Better Me

Writer Stephanie Kain joined me to talk about her latest book Lifeline: An Elegy in which she uses a variety of writing styles and perspectives to tell the story of caring for a friend intent on taking her own life.

Birthdays often get people thinking about their lives and the coming year. In this episode, I talk a bit about some recent travels and some thoughts on how I plan to spend my 53rd year around the sun.

As days turn grey and the temperature drops for many of us, it's important to look for some joy. In this episode I talk about finding joy for yourself and doing things to bring a bit of joy to others.

Author and all around great person Kelly S. Thompson joined me to talk about the importance of caring for yourself when you're a caregiver.

Writer, entrepreneur, and leader Ritu Bhasin joined me to talk about her new book We've Got This: Unlocking the Beauty of Belonging, having empathy for yourself and others, listening to your body, and caring for yourself when you're a caregiver.

Singer/song-writer Jesse Daniel Edwards joined me to talk about his latest album Violensia, our mutual California connection, and how he returned to his musical roots to write about how people have been feeling in these hard times.

Author Charlotte Gill joined me to talk about her latest book, Almost Brown: A Mixed Race Family Memoir, how others try to define our identities, and how change in higher education won't come from individual instructors, including elements of equity and inclusion in their syllabi.

In this episode for Canadian Thanksgiving, I talk about the bullying I experienced growing up and finally being in a place with friends who love me and respect me for who I am. Kids Help Line (Canada) - 1-800-668-6868 or text 686868 Trevor Project (U.S.) - https://www.thetrevorproject.org/get-help/

Loleen Berdahl returns to the podcast to explain the Canadian Notwithstanding Clause and talk about how to cope with the very heavy times.

Author, speaker, and human rights activist Rowan Jetté Knox and I sat down to talk about his new book One Sunny Afternoon: A Memoir of Trauma and Healing. We dove into the struggles we've each had with our mental health, the importance of ending the stigma of mental illness, and why self-care is as important when you're well as when you're deep in the muck. You can find Rowan on Instagram and Twit...

Welcome to the new season of the Better Me Podcast. In this episode I give a quick summary of the guests coming up and talk about the importance of belonging, a theme that will run through many of the episodes this season. I also take a few minutes to talk about how new education policies are denying a sense of belonging to some of our students.

It's time for me to take a break so this is the last episode until late summer or early spring.

As we move between meetings and other activities, we should take a few minute to reflect and prepare. Like having a bit of cracker or a sip of water to cleanse our palate between tastings of two different wines, we need to cleanse our mental palate as well.

Loleen Berdahl and Kelly S. Thompson returned to the podcast to talk about the role that writing plays in caring for their mental health. We also talked about how we choose our journals, vintage typewriters, and the community that can come from writing. You can find Loleen at https://loleen.substack.com/ and Kelly at https://kellysthompson.com/

My good friend Jennifer Diehr returned to the podcast to talk about book festivals, meeting authors, and the reunion we have planned at Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon.

For people who have depression, just getting out of bed can be a struggle, but on top of that, there are concerns about medication, money, and how others will respond. In this episode, I talk about why depression can be so frightening for those suffering from it.

Former long-time editor of Chatelaine Magazine, writer, and mental health advocate, Rona Maynard joined me to talk about her latest book Starter Dog: My Path to Joy, Belonging and Loving This World. You can find Rona via her website https://ronamaynard.com/

I'm working on being more mindful, which has included asking myself "What do I need right now?" while curled up in the sun with my dog Henry.

Frequent guest Loleen Berdahl is back to join me in a free-range discussion of what it means to be busy, why it's so often the answer to "How are you?", and how to set better boundaries.

Former ballerina, star of the PBS fitness series, Classical Stretch, and author Miranda Esmonde-White joined me to discuss her latest book, The Movement Miracle: The Essentrics Stretch Program to Increase Strength, Improve Mobility and Become Pain Free.

Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg and I talked about her latest book On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in An Unapologetic World. We discussed how apologies without real change will continue to damage all involved, how the current U.S. justice system's punitive approach does nothing to help victims of wrong-doing, and why we need to be tenacious and hold onto hope to bring about real change in the world...

Retired Canadian Forces officer and writer Kelly S. Thompson joined me to talk about her latest book Still, I Cannot Save You, a book about her relationship with her sister who died of cancer in 2018. We also talked about healing through writing and how your writing can help others to heal. You can find Kelly at https://kellysthompson.com/ and on social media as @KellyS_Thompson (Twitter) and @kel...

Best-selling author, speaker, podcaster, and all-around-cool guy Chris Bailey joined me to talk about his latest book How to Calm Your Mind: Finding Presence and Productivity in Anxious Times. We chatted about burnout and it's counterpart engagement, how dopamine makes promises it can't keep, and what we can do for ourselves and our organizations to reduce chronic stress. You can find Chris, his b...

Loleen Berdahl returns to the show for the 5th time to talk about prioritizing the things that matter, including creativity. We also talked a bit about artificial intelligence and about how we both pretend to talk for our pets.

British psychologist and writer Julia Samuel returns to the Better Me Podcast to talk about her latest book, Every Family Has a Story. In this conversation, we dove into how trauma can be passed down through generations and how families can work through it to break the continuing cycle.