That Day with Jac Hawkins & Kylie Orr

Send us Fan Mail What happens when the life you pictured is not the life you are living? On her 18th birthday in Ireland, Caroline Hales survived an accident that should have ended her life. In the aftermath, she encountered something she still finds difficult to define: a sense of light, presence, and a clear internal shift that brought her back toward living. From that point on, life felt differ...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when the carefully made plan falls apart and all you have left is your instinct? Mary Howley has never been interested in living a small life. When the pull to travel across Europe took hold, she planned it meticulously—researching routes, mapping contingencies, preparing for every possible outcome long before the internet made it easy. She and a friend set off togeth...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when life blindsides you just as you think you’ve got it all steady? Chrissie Bellbrae’s life has been defined by resilience. From family upheavals and raising four children to overseas travels in her fifties, she’s repeatedly faced challenges head-on. But the day she was diagnosed with breast cancer stopped everything in its tracks. In this episode, Chrissie recounts...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when the career you worked so hard for becomes the thing slowly breaking you? Tennille Gould had spent more than twenty years building a successful corporate career in Injury Management and Return to Work while raising a family alongside it all.  From the outside, it looked like success. But behind the scenes were impossible expectations, constant pressure, and the sl...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when your entire future is put on hold before you’ve even had the chance to begin it? At 29, Casey was newly married, back at uni studying health science, and trying to start a family. From the outside, life looked hopeful. But behind the scenes was the quiet grief of miscarriages and fertility struggles. Then one ordinary morning, standing on a street before brunch,...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when a test to prove someone wrong changes your life? Anne Freeman was 22, confident, and certain life would unfold exactly as she imagined. After leaving a controlling relationship and starting anew, she felt unstoppable, until her health quietly began to unravel. Weight loss, relentless thirst, and exhaustion crept in. She ignored it all until colleagues joked about...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when the year you’ve been waiting for turns into the one that tests you the most? On New Year’s Day 2023, Jodie entered what she believed would be her fresh start. She had survived her hardest years: working and parenting through lockdowns, farewelling three beloved aunties, and ending a 19-year relationship. She bought a  house, began renovations, finalised her divor...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when the person who tries to block your teaching dreams accidentally launches your career? For years, Vikki Petraitis lived a double life. By day, she was a teacher in a prestigious private school, shaping young minds and paying the bills. By night, she was deep in cold cases—researching, investigating, and writing true crime stories driven by a fierce desire to see j...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when the thing you feared most … comes true? * Please take care while listening—this episode includes references to suicide. If this brings anything up for you, support is available via Lifeline on 13 11 14. Kylie Eklund-Denman knew something was wrong the moment she saw the police car parked in her driveway. Her husband had died. Just like that, her life unravelled....

Send us Fan Mail When does silence stop being an option? * Please take care while listening—this episode includes references to sexual assault. If you need support, you can contact 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732). The murder of Eurydice Dixon in Melbourne shook Kylie Orr to her core. It forced her to confront a trauma she had carried for decades, something that had quietly shaped her life in ways she h...

Send us Fan Mail Why would anyone walk away from a role defined by power, prestige, and purpose? * Please take care while listening—this episode includes references to suicide. If this brings anything up for you, support is available via Lifeline on 13 11 14. Jac Hawkins is one half of the podcast duo and today she tells her own story of that day. Jac had what most people would call an important j...

Send us Fan Mail Midlife has a way of bringing things to a head. There comes a day when what you’ve been tolerating, ignoring or holding together just isn’t possible anymore. THAT DAY is a podcast where midlife Australian women share the day everything changed and what came after. Some stories will shock you, others might make you cry, but all reveal the courage it takes to start again. Hosted by...