Lemonspark

In this episode of the Lemon Spark Podcast, host Barbara Zabawa sits down with Tonia Bartz, founder and holistic wellness coach at Imperfect AF. Tonia shares her compelling story of receiving a sudden and surprising diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia, which led her to reconsider her life's direction. Transitioning from a tech job in user experience to embracing integrative nutrition and holi...

Have you ever been caught off guard by criticism for something you did or said? That happened to Terri Dietz, a wellness guru and athlete. Several years ago, Terri told a friend she wanted to be a speaker, and what her friend said in response was jarring. But from that hard lesson, Terri began a journey to find her purpose and to thread together all of her many interests and hats into a purposeful...

Meet Jen Kodadek, a transformation and mindset coach who after struggling to find her true purpose now helps others find their life's meaning. To quote Jen, life should be lived "by design, not default." So many of us struggle with finding out who we really are and what we were meant to do during our time on earth. Jen is here to help. Listen to her tell her story of struggle and ho...

Meet Craig Nelson, a friend and colleague who 10 years ago lost his position at an insurance company - a place he had worked for 23 years. Suspecting his job was on the line, Craig started to worry about what to do next until his wife planted a seed to start writing the book he always wanted to write. That is how Seasons on Ice, a historical account of Wisconsin Badger hockey, was born. Hear Craig...

Meet Jennifer Bouchard, a Family Practice Nurse Practitioner by trade and current functional medicine nurse practitioner. Functional medicine helps individuals find the root cause of their disease or illness and approaches wellbeing with improving nutrition and removing toxins. Jennifer embraced functional medicine after researching ways to help her daughter Hannah, who died of a very rare, aggres...

Meet George Huntley, a multi-talented professional who has lived with Type 1 diabetes for over 40 years. In this podcast, George explains the differences between Type 1 and 2 diabetes, the epidemic diabetes has become in the United States, and how challenging it is for people to manage either type of diabetes. He also shares the joy he feels in helping others with the disease through the many orga...

Meet Lisa Elsinger, PhD, Associate Director of Workplace Wellness at Broward College in Florida and expert in mindfulness and wellness. After a recent car accident, Lisa realized the value of staying calm in the face of traumatic events. In this episode, Lisa shares her near-death experience and how the skill of mindfulness helped her survive. She offers some tips for others who may be facing chal...

Meet Niki Bergler, a Wisconsin resident who overcame childhood abuse and neglect from her parents. She lived on the street and eventually found her way to love and success. Hear Niki's incredible story on this podcast and buy her book, She's Done Pretending, at https://nikibergler.com/ , where you can also buy her really cool t-shirts and learn more about this fascinating person. 

Losing a child is probably on the top of any parent's list of worst nightmares. Sarah Miller lived that nightmare and suffered even more after losing her 4 year-old daughter. Hear how Sarah received a second chance at life and what she is doing now to help others overcome their trauma. You can learn more about Sarah by visiting www.wellshinecoaching.com , or texting "transforming adversi...

Meet Rita Roushdy, a manifestation coach who tries to help people realize their dreams in 90 days or less. Learn how her experience with harsh discipline as a child and the COVID19 pandemic led her to do the difficult inner work to find the root cause of her feeling unworthy, transforming her to a happy and helpful manifestation coach. You can learn more about Rita on Instagram at @abundance_on_de...

Meet Kira Henschel, owner of Henschel Haus Book Publishing. Kira started her journey that led to her owning a publishing house after her father died many decades ago. Listen to Kira's story that took her to Austria, where she lived for 13 years, back to the United States, and toward her destiny of giving voice to those who might otherwise be unheard by publishing their books. You can learn mo...

Meet Bridgette Stewart, a Senior Lecturer and Director of Integrative Wellness at the University of West Georgia. Bridgette recently went through a divorce and found herself struggling to make sense of it. But what got her through that difficult time were here kids and making time for self-reflection. Bridgette shares her heartfelt story in this podcast episode. You can learn more about Bridgette...

Meet Joric McLean - the ONLY Joric McLean in the world. Born in the United States, he now is an expatriate living in Portugal. But he wouldn't have been so worldly if it hadn't been for a painful childhood full of severe physical and mental abuse by his stepmother. Come hear how Joric managed to live through the many lonely days and nights locked in a cold, dark basement and how that has...

Stephanie Corder was a busy mom living life to its fullest when chronic illness stopped her in her tracks. For seven years, Stephanie struggled to get out of bed and find peace with the pain. Western medicine failed her. But then, by some miracle and her own research, Stephanie found a cure and was able to become active once again. Listen to her inspiring story and learn more about her faith and n...

Meet Dr. Wendy Labat: an author, speaker, entrepreneur and cancer survivor. Dr. Labat had been helping others achieve financial stability when she decided to practice what she preached and purchased insurance protection for severe illness. Little did she know that not long after that purchase, she received a cancer diagnosis. Listen to Dr. Labat explain how that traumatic experience gave her a new...

Meet Michelle Faust, founder of Lemonade Legend and storytelling strategist. Michelle has experienced hearing difficulties since childhood, but she was still able to become a top selling professional in the pharmaceutical industry, until they fired her (probably as a result of age discrimination). But that didn't stop Michelle from finding her purpose. In fact, those lemons led her to her pur...

Kristine Binder, teacher, author, runner and mother of five children, can look back now at the time she was going through a divorce because of financial and emotional abuse from her then spouse, and say "100%" that life is now better. Listen to her inspiring story about courage and how she aims to empower women who are experiencing similar challenges through her coaching practice. Learn...

Natasha Hill is a police officer in Devon and Cornwall, United Kingdom. When she was 29 years old, she was diagnosed with Stage 3 Hodgkins Lymphoma. She had two children under age two. Never in her life did she expect this kind of lemon, or her ability to handle all that came with it. Take a listen to her story and feel inspired that even when faced with the prospect of death, so much good can occ...

Kathleen McDonough Mundo experienced first had financial challenges as a child. Her father left her family when she was still in grade school, after he had moved the family of eight from Illinois to Wisconsin. Kathleen found distraction and purpose through her local library, which fostered a love for reading and learning. Education became paramount for Kathleen so that she could have more security...

Meet Michaela Conley, an energetic and inspirational human being who like many of us, has faced many lemons. In this episode, Michaela shares a story of when her two-year old daughter underwent eye surgery, Michaela learned that her husband had been cheating on her. Though crushed, Michaela emerged from the lemon knowing she did not want to be with someone who didn't want to be with her.  Mic...

Mega Real Estate Agent Karen Briscoe was thriving as a commercial real estate agent until the U.S. economy tanked in 2008. In addition to the market decimating the real estate market, Karen also lost her business partner to an illness. Karen had to pick up the pieces, but from this difficult experience, Karen was able to pivot to residential real estate sales. She also was able to find a new busin...

Marisa Perhaes is a retired New York City Police Sargent and mom of five, including triplet boys! She is also an author of the book When I was Blue, available on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/When-I-Was-Blue-memior/dp/1546373829.  Marisa shares her disturbing tale of a fateful night in 2015 when her 15 year old son was beaten and arrested, which also led to her arrest. As she sat in the back...

Rachel Druckenmiller aimed to start her own speaking and consulting business after years of working in wellness. Barely a year into her new venture, COVID19 hit and then she was hit by a truck. An agonizing back injury gave her perspective like she never had before. Now, her business of helping others become resilient resonates with many people. In this podcast, Rachel shares her own story of resi...

In this episode, we speak to author Nancy Peterson, who wrote the book Dear Husband: Letters to an Addict after her husband of many years died from conditions caused by addiction to alcohol and drugs. Nancy shares the complexities of living with and loving an addict, what she did to help her heal and where her path has led her now, which is to start a business capturing the life stories of others....

Judith Adrian's sister Nancy suffered from Dermatopolymyositis, a debilitating condition that hit her when she was in her forties. Despite this terrible diagnosis, Nancy not only learned how to live with the disease, but she adopted insipiring coping mechanisms that others who are suffering life's lemons can also use. Judith talks about her book, the disease and her sister's incredi...