Sharing the Heart of the Matter

In this episode, Wynne Leon is with co-host Dr. Vicki Atkinson and we so fortunate to have blogger and retired psychologist, Dr. Gerald Stein back with us. Dr. Stein tells us three stories about waiting. Each story is great by itself but all three speak to the benefit of developing the practice of resisting the pace of life that tells us to speed up and instead finding the calm to slow down. These...

In this episode, Wynne Leon is with co-host Vicki Atkinson and we are talking with author Pete Springer about his book, They Call Me Mom: Making a Difference as an Elementary School Teacher Pete, an elementary school educator for 31 years, tell us some heart-warming and also some heart-breaking stories that came from his years in the classroom. As he worked to educate kids and helped to raise a ge...

In this episode, Wynne Leon is with co-host Vicki Atkinson and we are talking about the seasonal shift that comes with September. No matter where we are in life, somehow the arc of life seems noticeable as we move from summer to fall. So Vicki and I talk about how to be active and engaged in productive way. Drawing on Vicki’s experience as a professor and dean, we talk through how to shift from Se...

In this episode of the podcast, Vicki and Wynne turn the microphone over to our colleague, Brian Hannon, and he interviews us. Brian, an accomplished writer and author, started his career as a newspaper reporter and he uses those skills to uncover how Vicki and I came to write family memoirs. Brian digs in to how the two of us, started our projects to write personal narratives even though neither...

In this episode Wynne Leon is with co-host Vicki Atkinson and writer and author, Mark Petruska and we're talking about love lessons. Mark has us laughing about all the things that can go wrong when we put ourselves out there. And how that sometimes leaves us looking for the nearest exit. We dig into a few of his funny dating stories to find the secret behind staying resilient on the trail to t...

In this episode, Wynne Leon and Vicki Atkinson are finishing their two-part series about podcasting. In this second episode of the two, we are focusing on the mechanics of podcasting. We talk about some of the choices we’ve had to make about where to publish our podcast, how widely to distribute it on other platforms, and what we’ve learned about how those choices impact things like the ability to...

In this episode, Wynne is with co-host Vicki Atkinson and they are doing a two-part series about podcasting. In this first episode of the two, we are focusing on what podcasting has taught us about trying. We start by talking about the quote from an unknown author Wynne saw before starting this journey: Your first podcast will be awful. Your first video will be awful. Your first article will be aw...

In this episode, Wynne Leon is with co-host Vicki Atkinson and they are talking to author and blogger Cheryl Oreglia. Cheryl reads an essay from her book, Grow Damn It, called True Grit and we talk about what we develop as we grow through life – the ability to get up and dust ourselves off again and again. In her charming and funny way, Cheryl makes us realize that each failure is a delightful opp...

In this episode, Wynne Leon is with co-host Vicki Atkinson and they are talking to Dr. Gerald Stein about how a promise he made, and kept, did a whole lot of good. Dr. Stein tells us how the story began – a promise between 10 high school friends in 1963 to meet again on January 1, 2000. And when they kept that promise, it led to the great good luck of becoming accidental philanthropists. We get to...

In this episode, Wynne Leon is with Vicki Atkinson talking about how self care can make us better humans. We all have different ideas of what a self-care looks like for ourselves – ideas that match our personality and phase of life. But for all the variation in style, there is a central question of how to make self-care stick. So in this episode, Vicki and I talk about the little hacks that help u...

In this episode, Wynne Leon is with meditation and yoga teacher, and massage therapist, Deirdre Wilcox and they are talking about the power of the pause. Deirdre talks about the pause she implements when we converse, the moment to let a question sink in so that she can respond in a thoughtful way that is more in-line with her wise mind. We talk about how pauses can help us when our buttons are pus...

In this episode, Wynne Leon is with co-host, Dr. Vicki, and writer and blogger, Mark Petruska and we are talking about personal anthems and resiliency. Do you have a personal anthem? That song that runs through your head and heart when you face something tough. Mark reads his post, Eye of the tiger, thrill of the fight for us, the story of his divorce, then dating, and finally his career switch to...

In this episode of the podcast, I'm with Vicki Atkinson and we're discussing the book publishing process. We talk about the trepidation that publication can bring, the feeling that comes with opening what you’ve worked on privately for so long to a wider audience. Vicki helps to counter that by grounding us in knowing our purpose and inspiration for writing. We talk about the difference be...

In this episode of the Sharing the Heart of the Matter podcast, Wynne Leon is with co-host, Dr. Vicki Atkinson and our colleague, writer, and artist, Libby Saylor, and we talk about Libby’s essay, Old Doors are Closing but New Ones Have Not Yet Opened. We dig into that uncomfortable in-between place that we occasionally find ourselves in – experiencing the discomfort of change without the relief o...

In this episode, Wynne Leon and Dr. Vicki Atkinson sit down with Lois Roelofs to talk about her incredibly beautiful book, Marv Taking Charge. We talk with Lois about her husband’s decision not to seek treatment for small cell lung cancer and how that choice set up a very intentional life for them as they spent quality time saying good-bye to people that were closest to them. Lois, who has a PhD i...

In this episode, Wynne Leon is with co-host, Dr. Vicki Atkinson and they talk about Vicki's newly released book, Surviving Sue. In this episode that is near and dear to our hearts, we dig in to what it takes to write a memoir about such a complex character as Vicki’s mom, Sue who was afflicted with anxiety, depression, alcoholism, Munchausen’s by proxy and later on, Alzheimer’s. We talk about...

In this episode, Wynne Leon and Dr. Vicki Atkinson talk about living a creative life with Elizabeth Wickham. She tells us about growing up with a mom who allowed messes and was a creative spirit herself. After graduating with a degree in editorial journalism, Elizabeth regales us with stories from the PR firm where she learned to have great writing productivity and also met celebrities like Frank...

In this episode, Wynne Leon and co-host, Dr. Vicki Atkinson are with psychologist, historian, teacher and blogger, Dr. Gerald Stein. We talk about the art of the interview. Dr. Stein draws on his extensive experience as a therapist but also as an expert witness to explain how you need to be aware of what’s been said, present to listen and help guide the conversation when asking and answering quest...

In this episode, Wynne Leon and Dr. Vicki Atkinson talk about the most long distance of letters – the ones we write for our dearly departed. We talk, sometimes through tears, about writing letters to our fathers after they had passed unexpectedly and the goodness of being able to share stories we’ve written down about them with our children. Vicki brings up the idea that we are a conduit between t...

In this episode, Wynne Leon is with co-host, Dr. Vicki Atkinson and writter, blogger, optimist and master manifester, Mark Petruska. Manifester might not technically be a word but it’s great shorthand for how Mark wills things into reality. He explains how manifesting works hand-in-hand with optimism to fuel the adventurous changes he and his wife, Tara, have pursued in life. We talk about his eco...

In this episode, Wynne Leon is with co-host, Dr. Vicki Atkinson and colleague, writer and blogger Brian Hannon. We talk about what metrics are meaningful on the blogging journey and how to build a vibrant community. Brian shares tips he learned as a newspaper reporter and how blogging differs from being a reporter in the rich conversation that can be sparked through comments. We share celebrity go...

In this episode, Wynne Leon is with co-host, Dr. Vicki Atkinson and writer, blogger and master storyteller, Stuart Perkins. Stuart shares with us a piece entitled A Nugget of Kindness, about a moment where he recalled the generosity of a stranger twenty years earlier and pays it forward. We take a deep dive into how both paying it forward and writing about it extends the gratitude we have for peop...

In this episode, Wynne and Vicki talk with about blogger and HR lecturer, Brenda Harrison, about Brenda’s inspiration for writing, traveling, and how blogging has brought balance to her work and life. Brenda tells us the inspiration for the name of her blog, Curiosities, Castles and Coffee Shops and we also discover how Brenda’ delightful and inspiring knack for growth led her through her journey...

In this episode, Wynne Leon talks with meditation teacher, massage therapist and healer, Deirdre Wilcox, about how to hold space for others. It's the process of actively listening to others going through tough stuff with open regard. How do we do it effectively? What good does it do for the person we are holding space for? We also talk about another favorite phrase that Wynne has gotten from D...

In this episode, Vicki and Wynne had the pleasure of visiting with Bruce Bohrer, author of “Best Seat in the House:  A Diary of a Wrigley Field Usher” and it was a terrific, behind-the-scenes peek into a beloved sports venue in Chicago. Tune in as Bruce shares anecdotes about famous players – Ryne Sandberg, Ernie Banks, and Ryan Dempster – and stay for the fun as Bruce shares stories about the “re...