The Part We Don’t Talk About: Reflections and Stories We Carry

Every season leaves us with a story. The question is: which one will you carry into the next chapter? This reflection explores how the meaning we assign to our experiences shapes who we become—and why every season leaves us with more than memories.

We spend so much time wondering if we've made the right decision that we don't always notice what the decision has already changed within us. In this episode, I reflect on the quiet ways change reshapes our identity, why we can't always go back to who we used to be, and how growth often happens long before we're ready to acknowledge it. Because sometimes the biggest transformation isn't around you...

This story picks up where the last one left off. On the outside, life felt normal again. But internally, the questions only got louder. This is the next chapter—the conversations, the clarity, and the realization that some shifts can't be unseen.

What happens when you can no longer ignore what you've been feeling? This episode explores the quiet tension between awareness and honesty, and how naming what's changed can make it impossible to go back to what was.

A friendship that had been part of my life for years slowly began to feel different. Not because of one moment, but because of a growing awareness I wasn’t ready to acknowledge. This story explores what happens when familiarity keeps you holding on long after something has changed—and the truth you already know before you’re ready to admit it.

Sometimes we know before we admit it. In this episode, we talk about the feelings we explain away, the comfort of familiarity, and why discomfort isn’t always something to avoid—it may be trying to tell us something

People often see the choice and the result. They see that I left my job. They see where I ended up. What they don’t see are the six months in between. The uncertainty. The interviews that led nowhere. The daily decision to trust God when I couldn’t see what was next. In this first Story We Carry, I share the season that taught me what it really means to live in the in-between—and how some of life’...

What happens when one chapter ends, but the next hasn’t begun? This episode explores the uncomfortable, uncertain space between letting go of what was and discovering what’s next. If you’ve ever felt stuck in the middle of a transition, this conversation is for you.

Welcome to The Part We Don’t Talk About. In this trailer, host Shelley Brage-Merida shares the story behind the podcast and the conversations that inspired it. From change and grief to uncertainty and growth, this podcast explores the experiences we often carry quietly but rarely discuss openly. If you’ve ever found yourself between what was and what’s next, navigating a transition, or learning to...