Our Stories are Worth Telling Podcast

Today's episode we get to know Jordyn (Jo) through her story. We discuss navigating shifting career goals, parent-adult child relationships and the way identity shifts as we become adults. Jordyn is open and generous with sharing her life experiences with us. Jordyn is also the co-host of a podcast called "Tricky Existence" which you can check out on major podcast platforms. If you'd like to conne...

This week's episode features DEBUT AUTHOR and hilarious all around epic huma, Angela Montoya! On this episode we talk about Angela's first book SINNER'S ISLE that comes out this Halloween, but we dive into who Angela is herself, why stories matter to her, and how she has come into becoming a story teller. THIS EPISODE IS SO FUN! I hope you have a blast getting to know Angela!

A year ago TODAY I was served the biggest curveball of my professional life which ultimately was the best thing that could have happened to me, but also set off a year of curveball after curveball - lesson after lesson - and podcasting wasn't something I had the bandwidth for. I've been feeling called back to the podcasting chair for a bit now and BABY I'M BACK. A little rougher around the edges,...

This week's story is that of Taylor Mills   Taylor and I had a tremendous amount of fun talking about books and career changes and our thoughts on the new Taylor Swift Midnight's album. This conversation also took a deep dive into what Taylor and I experience regularly as two fat women - systemic anti-fat bias as well as disordered eating/eating disorders. Taylor generously shares her story of liv...

This week's story is that of Matea Langston   Matea shares with us her story of going from a very traditional "get your college degree, then join the workforce" path to entrepreneur bookish/fandom candle maker with all the joys and stresses in between. Like usual, our conversation goes all over the place from books we're planning to read this fall, to how Matea comes up with her mystical candle sc...

This week's story is that of Sydney Pokard   Our conversation is so packed with laughter and joy (and some heavy stuff too), that I hope you'll find yourself traveling down a nostalgic path, embracing silliness, and feeling seen if you've had complicated relationships with your parent(s). We talk about relationships of all kinds, how we've changed as we've gotten older and how we've also stayed th...

This episode is the first of something a little different that I'm calling "Coffee Chat" - shorter, usually lighter episodes about random things and thoughts.   This first installment I'm sharing what books I've got lined up for the Fall season. I'm your classic Fall girlie & I love to set the Fall mood with books that give me Fall vibes. Think academia, think spooky, think magic.   If you're not...

This week's story is that of Madyson Russell   I loved this conversation with Madyson, and she ended up digging as much out of me and my story as I did her. In this conversation you'll hear us discuss how our views of church and religion have changed over the past few years, we'll dig into some personality frameworks like enneagram and birth order, and just generally philosophize about people and...

This week's story is that of Lauren Shell   Lauren shares her story of being diagnosed with ADHD only very recently, and what it was like to grow up neurodivergent without knowing you were neurodivergent. She shares with us her story of attaching identity to success and achievement as well as the courage it has taken to rewrite these stories and pursue a non-traditional career path. Lauren also sh...

This week's story is my career story.   I'm a veterinary neurologist and I'm a pretty average one at that. But that's the thing about being average - most of us are! "Average" is a statistical word mean that you're somewhere in the middle 50% of that particular sample size and it's completely relative and not at all a reflection on your individual self. I wanted to share my story of a pretty "midd...

This week's story is Maria's story.   Maria is an exuberant book lover who teaches and LOVES teaching first grade. Maria and I chat for awhile about books and the magic of stories and literature, but we dig into her story of pursuing teaching and what it is about teaching that she loves to do, regardless of the struggles facing helping professions. This conversation, like most between friends, is...

This week's story is Allie Gaines's story.   Allie is a 26 year old woman living in Indiana, raising her daughter alongside her husband, and carving out her own space in the "bookstagram" world. Allie shares with us her diagnosis of postpartum anxiety and eclampsia, the conflicting emotions of being a mom, as well as her history of religious trauma. Allie and I talk for a WHILE about various topic...

This week's story is my own story of being diagnosed with and learning to live with generalized anxiety disorder.   In hindsight, I can see that I've been living with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) my entire life, but it wasn't until this past winter that it became so debilitating that I arrived at a diagnosis. This week I'm sharing some of the things I was experiencing and feeling at my worst...

This week's story is that of Deandra Hamer.   Deandra is one of my dearest friend, and is in fact, the inspiration for the other person in the art for this podcast! Deandra teaches us about holding space for whimsy and the heaviness at the same time - she's an incredible person who's no stranger to difficulty. Her predilection for whimsy isn't due to the absence of pain, but rather the intention o...

This week's story is that of Samantha Jaxon.   Samantha is a romance writer, advocate and a woman who has experienced several broken systems. This may be one of the most intricate and varied stories we've had to date - Samantha shares her story experiencing pregnancy and miscarriage, learning disability, chronic illness, sexual assault, advocacy, and the ongoing process that is healing in ways tha...

This week's story is that of Nicole Fong.   On Tuesday, May 3rd, women across the US woke up to the news that a document had leaked from the US Supreme Court detailing a preliminary decision that would effectively overturn Roe v. Wade - the case that provided federal protection for women seeking abortion. That morning, Nicole reached out, willing to share her story of abortion - to address misconc...

This week is part two of my story as a fat woman.   Last week I shared my story of dieting since a young age and living in a body I hated for the majority of my life, as well as the hurdles I've faced getting good care simply because I am a fat woman.   This week I wanted to share more about what I've been learning and unlearning recently that's helped me, the healing I've been undergoing with my...

This week is part one of my story as a fat woman.   I've put off this episode for weeks because a) I wanted to do it RIGHT and b) it's incredibly vulnerable. I also know that a lot of people are deeply uninterested in listening to the story of fatness. Our society deeply wants us to erase fatness and thus the stories of fat people, particularly the ones of people who are not trying to erase fatnes...

This week's story is that of Emily Woodfield   Mom. Emily is a mom, but she's not only a mom. She's a wife, daughter, friend, sister, and someone excited about her career. In this episode, Emily shares with us how she's changed in many ways since she's become a mom a year ago, but how she's also continued to pour into herself and her identity as a multifaceted reality. Whether you're a mom or not,...

This week's story is that of Noelle Bechtel.   Noelle lives in San Francisco with her husband, dog and cat. She's a veterinarian, friend, daughter, sister and devoted aunt. As Noelle transitions into a new phase of life, starting a family, she opens up with us about her process of learning she would struggle with fertility, undergoing fertility treatment, and what she's learned to grieve and proce...

This week's story is that of Madison Jandick.   Maddie is a devoted Taylor Swift fan navigating the new terrain of millennial parenting in the context of a global pandemic. Having grown up with anxiety and depression, Maddie has been learning how that shows up in her parenting and talks about some of the aspects of this new reality of new parents in the 2020s that deserve a little bit of grace and...

This week's story is that of Dede Yocum.   (Content Warning: sexual assault, religious trauma, depression and anxiety)   Book lover, Taylor Swift lover, connoisseur of custom Starbucks drinks, and deeply funny and real person, Dede shares with us her story this week. She's experienced some heavy seasons of her life, and talks candidly about how those things have shaped her and her process through...

This week's story is that of Cait Clarke.   Cait is a 30 year old woman living just outside NYC. She's done a little bit of everything from working abroad, being in the start-up world, and climbing the corporate ladder - but what's she's discovered along the way about identity and mental wellbeing is the real magic.   You can connect with Cait on instagram at @caitclarke8

This week's story is of Meggie Hoffman.   Content Warning: grief, loss of a parent, alcohol use/sobriety Meggie is an early-30's mom of 3, firefighter's wife, and incredible friend. Meggie lets us into her story of loss, grief, and a decision that affected her marriage and her family forever. Meggie's generousity, honesty and vulnerability as she shares her story is truly a thing of magic.   You c...

Hi, I'm Lo and I believe in the power of stories.   This podcast is the product of a near 180 shift in my whole perspective about moving through the world. A former "personal development junkie" and "your mindset is your only obstacle" subscriber - I'm finding a gentler, more curious and compassionate way to navigate the world.   In this debut episode, I share (maybe at nauseum) how I went from ML...