodcast Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can learn how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Episode transcripts are posted on our  website. Find out more about Adaline on our website.  

2 LIVES - STORIES OF TRANSFORMATION Coming up in season 10 of 2 Lives we'll meet New York Times correspondent Rod Nordland, who survived dozens of war zones, but it took a terminal brain cancer diagnosis to discover the meaning of life.  We'll learn from music therapist Meghan Callaghan the power of music. At 14 she witnessed her grandfather having a stroke and the one thing that brought him back to himself was her singing. And we'll meet Shawna Beesley, otherwise known as the singer Adaline, who had to deconstruct her evangelical beliefs and shed her golden child identity before coming out as queer. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Become a 2 Lives patron at https://www.patreon.com/2lives Or give a donation at paypal.me/2LivesPodcast Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can learn how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Episode transcripts are posted on our  website.  

2 LIVES - STORIES OF TRANSFORMATION We're working hard on season 10 of 2 Lives, which we'll be bringing you just in time to kick off your summer. In the meantime I thought I'd share a bit about 2 Lives origin story. The following is a speech Laurel gave at the Flagstaff Women's Leadership Summit.  I love stories. I love listening to them. I love watching them. I love reading them. And I love making them. But when I'm consuming stories, I'm tuning out the world and my inner voice – my source of creativity. This a story about how I tuned back into my source. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Become a 2 Lives patron at https://www.patreon.com/2lives Or give a donation at paypal.me/2LivesPodcast Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can learn how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Episode transcripts are posted on our  website.    

2 LIVES - STORIES OF TRANSFORMATION “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” TW: We mention an assault. Lauren's heart stopped for 24 minutes. It took almost dying to realize she couldn't get through life on her own. 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Become a 2 Lives patron at https://www.patreon.com/2lives Or give a donation at paypal.me/2LivesPodcast Drop us a note on Facebook or Instagram. You can learn how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Episode transcripts are posted on our  website. Find out more about GUEST on our website.

2 LIVES - STORIES OF TRANSFORMATION Joshua "The Jedi" Loya lost his eyesight at 15, but that didn't stop him from skydiving, surfing, Ju-Jitsu, and stand up comedy. Joshua says choosing sometimes the scary thing makes him feel authentically himself and helps him to live well with PTSD.  2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Become a 2 Lives patron at https://www.patreon.com/2lives Or give a donation at paypal.me/2LivesPodcast Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or X. You can learn how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Episode transcripts are posted on our  website. Find out more about Joshua Loya on our website.  

2 LIVES - STORIES OF TRANSFORMATION It took a life threatening situation to give Kafi Joseph permission to make her own rules about what she needs.  She learned that burnout was a symptom of a deeper worry that she wasn't valuable unless she was driving hard.  Now this West Point grad uses her can-do attitude to take care of herself. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Become a 2 Lives patron at https://www.patreon.com/2lives Or give a donation at paypal.me/2LivesPodcast Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can learn how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Episode transcripts are posted on our  website. Find out more about Kafi Joseph on our website.  

2 LIVES - STORIES OF TRANSFORMATION Morgan O'Kane spent much of his young life searching for meaning and a high. It wasn't until he sacrificed alcohol for the love of his child that he reconnected with his true nature. Through train-hopping, mountaineering, music, fatherhood and two very special dogs, Morgan O'Kane found his way home. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Become a 2 Lives patron at https://www.patreon.com/2lives Or give a donation at paypal.me/2LivesPodcast Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can learn how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Episode transcripts are posted on our  website. Find out more about Morgan O'Kane and his music on our website.  

2 LIVES - STORIES OF TRANSFORMATION Content Warning: We mention suicide in this episode. After decades of telling people what she believed they wanted to hear, Helen Sneed shares openly her struggles with mental illness because it provides hope and ultimately saves lives, but it took many agonizing years of therapy, hospitalizations, and finally finding community to get here. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Become a 2 Lives patron at https://www.patreon.com/2lives Or give a donation at paypal.me/2LivesPodcast Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can learn more how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Episode transcripts are posted on our  website. Find out more about Helen Sneed and her podcast on our website.  

2 LIVES - STORIES OF TRANSFORMATION Wenche Fredriksen is on a mission to help people accept they are enough after perfectionism took its toll on her. She suffered from years of chronic illness and back pain before a doctor told her she needed to recover from burnout. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Become a 2 Lives patron at https://www.patreon.com/2lives Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can learn how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Episode transcripts are posted on our  website. Find out more about Wenche Fredriksen on our website.  

2 LIVES - STORIES OF TRANSFORMATION Yohance Lacour creates luxury hiphop sneakers because they represent both his humble beginnings on Chicago's south side as well as the high fashion person he became, but it took a decade's long prison sentence to learn how to make the shoes and to work toward the greater good. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Become a 2 Lives patron at https://www.patreon.com/2lives Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can learn how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Episode transcripts are posted on our  website. Find out more about Yohance Lacour, his leather label, and his podcast on our website.  

2 LIVES - STORIES OF TRANSFORMATION Valerie Milburn was getting help for her mental illness but it wasn't until her husband told her she couldn't come home until she found stability that she turned her life around. It was then she began to fight for her recovery and to find the right treatment for her bipolar disorder and PTSD. Today she's been married 40 years and she's close with her children and grandchildren. On top of all that she's helped many people with her story. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Become a 2 Lives patron at https://www.patreon.com/2lives Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can learn how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Episode transcripts are posted on our  website. Find out more about Valerie Milburn on our website.  

2 Lives - Stories Of Transformation “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Become a 2 Lives patron at https://www.patreon.com/2lives Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can learn how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Episode transcripts are posted on our  website.  

2 Lives - Stories Of Transformation After hating her body for 35 years Adiba Nelson became a burlesque dancer celebrating her curves and scars to show her daughter, who was born with a disability, how to embrace her own body. This episode won 2 Lives a 2023 Signal Award for best indie podcast (silver), as well as runner up for an International Women's Podcast Award. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Ruxandra Guidi edited this script and Lauren Vespoli was the assistant producer. Christian Arnder designed the show art and website. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Become a 2 Lives patron at https://www.patreon.com/2lives Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can learn how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Episode transcripts are posted on our  website. Find out more about Adiba Nelson at her website.  

2 LIVES - Stories Of Transformation Alex Reegan became a reverend after two decades of feeling disconnected from God and after rejecting his ultra conservative evangelical christian faith. Today he helps other LGBTQIA folks on their spiritual journey. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Become a 2 Lives patron at https://www.patreon.com/2lives Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can learn how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Episode transcripts are posted on our  website. Find out more about Alex Reegan and his book “What Needs To Be Said: Speak Your Truth, Release Shame, Find Oneness” on our website.  

2 Lives - Stories Of Transformation Beth Pizzarello's blindness saved her life in a hurricane when she used her heightened senses to get to safety but she had to figure out a way to help herself before the Americans With Disabilities Act passed and when she didn't qualify for disabilities. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Become a 2 Lives patron at https://www.patreon.com/2lives Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can learn how to support the show here. Or order merch here. Episode transcripts are posted on our  website. Find out more about Beth Pizzarello and her book at our website.  

2 Lives - Stories Of Transformation Mike Ivy, Deputy Chief Medical Officer at Yale New Haven Health, shares his story of burnout and suicide because its a crisis in the medical community and he wants to help other health workers but he fights taboos of shame around his perceptions of “weakness” and mental illness. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and web designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Become a 2 Lives patron at https://www.patreon.com/2lives Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can learn how to support the show or order merch here. Episode transcripts are posted on our  website.

2 Lives - Stories Of Transformation L. Nichols has boundless empathy for their Southern Baptist community but embraces their found family because they helped L. accept who they are. Now having kids of their own, L. shows up for them in a new way. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and web designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Become a 2 Lives patron at https://www.patreon.com/2lives Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can learn how to support the show here. Episode transcripts are posted on our  website. Find out more about L. Nichols and their graphic novel "Flocks" on our website.  

After Jessica Waite's husband died, she was sent a box of his personal belongings that revealed one betrayal after another. But eventually with the help of a death doula Jessica was able to forgive him. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is written and hosted by Laurel Morales, story edited by Camila Kerwin of the Rough Cut Collective. Halle Hewitt helped produce this episode. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and web designer. Become a 2 Lives patron at https://www.patreon.com/2lives Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. You can learn how to support the show here. Episode transcripts are posted on our  website. Originally Aired in May of 2022    

2 Lives - Stories Of Transformation Therapist Sarah White broke up with booze and what she calls her ‘booze bonds,' friends and family who could only connect through alcohol, after seeing their impacts on her life.  2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and web designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Become a 2 Lives patron at https://www.patreon.com/2lives Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can learn how to support the show here. Episode transcripts are posted on our  website.    

2 Lives - Stories Of Transformation Simon Kent Fung devoted three years of his life to creating a podcast about an aspiring nun, whose life paralleled his own. He also sought out conversion therapy for nearly a decade to become a  Catholic priest. Fung was compelled to understand the truth about what happened to her, and finally face what happened to him. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and web designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Become a 2 Lives patron at https://www.patreon.com/2lives Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can learn how to support the show here. Episode transcripts are posted on our  website. Find out more about Simon Kent Fung and his podcast "Dear Alana" on our website.  

2 Lives - Stories Of Transformation After years of being forced to be a child bride in a cult and keep it a secret, today Tamara belongs to herself, but she still struggles with certain brainwashed beliefs and remains angry with Sufi leaders. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and web designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Become a 2 Lives patron at https://www.patreon.com/2lives Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can learn how to support the show here. Episode transcripts are posted on our  website. Find out more about Tamara MC at 2lives.org.  

2 Lives - Stories Of Transformation Shamony Gibson died after giving birth from an issue that could have been prevented. Omari Maynard and the rest of her family have made it their mission to prevent more BIPOC women from dying preventable deaths. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and web designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Become a 2 Lives patron at https://www.patreon.com/2lives Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can learn how to support the show here. Episode transcripts are posted on our  website. Find out more about the ARIAH Foundation here and on our website.  

2 Lives - Stories Of Transformation I'd like to think every month is ‘Don't Be a Bully Month,' but the social media gods claimed August. Regardless it's a good reminder to listen to one of my favorite 2 Lives episodes featuring Coach Marty who has made it his life's mission to put a stop to bullying. Coach Marty Heilman has made an impact on thousands of kids. He knows all too well what lasting impacts teasing can have so he strives to put a stop to bullying. Content Warning: There is some talk of self harm in this episode. For more information about body image and eating disorders go to NEDA's website. We're working on a new 2 Lives season that will launch September 5. Keep listening at the end of today's show for a preview. 2 Lives “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales, story edited by Camila Kerwin of the Rough Cut Collective. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and web designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Become a 2 Lives patron at https://www.patreon.com/2lives Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can learn how to support the show here. Episode transcripts are posted on our  website.  

Coming up this season on 2 Lives - Stories Of Transformation We'll meet Omari Maynard who's helping other BIPOC families cope with the loss of a loved one and raising awareness about health care equality after his wife died in childbirth. We'll hear how Tamara MC is reclaiming her life after years of being forced into a cult and how she still struggles with certain brainwashed beliefs. And we'll meet artist L Nichols who could not imagine a future until he realized he was a trans man. It was through his drawing that he began to make it a reality. That's all coming up this fall in season eight of 2 Lives -- “The second begins the moment we realize we have only one.” 2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Belle Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and web designer. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Become a 2 Lives patron at https://www.patreon.com/2lives You can learn how to support the show here.  Drop us a note on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.