You & I

In honour of the first anniversary of You & I , we hosted a LIVE episode on YouTube and Instagram where we answered some of the question submissions we haven’t yet explored. We took audience questions LIVE with one of my closest friends and people I go to regularly for advice, Caroline Boquist, who is the co-owner of Walrus in Vancouver, BC. Question 1: I'm married with kids. I love my husband...

To create space for Jackie to write her upcoming book, To You Who Wonders – an advice column meets memoir – she will be reading from her past column, Ask JKE, for Virtuvi's Natural Habitat Magazine. This week, she is answering the question "I’m looking for advice on how to date, during a pandemic, while running a small business. I am a fellow baker and as you know, work long, strenuous hours, ofte...

To create space for Jackie to write her upcoming book, To You Who Wonders – an advice column meets memoir – she will be reading from her past column, Ask JKE, for Virtuvi's Natural Habitat Magazine. This week, she is answering the question "How would you handle an employer doubting your ability to manage projects when you know it stems from internalized racism and unconscious bias?" She reflects o...

To create space for Jackie to write her upcoming book, To You Who Wonders – an advice column meets memoir – she will be reading from her past column, Ask JKE, for Virtuvi's Natural Habitat Magazine. This week, she is answering the question "How do I forgive myself for the way I acted at the height of my depression? How do I forgive myself for the pain I caused the ones I love? How do I forgive mys...

To create space for Jackie to write her upcoming book, To You Who Wonders – an advice column meets memoir – she will be reading from her past column, Ask JKE, for Virtuvi's Natural Habitat Magazine. This week, she is answering the question "When did you know you wanted to work for yourself? How did you decide? When did you know you were ready? How did you prepare to jump?" She reflects on the answ...

Jackie will be exploring the listener question, "You give your all, you burn out, you resign, and your boss could care less. How do you restart fresh?" Tune in she and guest Kim Budziak dive into burnout, its roots in self-worth, how to heal from the emotional loss that comes from career and how to start new. ---- We hope that you get something helpful out of this conversation. If anything, know t...

Tune in as Jackie explores her own identity and the ambiguity of who she is apart from who she is as a sister, a daughter, a mother, a wife, a business person and "multi-hyphenate." She delves into her own struggle and shares, not the wisdom of hindsight, but a perspective from inside the confusion. ---- We hope that you get something helpful out of this exploration. If anything, know that you’re...

Jackie will be exploring the listener question, "How do I overcome imposter syndrome?" with guest, Ruchika Tulshyan. She is the best-selling author of Inclusion on Purpose: An Intersectional Approach to Creating a Culture of Belonging at Work and a regular contributor to  The New York Times  and  Harvard Business Review for which she co-wrote the article, " Stop Telling Women They H...

For today’s mini episode, Jackie will explore two very similar questions that our listeners sent in.. They write: Can I ask a very personal question? How old are you? I am 40 and trying to get pregnant and having trouble and, at the end of the day, wondering if I’m too old to have the energy to be a mom. You look very happy with your choice to be a mom. And another listener wrote: I’d love it if J...

Today Jackie and her guest will be exploring a question about vulnerability in writing. Jackie is on the precipice of writing her second book, To You Who Wonders, an advice column meets memoir partly inspired by this podcast. It seemed fitting to answer this question as a way to celebrate the announcement of this next book! They write: I am an aspiring author working on a non-fiction book about wo...

For today’s mini episode, Jackie chose a question about loneliness, partly because the holiday season can feel quite lonely for so many reasons, for so many people, and she thought it might help to hear that you aren’t alone. They write: How do you navigate through the intensity of aloneness? Tune in to hear how Jackie explores this week's question and make sure to listen until the end to hear the...

This week's question is one that we all struggle with in some way as we inevitably encounter moments of discomfort, however big or small. They write: "How can we learn to be comfortable, with being uncomfortable?" Jackie digs into this universal topic with Brian Hart Hoffman. Brian was mustering the courage to say his final goodbyes to his mother, he shared some words his mother often repeated to...

For this week's Mini Episode the question was supposed to be one we explored with an interview in the next episode. But the more Jackie thought about it the more she realized that she really wanted to write about this solo for this episode. It’s something that’s personal to her, something she has spent a decade asking myself, too. They write: How do you know he is the one? Tune in to hear how Jack...

This month's question centres around a universal topic that we all go through at some point in our lives, grief. Saying that, we want to provide a warning that this episode discusses sensitive topics such as death and trauma. They write: How does one just move on emotionally after a lot of trauma and grief. I am in therapy. I started this month but just remembering all the trauma from the past is...

For today’s mini episode, we have a question that inspired me to remember a time when I struggled with childlessness. Both the struggle with the decision to have a family, and the letting go of the hope of having one too. They write: I'm nearly 40, just left my 7.5 year relationship, and I worry I won't find someone 'in time' Tune into the episode wherever you listen to your podcasts to hear Jacki...

For today's episode, we are excited to explore it with the question asker himself. Shea Evans has had a meandering career path, from snowboard instructor, to sushi chef, to photographer. And yet through all the successes in following his passions, he’s always left with the lingering question, “should I have (blank) by now?” in the back of his head.  In our conversation, we explore why we all...

For today’s mini episode, we have a question that, in my opinion, hits the most crucial human struggle: how to love deeply, despite the potential of being hurt, despite possible rejection. How to love knowing one day you will need to also let go.  They write: How do I let go of people I love? Like watching my daughter go off to college or losing a friend.  We got this question over insta...

This month’s question is one we got from an asker on Instagram. It’s short and to the point, but tells a story of struggle that most of us have had – searching for our passion.  They write: How can I find passion? Because we keep all our askers anonymous, I’ve decided to call you daydreamer. For those of us who have experienced the yearning and confusion that comes with seeking, we know all t...

For today’s mini episode, I chose a question that seemed deceptively simple. One that I thought had a straightforward answer. But as I dig into the question, and related to the asker’s quest for belonging, I began to remember, re-trace my own path to where I found a sense of belonging, and what belonging means to me, as someone who never felt like they did belong anywhere. They write: As someone w...

This month’s question brought up so many memories of my own past pain. It touched such a raw and deep place for me personally, so much so that I cried for my younger self, and for the many people out there that have felt this very same way too: wanting help, needing help but feeling like they don’t deserve to even ask for it. They write: How do you find the courage to speak with a therapist o...

I chose today’s question because when I read between the lines, I felt a sense of desperation, that the asker was stuck in a cycle and at a loss.  They write: How do you stay driven? How do you dream big and remind yourself about that dream in the middle of procrastination or feeling overworked? I work six days, and there are times when I work hard and then I crash. And it doesn't feel r...

We loved this month’s question because it was so raw, and it’s a topic every woman we know has grappled with on some level: maternity. Whether it’s to become a mother or not, dealing with miscarriages and feeling in some way broken, or not wanting kids and being made to feel by society, somehow, broken too.  They write: I live in Victoria, born in Namibia. 63 and never had children purely by...

Today, I’ll be doing something a little different. We’ve gotten so many amazing submissions (about love, life, career) that one episode a month wouldn’t have been enough to really dig into them. So we decided to add a mini pod every month as well, where I’ll be answering one of your questions solo…like today! I’ve discussed today’s question with my friends over the past few days, and the fascinati...

Welcome to the first episode of You & I, an advice podcast exploring the questions we’ve all asked ourselves. This month's question comes from a place where most of us have been, and yet it doesn’t dilute the feelings of confusion, anxiety, feelings of being lost and yearning for a dream that has not yet crystalized. They write.. How to figure out your next career (despite financial risks)? Re...

An advice podcast hosted by Jackie Kai Ellis exploring the questions we’ve all asked. We all struggle, mourn, yearn, question, laugh and cry. No matter who we are, at our core, we are all not so different after all, You & I. You & I is a space for stories, like mirrors, that reflect us all. Questions that we have all wondered in wee hours. Stories that, when shared, inspire us with their h...