Cracking Open with Molly Carroll

Have you ever had a moment in your life where you met someone and instantly knew that interaction or conversation would change you forever?   That is what happened to me when I met this week’s podcast guest, Kelly Pascuzzi, and will happen to you while listening to this week's episode. Kelly's "cracking open moment" story is deeply heartbreaking and also hopeful, loving, and fu...

Welcome to our first episode of Season 2 of the Cracking Open Podcast! I first came across Elizabeth Lesser’s work about 11 years ago after my dad died. I was in deep grief, and someone told me about her book Broken Open .  While reading it, every word made me feel like I was going to survive the death of my dad.  Broken Open radically changed my life and it is my go-to gift that I give to anyone...

Many people would say that the most precious gift anyone can give is their time.  My guest on this week's episode, Bill Valentine, knows this better than most because he's in the midst of stage four terminal pancreatic cancer. Bill is the only podcast guest that I didn't do extensive research on prior to his interview. I didn't fill up my head with all the things he's done...

Have you ever had a deep voice telling you to move cities, change your job or invent something new for the world? But you don’t know what to do to get out of your fears and into your heart? Well, you are not alone. My guest today, Trina Wyatt, has been there several times. She is not only our teacher today on Cracking Open about following your inner voice, but she's also mixing it with degree...

On this week's podcast, we hear from the incredible Sadie Lincoln, co-founder, and CEO of barre3, a fitness company with over 170 franchises focused on teaching people to be balanced in body and empowered from within. According to Sadie, every single part of her life has been cracked open. Starting with her unconventional childhood of being raised by her mom and a group of single mothers who...

As a natural-born seeker, Tory Junkin broke the mold by leaving the big city of Chicago and her family business that she was born into and expected to uphold, to live a simpler and fulfilling life in Bend, Oregon.  We are so lucky to hear Tory’s brave story of facing her demons by getting sober, doing deep healing work, and not shying away from the sometimes-painful truth in order to find freedom....

Today we are talking to the tenacious and creative storyteller Kylie Slavik.  Through her own healing journey, she has transformed 20 years of addiction into generating more than $23 million in revenue for her clients through one of her greatest passions in life - storytelling. In this episode, we talk about how Kylie became a highly sought-after copywriter and brand storyteller in the transformat...

Rhonda Britten became an orphan at fourteen when she was the sole witness to the tragedy that no child should have to witness. This traumatic experience led Rhonda down a path of three suicide attempts, three DUI’s, addiction, and spending time in jail.  When she woke up from her third failed suicide attempt, she knew she had to find the answer to her pain, or she'd stay forever stuck in a sp...

From overcoming a high school football injury that almost left Philip Henderson paralyzed we learn about how one's life can change in an instant.  It was this challenging experience that motivated Philip to find his passion in the outdoor industry for over three decades as a member and team leader of the North Face/National Geographic Everest Education Expedition, became one of few African Am...

Have you been betrayed by those you were supposed to be able to trust the most?  Have you had to create questions for your husband’s polygraph? Jenni Rochelle has and today shares her journey from an adolescent traumatic sexual experience and a mother’s betrayal, through an eating disorder and alcoholism to unimaginable issues with her husband. Jenni brings light into her dark history showing us a...

From the great plains of Omaha to the city streets of Los Angeles, Steve Berg will light up your day with his journey from the book-obsessed kid who liked to watch foreign films to being in a movie with the likes of John Hamm and Isla Fisher and currently the voice of DJ in the Netflix series “Hoops”. Character actor or leading man – listen to my podcast and find out Steve’s answer. I have known S...

On today’s podcast, we hear from trailblazer, Ann Schatz – the first female sports broadcaster in the Portland area and the voice of the National Women’s Soccer League team, the Portland Thorns. Ann recalls the love and never-ending support from her parents and five siblings as they encouraged her to pursue her dreams as an athlete. She tells us about the pain of losing her parents while maintaini...

Today I am so excited to introduce you to a dear friend of mine, David Nichtern.  David is a senior Buddhist teacher in the lineage of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. He has been practicing and teaching meditation for over 45 years. David is the founder and CEO of dharmamoon.com - a mindfulness-based education platform and global community.  David is also a Grammy-nominated and Emmy Award-winning compos...

This week's episode is one I don't think you will ever forget. I am talking with the incredibly inspirational Jodie Patterson.   Jodie Patterson is an author, activist, beauty explorer, and mother of five. She holds the position of Chair of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation Board, our nation’s largest LGBT organization. she sits on the Board of Directors for The Shabazz Center - which...