Dismantling Normal

Hello again! It has been a while. Too long? Too short? Or just the right amount of time? Byron Katie would say the latter. ANY-hoo…I’ve been wracking my brain over the last couple of months in terms of what to do with this podcast. I no longer have the time I used to thanks to...

This conversation is with my friend Gillian, who I met on social media.  Yes!  You can make connections and legit friends via the interwebs.  I was drawn to her account and started communicating with her because her Instagram handle was @mentalhealthwife and I wanted to know more about her story and what exactly was behind...

This conversation is with my friend Elizabeth and it was so, SO much fun to catch up with her. Elizabeth and I went to high school together (and grade school and junior high – small town) but, we haven’t spoken since. I think we’ve determined it’s been over 25 years! With the blessing and the...

This week I’m chatting with Wayne — I met Wayne on another podcast I produce, which is why I was already familiar with some of his stories.  Wayne is someone I could sit and listen to tell stories all day — and he has a lot of them, which is why I was really excited to...

Does anyone else have an issue being honest about how they are?  About naming their feelings?  Even just being honest with yourself.  I have this knee jerk idea that I need to be fine.  Always fine; have everything always handled.  I don’t know where it comes from, but that isn’t normal.  The full rainbow of...

This is the first episode I’ve released since I took my break!  And I thought it only fitting that it was a conversation with my mentor, New York Times bestselling author of On Being Human, Jen Pastiloff, the woman who inspired me and pushed me and fueled my spirit with what I needed to start...

So, I’m at this Mardi Gras party – In St. Louis, not the real deal.  But, did you know St. Louis has a pretty big Mardi Gras celebration?  It does.  Does that seem odd?  Also, yes, it does.  Anyway, I was with the big, loud group of women crammed into the corner when Gina –...

In this episode I’m discussing Toxic Masculinity with my brother in law Michael.  Let me start by telling you how this topic, and ultimately this conversation, came about. There isn’t a lot of “planning” per se that goes into the process cultivating a dismantling normal “season.” I don’t decide I want a specific theme or...

This is a great conversation, I’ll say that right up front. Talking to Leah was amazing and refreshing. I talk to plenty of friends and family on the podcast who are ready and willing to share their stories. Often, however, I just come across someone on social media — sometimes they have platforms, sometimes they...

These show notes are not only the place where I summarize the conversation on the podcast, but also where I attempt to be as authentic and honest as possible about the conversation; why I wanted to explore it or how it relates to my life or what I learned from it.  And, I have to...

So, lately, I’ve been really frazzled. I’ve stopped sleeping.  I stay up in the middle of the night for hours going over every fuck up and even creating things for me to be anxious about if I find myself without enough on the list.  I haven’t done this in a long time, not since we...

This is a conversation with my friend Gina.  I met Gina in college and it is so funny to hear her talk about her college experience and how much fun she had because I was thinking the whole time…wow…that sounds way different from the anxiety fest that I felt like I was having during those...

This week I’m chatting with my friend Bamba.  He moved his family to the U.S. from Senegal about 11 years ago and now lives in the northeast with his wife and three kids. It is a great story and I wanted to know all of the details, starting with growing up and living in Senegal...

This conversation is with my friend Amanda.  I met her about four years ago right after she married her wife, Julie.  So, as long as I’ve known her, I’ve known her to be an out, proud lesbian woman who is raising her daughter, Tess, with her wife and Tess’ father Frank and his partner Michael. ...

This conversation is with Jared Nichols of The New Futurist.  First, let me dispel all of the myths I was guilty of when I first heard the name of his company. Jared is not going to predict the future.  This point will relieve some of you and disappoint others.  Also, Jared is not, himself “The...

Grief is incredibly isolating and lonely, yet it is one of the most universal and undeniable things we will all experience.  So, why don’t we know how to talk about it?  Why does it feel so taboo?  Why don’t we name it?  And then there’s the flip side… supporting someone who is grieving.  It’s hard,...