The Resilience Factor with Adrienne Richardson

In this episode of The Resilience Factor Podcast, I’m joined by Amy Post. Nearly a decade ago, life for Amy, her husband and 2 kids was going well. But her world was turned upside down when her daughter was diagnosed with malignant liver cancer at just 3 years old. She took on the job of becoming an advocate for her daughter’s treatment as she underwent a liver transplant, several rounds of chemot...

Shana Bresnahan grew up in Brentwood, TN just outside of Nashville. From the outside looking in, her family was perfect. They were known very well in their small community, she was successful in school, top of her class and cheer captain. But her world was turned upside down in 8th grade when her father was incarcerated. Her family was no longer loved and welcomed by her community, her teachers tu...

In 2013, Cari Kenzie was a runner in the Boston Marathon. She had just completed the marathon when 2 bombs went off near her, which took the lives of 3 people and left more than 260 injured.  She believed she walked away uninjured externally, but the invisible impact of this traumatic event turned into Epstein-Barr, Lyme disease, seizures and several other unexpected illnesses. It would take...

Growing up Justin was an athletic, but overweight kid who had an immense joy and love for sports.  As he entered his teenage years and started training for hockey, he began losing weight and received a lot of applause and recognition from his peers, instead of the usual criticism and bullying he had been experiencing.  These positive affirmations about his appearance led Justin to a near...

You may know Kim Vargas as the wife of Pete Vargas, owner of Advance Your Reach. We have become close friends over the last couple of years and I knew I wanted to share her unbelievable story on the show. This episode is going to feel a little different than previous episodes - it is the most intimate conversation I’ve had so far.  Despite the unbelievable hardships and challenges Kim has fac...

Kelly Ruta has been a licensed therapist for over two decades and although she has the skills to manage many of the challenging things we face in life, nothing could have prepared her for the hardship she has faced over the past 4 years.  In 2020, Kelly got Covid and believed that after a few weeks of quarantine and some over-the-counter medications she would be back to normal. She never imag...

In this episode I’m joined by entrepreneur, mentor and speaker, Ashley Pereira.  Ashley’s journey in healing her complex PTSD from her childhood trauma is a beautiful story of redemption and faith.  Like many of us, it wasn’t until adulthood that she started to discover the true weight of the pain and trauma she was carrying and how it affected her personal relationships and self-worth.&...

Police Officers witness the worst of humanity every day. They hardly have time to process some of the horrific things they’ve just seen before they’re off to their next call. Over time, in order to cope with the evil they interact with, they shove down the trauma deep inside and never talk about it. In fact, talking about it isn’t safe, because they could lose their jobs if their peers or boss thi...

Jenny has a long list of huge accomplishments like being a multi #1 international bestselling author, actor, voiceover artist, and comedian as well as having a Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy, and a long list of other professional certifications. But behind the scenes of this impressive list is a story of breast cancer, childhood neglect and sexual abuse, trauma from immigrating to the US...

In 1992 Ron DeHaas lost his wife and two young children in a fiery car accident. Rather than him going into a deep depression and giving up hope of ever experiencing joy again, he created a business that saves marriages and families… and has helped over 300,000 men and women change their lives. He is the founder of Covenant Eyes Inc - and internet accountability software.  This episode is for...

After more than two decades of marriage, Jill’s world was torn apart when she discovered her husband was having an affair.  Through prayer, faith, and several years of counseling, Jill and her husband were able to reconcile and find their way back to each other. Now, they are committed to helping other struggling couples save their marriages.  In this episode of The Resilience Factor, Ji...

From a very young age, Celeste and her family were homeless while she and her siblings endured an abusive upbringing from their stepfathers.  Later in life she reached a point where she no longer desired to go on and was considering suicide. But inside, a tiny little spark of hope whispered to her that her future was worth living for.  Over the years, she has learned that no matter the o...

Dean was just 12 years old when his mother was murdered by his stepfather. Inside he was hurting and angry… outside he acted like everything was fine. Until he went to college, and the weight of all his anger caused him to turn to drugs and alcohol. It wasn’t until Dean came face to face with his mom’s killer that everything turned around. If you’ve ever been hurt by someone… and you just don’t kn...

Haley Goodwill had a great life. She had a successful career working with horses… a dream come true. AND, she even met and married the man of her dreams. She was living a real life fairytale. But things began to change when her husband became addicted to opioids and alcohol and became abusive. When Haley tried to get out of the situation, things got even worse. She lost her business, her marriage,...

Marly spent much of her childhood as a homeless immigrant in America. Her family struggled to find work and keep a stable roof over their head… and food was quite scarce. So how’s it possible that this young girl would go on to completely change America’s health system?  The answer may surprise you… This episode of The Resilience Factor is filled with nuggets of fatherly wisdom… a never-give-...

Travis Ala was an off-duty police officer involved in an accident that killed 3 people (2 teenagers and a father) when his car collided with theirs.  This highly decorated officer and military veteran went from being seen as a hero in his community… to facing harsh criticism and attacks from the community and online. He struggled with deep depression after he walked away from the accident uni...

Lea is a mom of 5 children who had her whole world turned upside down during a 3-year period of tragedy after tragedy after tragedy. She was still hurting from the pain of one loss, when another one would hit. In this episode Lea shares how she was able to keep going day-by-day during a time where nothing seemed to be going right. From losing her father to cancer, a house fire, a child addicted to...

Jessye’s story started when she and her husband were approached by her sister-inlaw and her husband with a simple question: Will you look after our kids if anything happens to us? They never imagined that years later, a homicide/suicide event would rob two children of their parents, tear two families apart, create chaos within their small town and test their faith in God.  Searching for answe...

The Resilience Factor podcast is an intimate encounter with vulnerability – a raw, behind-the-scenes look into the trials and tribulations that most people often hide deep inside. On this show, we peel back the layers to reveal unfiltered stories of grit and determination, stumbles and setbacks, and stories that celebrate the courage it takes to face adversity head-on. Our guests bare their souls,...