Bounce Back Stronger with Donna Ferris

“It's not a death sentence to be a wheelchair user.” What does it mean to build a joyful life when the world doesn't always make room for you? On this episode of Bounce Back Stronger, I’m joined by Jenna Udenberg, disability advocate, accessibility educator, author, and founder of the nonprofit Above and Beyond With You. Diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis at age eight, Jenna has spent he...

“It’s not necessarily that I got over the fear, but that the desire to go for it just got to a point where it overrode the fear of failure.” What happens when you stop waiting for the perfect moment and decide to go for it? This week, as we mark National Coming Out Day, I’m especially glad to share this conversation with queer artist Brittany Ann Tranbaugh. In 2023, Brittany made a big leap: she l...

“Nobody is born knowing how to manage money well. It has to be learned at some point. It is a learned skill.” What can give women security, freedom, and choice? Financial freedom (and it may be more attainable than you think). In this episode of Bounce Back Stronger, I sit down with Leah Hadley, a nationally recognized financial empowerment expert, author, speaker, accredited financial counselor,...

“I don't know that we ever get over it so much as we learn to hold them both at once.” What can a children’s book teach us about handling difficult emotions, practicing kindness, and navigating life’s hardest moments? A lot. In this episode of Bounce Back Stronger, I talk with renowned meditation teacher and author Sharon Salzberg about her children’s book, "Kind Karl: A Little Crocodile with Big...

After 100 episodes of Bounce Back Stronger, we look back at some of the most meaningful wisdom guests have shared about resilience, hope, healing, purpose, and finding joy. You'll hear powerful moments about moving through anxiety and fear, finding peace through meditation, setting healthy boundaries, embracing joy, building meaningful connections, sharing your gifts, and recognizing the extraordi...

“The body knows the way home even when we've lost our way.” Why do so many of us spend our lives trying to please others, chase perfection, and live up to expectations—only to end up exhausted, disconnected, and wondering who we really are? In this episode of Bounce Back Stronger, Donna Ferris sits down with coach, podcaster, and spiritual teacher Monica Rodgers to explore how people-pleasing, per...

“That doesn't mean we stop moving while we wait for clarity. It means we take the next intuitive step. Or, in a kayak... We dip the paddle. One stroke at a time.” What if resilience isn't about having a perfect plan—but simply taking the next step? In this episode of Bounce Back Stronger Reflections, Donna shares how learning to kayak after being laid off became an unexpected lesson in trust, hope...

“People are not composed of a single one-dimensional story…Everybody's complicated.” What does it mean to truly belong? Award-winning multimedia artist Anila Quayyum Agha has spent her life exploring this question through breathtaking installations of light, shadow, and intricate patterns. Behind her internationally celebrated artwork is an extraordinary story of resilience. After immigrating to t...

“This is a place where your body remembers how to be safe." If you're awake right now, you're not alone. This gentle sleep meditation is here for the middle-of-the-night moments when your mind feels busy, and your body won’t fully settle. Instead of trying to force sleep, we’ll create space for calm, safety, and ease. Through soft breathwork, full-body relaxation, and a peaceful meadow visualizati...

“I grew up in a very small town in the 70s. So when I had my first girlfriend in high school, we didn't have a name for ourselves. We didn't even know the word lesbian. We found it in a dictionary…in our high school library. And we're like, ‘That's what we are.’" Your story could be exactly what someone else needs to hear. In this episode, in honor of Pride Month, Jennifer Lee Selig shares how mem...

“So often conversations and coaching goes straight to, ‘Here’s how you update your resume. Here’s what you do with your LinkedIn profile.’ And there’s nothing that says, ‘Listen, you need to pause. You’re gonna feel some grief. It’s gonna hurt, and here’s how you get through it.” In this episode of Bounce Back Stronger, author Steve Jaffe shares how losing a job impacts identity, mental health, re...

“Maybe building a life we don’t need to escape from happens slowly — one mindful moment, one gentle choice at a time.” What would it look like to build a life you don’t constantly feel the need to escape from? In this new Bounce Back Stronger Reflections episode, host Donna Ferris shares a personal reflection on burnout, mindfulness, grief, anxiety, birdsong, and learning how to slow down long eno...

“I can’t spend the next 30 years of my life like this—that’s not a life.” In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, this powerful episode features Betsy Thibaud Stephenson, author of Blackbird, sharing her deeply personal experience of navigating unimaginable loss after the death of her son to suicide, along with multiple losses that followed. Instead of avoiding grief, Betsy fearlessly fac...

What if the key to peace isn’t controlling life… but letting go? In this short reflection episode of Bounce Back Stronger, I’m sharing a personal story from a quiet morning walk that turned into a powerful reminder: the only thing we can truly control is our own behavior. Inspired by the teachings of Pema Chödrön and the practice of mindfulness, this episode explores what it means to release attac...

“70% of the money stress that people experience comes from actually not knowing what's happening with your money.” If you’ve ever: Avoided looking at your bank account Felt anxious every time you spend Wondered where your money actually goes You’re not alone—and according to this week’s guest, Scarlett Stanhope (The Biz Hippie), you’re not “bad with money.” In this conversation, she breaks down wh...

“I didn't have on my bucket list to be a sober person at all. My bingo card did not include this.” What if giving up alcohol didn’t take your life away—but gave you a whole new one? In this honest, relatable—and often funny—conversation, host Donna Ferris and sobriety coach Lori Massicot share their real-life journeys of quitting alcohol in midlife. They explore the unexpected gifts of sobriety, f...

“Grief sucks your energy up, but you have all of this love that you just don't have anywhere to put... the walking and the hiking and being outside — I felt so connected to the earth and so connected to myself.” Just six weeks after her wedding, Cindy Francois became a widow at 28. Her husband Wayne — her best friend of 10 years — died suddenly of cardiac arrest. What happened next is extraordinar...

“It’s like a pebble in a pond. Ripples out from each of us...because we’ve chosen to get better instead of getting worse.” How do you build resilience while coping with grief, loss, and emotional overwhelm? Sometimes it begins with a book. But more often, it begins with a person. This episode honors beloved bookshop owner Gee Gee Rosell, who passed away last month. Through her steady presence and...

“When you wake up at 3 AM, your brain isn’t trying to ruin your sleep — it’s trying to protect you. It thinks you’re in danger.” Have you ever found yourself wide awake staring at the ceiling, wondering why your body won’t just stay asleep? You’re not alone—and according to sleep expert Julie Wright, these middle-of-the-night wakeups are often your body’s response to stress, anxiety, and hormone i...

“2026 is the year of fire. It’s the year of beginnings. It’s the year of passion. It’s the year of getting your sh*t in order.” After an emotionally intense 2025, the astrology of 2026 invites you to stop waiting and start becoming. In this episode of Bounce Back Stronger, Donna Ferris is joined by astrologer Cosmi-Colleen Dixon to break down the biggest planetary shifts of the year and what they...

“Your spiritual guides don’t want you to live in lack or victimization. They want you to live in joy, abundance, happiness—and they support you every step of the way.” In this episode of Bounce Back Stronger, Donna Ferris welcomes back psychic medium Cristina Leeson for a grounding conversation on staying connected to higher energy, trusting spiritual guidance, and navigating uncertainty with clar...

A Lullaby for 2025: Vienna Teng on Music, Hope, and Connection  ”I see you, and I'm telling you my story in hopes that you'll see me. And from there, there's so many more things that are possible.” In this conversation, Donna Ferris sits down with singer, songwriter, and pianist Vienna Teng—an artist whose music has long served as a bridge between people, ideas, and lived experiences. From her ico...

“I grew up among funny people who, the darker the event, the more opportunity for lightness and absurdity, and I've always loved that.” What if laughter really is a kind of medicine—especially when we’re experiencing loss? In this episode of Bounce Back Stronger, Donna sits down with Thurber Prize-winning humorist and New Yorker columnist John Kenney about his latest novel, I See You’ve Called In...

“Astoundingly, you find joy, and it coexists with the grief…It's like the grief kind of moves over a little bit and lets joy in.” If you’re doing life with a broken heart this holiday season, this episode is for you. In this moving conversation, Donna talks with award-winning journalist and novelist Gwen Florio about what it means to keep showing up for life after loss. Gwen shares her experience...

“When we let go of fear, we make room for hope to rise." When life feels uncertain, it’s easy to get caught in fear and worry about what’s next. This guided meditation helps you reconnect to your inner strength and remember that healing can begin with one mindful breath. Through calming body awareness, gentle visualization, and soft encouragement, you’ll learn to release tension, quiet self-doubt,...