I Choose Happy With Marilyn

What if the biggest thing standing between you and your dream... is the fear of what other people might think? In this episode of I Choose Happy , Marilyn sits down with singer-songwriter Tom Siletto , whose journey from a music-loving kid in Carmel, California, to signing with legendary Arista Records is anything but an overnight success. Tom opens up about the song that changed his life, the yea...

Life can change in an instant. In this deeply moving episode of I Choose Happy , Marilyn sits down with Kristen Vargas, a wife, mother, former teacher, and septic shock survivor whose ordinary Friday morning became a fight for her life. After a sudden infection progressed to septic shock - the most severe stage of sepsis - Kristen spent weeks in the ICU before ultimately undergoing the amputation...

This week, we're revisiting a conversation about what happens when survival becomes purpose—and how one life-changing diagnosis can shape the path forward. At 13, Jonah Rosas was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Overnight, life shifted from water polo and middle school routines to chemotherapy, hospitals, and the relentless uncertainty of cancer. In this episode of I Choose Happy , Jonah reflect...

As beach days, pool parties, and summer adventures begin, we're revisiting this important I Choose Happy conversation with Marianne Banister, whose daughter Claire's story changed the way many families think about pediatric melanoma and the importance of early detection. When her 14-year-old daughter Claire noticed a mole on her ankle changing, Marianne Banister never imagined it would be the star...

Marilyn sits down with Brian Speciale, co-founder of The Comfy, former television news producer, father, entrepreneur, and one of the most recognizable success stories to come out of Shark Tank. Long before the deal with Barbara Corcoran in 2017, Brian was navigating unexpected turns, career pivots, fatherhood, and learning how to keep moving when life looked nothing like he imagined. In this conv...

This week on I Choose Happy , Marilyn sits down with fashion designer, entrepreneur, mentor, and author Sally Miller for a conversation about confidence, curiosity, self-trust, and what it really means to design a life that fits. After decades spent building a successful fashion brand and mentoring generations of young women, Sally shares the experiences that shaped her understanding of confidence...

What happens when you finally reach the top… and realize it still isn’t enough? This week on I Choose Happy , Marilyn sits down with Cathy Compton — one of the winningest coaches in college softball history with 2 Halls of Fame — for a profound conversation about success, identity, pressure, purpose, and the climb we all face in life. From building championship teams from the ground up to coaching...

This week’s I Choose Happy Encore is shared in loving memory of Joseph “Joey” Pangilinan — honoring his extraordinary spirit, courage, and the light he so generously shared with others. When 54-year-old Joseph Pangilinan went to urgent care for a nagging cough, he expected antibiotics and rest. Instead, he walked out with a diagnosis of stage 4 lung cancer — tumors in his lungs, lesions in his bon...

In this episode of I Choose Happy , bestselling author of The Rise Back , Tiffaney Childers, shares her story of surviving the unimaginable: losing both of her parents to suicide just a year apart. What followed wasn’t a clear path to healing… it was years of survival. Silence. Pushing forward the only way she knew how while raising her children, building a life, and carrying grief that had no pla...

Just days before the NFL Draft, Marilyn sits down with someone she’s known his entire life: her son, JT Byrne. This is a moment years in the making. But what you’ll hear in this conversation isn’t just about football. It’s about the work behind the dream, the discipline no one sees, and the kind of integrity that’s built long before the moment ever arrives. JT shares what it means to truly discove...

On September 11th, 2001, Jack Grandcolas lost his wife, Lauren, aboard United Flight 93. What followed was a journey no one is ever prepared for. But before that day, Lauren was a woman who lived life wide open—full of curiosity, courage, and heart. And in this conversation, Jack brings us back to that life… while also sharing what it has meant to carry her memory forward. From grief and trauma to...

At 19 years old, Katie Mahon had a chilling encounter in San Francisco with a man she would only later realize was the notorious serial killer, Ted Bundy. What happened that day — and the stranger who appeared at just the right moment — would stay with her for the rest of her life. But this conversation is about more than survival. In this powerful episode, Katie shares how that experience shaped...

This week on I Choose Happy , Marilyn sits down with her longtime friend Steve Georgeson for a deeply honest conversation about what it means to keep living fully when your body begins to change in ways you never expected. Steve was just 29 years old — a new dad, a husband, and a firefighter in the prime of his life — when he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis . In this episode, he shares what...

At 55 years old, Irene Audet was stepping into a new chapter of life—her children grown, her career evolving, and a sense that life was finally opening up in a new way. Then, everything changed. Diagnosed with stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer despite never having smoked, Irene found herself facing a reality she never expected. In this deeply moving conversation, Irene shares her journey through...

ADHD is often misunderstood as a lack of focus. But what if the real challenge is regulating attention? In this episode, Marilyn welcomes back childhood development expert Diane Provo to unpack the truth about ADHD. Together they explore what life feels like inside the ADHD brain, why procrastination and distraction are often misinterpreted, and how creativity, sensitivity, and passion are actuall...

In honor of Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month this March, we’re re-releasing a conversation that means so much to the I Choose Happy community. Born three months premature while his parents were visiting family on vacation, Adam Bremen entered the world fighting — and he’s been choosing life ever since. Living with cerebral palsy, he grew up in a home rooted in love, creativity, and a belief that lim...

Four days after giving birth to her youngest daughter, Lori Hand Jankowski was living in the fullness of new motherhood. Surrounded by her husband, her four children, and the life they had built together. Then, without warning, her heart tore open. What followed was a fight for survival that few people could imagine. Multiple open-heart surgeries. Months in a medically induced coma. And the moment...

Olympian Nick Cunningham spent his life chasing speed. From a young sprinter growing up in Monterey, California, to representing Team USA on the world’s biggest stage… his identity was built on discipline, belief, and the pursuit of a dream that carried him across the globe - shooting down the ice at nearly 90 miles an hour. But what happens when the dream ends? In this deeply honest conversation,...

Actress Suzanne Marie Berman has spent more than fifty years in front of the camera. From her earliest days as a child performer, to a lifelong career in film, television, and national commercials. But behind the spotlight was a personal journey marked by addiction, devastating loss, and the long road back to herself. After the sudden death of her husband, Suzanne made the life-altering decision t...

Content note: This episode includes discussion of childhood sexual abuse. Please listen with care. Silence can travel quietly through families, shaping how we love, how we cope, and how we survive. In this deeply moving conversation, Marilyn speaks with actor, author, and founder of The Survivor Movement , Perry Power , about what it takes to break that silence and stop cycles of harm from repeati...

Eating disorders are often misunderstood as struggles with food or willpower — but for many, the story begins much deeper. In this episode of I Choose Happy , Marilyn sits down with Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Certified Eating Disorder Specialist Amy Isabella Chalker for a thoughtful, compassionate exploration of what lives beneath eating disorders. Drawing on nearly two decades of exper...

On October 1st, 1995, Pep Torres’ heart stopped after a devastating car accident on an early morning drive through Watsonville, California. What followed was not darkness, but a near-death experience that would alter the course of his life forever. In this moving conversation, Pep takes Marilyn inside the moments before the crash, the surreal calm that followed, and the strange space between life...

Journalist, mother, and advocate Erika Mahoney shares her story of life after her father was killed in a mass shooting in her hometown of Boulder, Colorado. Erika reflects on the shock and disorientation that followed his death, the love and human connection that helped carry her through those early days, and the complexity of grieving while preparing to welcome new life as a first-time mother. Sh...

In this episode of I Choose Happy , Marilyn sits down with Jamie Estelle Roth, best-selling author of Should’ve Seen That Coming: Navigating the In-Between Moments of Acceptance, Surrender, & Resilience , to talk about what happens when life changes without warning - and how we learn to meet what comes next. After suddenly losing her eyesight in 2021, Jamie was forced to slow down in ways she...

What happens when cancer enters your life... and then returns years later? Scott Miller was diagnosed with throat cancer for the first time in his forties. With no family history and no warning, his life changed in an instant. What followed was not only treatment and recovery, but a profound internal shift. One that led him to slow down, listen to his body, and approach healing with compassion ins...