2 LIVES - Stories Of Transformation

2 Lives "The second begins the moment we realize we have only one." We won an International Women's Podcast Award! In this 100th episode and our podcast finale Valerie and Laurel turn the microphone on each other and share their own 2 Lives stories.  2 Lives is created by Laurel Morales. Valerie Shively is the assistant producer. Christian Arnder is our illustrator and website designer. Music from...

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 "Icon...

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 fr...

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...

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 a...

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....

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 produc...

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...

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...

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 her...

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...

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 we...

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...

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...

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. Christi...

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 t...

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. Chr...

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 A...

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, b...

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...

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 produc...

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 design...

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 "Th...

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 illustrat...

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...