Precarious

Leah sits down with one of her high school classmates, Karla Zahn. As they reminisce about life in small town Wisconsin, Karla reflects on how her "candy coated" life suddenly took a different course the day her 19 year old daughter, Elli, died of depression. Listen to this powerful, raw and beautiful conversation about depression, mental illness and suicide. It's important.

Wouldn't it be great if there were a sure fire way we could experience personal growth without all of that hard work? Well, the self-help industry (and it is a billion dollar business) says "Yes, we can help with that very thing!". It's human nature to find ways to decrease our pain and suffering when we are struggling. Yet, it's that very process of learning to sit with and self-examine that is t...

Leah sits down with Lori Gottlieb, a psychotherapist and author of the New York Times bestseller "Maybe You Should Talk to Someone". Going to therapy is an invitation to look inward, take risks, and be vulnerable with the hope of seeing ourselves more clearly, removing our blind spots and revealing our lives.

This is a love story: the story of Leah and Ginger, her 12 year old Golden Retriever who died unexpectedly. In this heart-felt episode, Leah shares her grief in the most vulnerable way with the hope of normalizing this experience. To love is to grieve.

BJ Miller, MD knows something about suffering. When he was a sophomore in college, he experienced a tragic accident that shaped the course of his life. From months spent as a patient in a burn unit, he learned that the simplest acts of care of the most healing. With this wisdom, he pursued a career in medicine specializing in Palliative Care. He is an advocate for shifting the paradigm around how...

Within six weeks, Nora McInerny lost both her husband and father to cancer and had a miscarriage. She was 31 years old and her world fell apart. Nora believes that we don't "move on" from grief. Instead, we learn to move forward and live with our loss. Leah and Nora share personal stories about their losses through laughter and tears. They encourage us to remember that grief is the price we pay fo...

Knowing you are going to die is an incredible gift. Just like grief teaches us about love, death teaches us about life. Leah shares her thoughts and feelings about facing her own death and how it has taught her to face her life.

Amy Newmark, Chief Editor and Publisher for the Chicken Soup for the Soul Series, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2018. She worked as much as she could through treatment. As part of her job, she reads hundreds of stories of people's precarious moments and their resulting resilience. Living through her own precarious moment, Amy saw these stories through a whole new light and found comfort in...

How do we hold on to hope in the face of daunting odds? Well, it starts with understanding what hope is. It's not a souped-up version of optimism. It's actually something quite different. Leah talks about how she has found, and lost, and found hope numerous times through her cancer experiences. She encourages us to believe in the healing power of Hope.

What if your skin color is what made your life precarious? Not an illness, not an accident, not some experience that happened to you, but the color of your skin. Leah talks with Saja Butler, a musician and owner of Urban Monk Studios in Fort Collins, CO about her experiences of being Black in America. Through sharing personal and painful stories, Saja challenges us to sit with the discomfort that...

"There are no happing endings. Endings are the hardest part. So just give me a happy middle and a very happy start." A quote by the late Shel Silverstein. In this episode Leah challenges us to think about how much we focus on endings and finish lines as a way to measure our value. She encourages us to think about our worth through a very different lens.

If you asked Dan Via, he would tell you that he lived a pretty idyllic and privileged life: a successful pediatrician, a Juilliard-trained musician and happily married. Then in 2011, while on vacation, he suffered a spinal cord injury that left him initially paralyzed from the neck down. Dan shares his story of letting go of the life he knew and being open to a life of renewed possibilities - a li...

Sarah Gray was 3 months pregnant with twins when she found out that one of them had a rare birth defect. He died 6 days after he was born. Sarah and Leah talk about how we never really get over these awful events. Instead, we can see them as an opportunity to grow. Sarah Gray is the author of the award-winning, Washington Post bestseller, A Life Everlasting: The Extraordinary Story of One Boys Gif...

Leah gives a health update about her cancer status and how her most recent doctor's visit was the impetus for this episode of the podcast. Bucket List is a term that has been tossed around as a way to get clear about what you want to experience in your life before you die. Not a bad idea. The pandemic has certainly put a damper on pursuing "big" experiences. And, maybe that's a good thing. This ha...

This is a very special episode of the podcast. Leah interviews one of her primary oncologists, Dr. Diana Medgyesy. Listen to this intimate and revealing conversation about how Diana works to balance hope and the reality of her patients' cancer experiences. She shares personal stories illustrating the strength, courage and love she witnesses on a daily basis even in the face of death. You will leav...

In this episode of Precarious, Leah shares her experiences of being a mental health therapist during the pandemic: the most collective Precarious chapter in our recent history. The level of stress we are experiencing is unprecedented. It has some of us feeling like we are "Going Crazy". She offers wisdom and support around how to manage the threat the pandemic presents to our mental and physical w...

Elana Miller always knew she wanted to be a doctor. In 2013, the finish line was in sight. She couldn't wait to start this new chapter of her life practicing Integrative Psychiatry. Elana's life took a detour when in December of 2013, she went to the ER because she was having trouble breathing. The chest x-ray revealed a huge mass in her chest. She was diagnosed with Stage IV Acute Lymphoblastic L...

In this episode, Leah shares the beautiful and heart-breaking story of her friendship with Tamara and how their lives intersected at the most pivotal moments in their decisions around treatment for ovarian cancer. While Tamara chose to end treatment and Leah chose to continue treatment, they found ways to support and love each other along the way.

In this episode, Leah explores the concept of Resilience. Are we born resilient or can we learn to be resilient? Why do some people seem to bounce back from adversity more than others? She shares her personal experiences with cancer and what this challenge has taught her about becoming resilient. She offers that living through the coronavirus/pandemic is the perfect practice field to grow more res...

If you asked her, Tracy Maxwell, a 4-time cancer survivor, would tell you that cancer is the best thing that ever happened to her. In this episode, Tracy talks about how a crisis like cancer or the coronavirus presents us with transformative opportunities. After she was first diagnosed in 2006, she recognized the unique challenges of facing treatment and so many huge life decisions as a single per...

In this episode, Leah talks about how experiences with cancer parallel the experiences of living in a time of a world-wide pandemic, a.k.a COVID-19. She poses the question, "How afraid should I be?". She examines our need to feel in control in order to feel safe in uncertain times. She challenges us to sit with the fear. She offers guidance, support and wisdom to help us through this precarious ch...

Eryn Del Monte's life changed in an instant. A "typical" Wednesday marked the day she became a 29-year old widow. And, while her heart was broken, she learned that Love is Elastic. We never forget the ones we love and can learn to love again. Here's a link to a the video Eryn referenced in her story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs5rK4jPHUw&sns=fb&fbclid=IwAR2Tk8Mk1nMNzn1F6JCO6JWxXJF_LBMeotN5h-...

When Michelle Faris woke up on the morning of June 2nd to go for a bike ride with her friends, she had no idea that her life would be forever changed that day. Listen to her story of how her precarious moment turned into her path of recovery from a severe, long-standing eating disorder. Michelle received both her Bachelors and Doctorate degrees from the Physical Therapy program at Ithaca College i...

Welcome Leah Barrett interviewed by the founder of Mental Health News Radio Network, Kristin Walker. They talk about her show and why the name of it is Precarious. A bit about your host: Leah Barrett I'd like to help. I'm a trained psychotherapist: a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I've worked for over 15 years helping people struggling with depression, anxiety, grief, life transition and eating...