The Story Behind Her Success

People will tell you everything you need to know.  You just need to LISTEN to what they are saying. -Karen Marinella Hall Out of the blue, I got an email from a fan of the show about this week’s guest…and I cannot wait for you to meet her.   Many news anchors are beautiful.  They can walk the walk and talk the talk, but there’s something missing behind the smile.  That’s not the case for Karen Mar...

When something bad happens to you, how do you grieve it without getting stuck in suffering? -Halley Elwell Imagine being 11 years old when your face suddenly begins to change. Tumors form on your jaw, and the diagnosis is an incurable condition called Neurofibromatosis. This is the story of singer/songwriter Halley Elwell www.halswellmusic.com . Raised off the grid in Maine by an artist mom, she w...

It’s very easy to focus on fixing your failures.  But how do you take what is successful and keep building on that? The answer is: focus on what you do well and make it even better. -Zenobia Moochhala Meet entrepreneurial superstar Zenobia Moochalla.  Born in Mumbai, India, Zenobia came to the United States at 20 to attend Brandeis University and is one of the original co-founders of www.care.com,...

Every week, I have access to astronauts, researchers, and scientists as a NASA Solar System Ambassador, and it’s beyond a dream come true .  -Pat Monteith Pat Monteith remembers hearing John F. Kennedy tell the nation that we would send a man to the moon by the end of the 1960s.   On that day, the president’s words shaped her lifelong fascination with space.  Decades and many different careers lat...

I was in my 20s when I read the book: Breaking the Glass Ceiling, and I remember saying to myself: I’m gonna do that . -Carol Conway Bulman Carol Conway Bulman is the proud daughter of real estate legend Jack Conway, but becoming CEO and Chairman of his real estate empire wasn’t handed to her. In this up-close and personal interview, Carol shares her father’s success story as well as her own rise...

When we first moved to Nashville, we lived in a pitiful apartment, and Wynonna, Ashley, and I slept in one bed. All we had to eat was bologna and crackers . -Naomi Judd The story you are about to hear is a piece of country music history because it is the final full-length interview featuring country music superstar Naomi Judd. Sadly, Naomi took her own life on April 30, 2022, after a long history...

There is something about facing down your biggest fears that really changes you on an elemental level. -Laura DeSisto Happy 4th of July weekend, everyone! This week’s success story is a listener favorite…and perfect to listen to in the car on your way to the beach. You may have heard that it’s the 50th anniversary of the movie that made a lot of people afraid to go into the ocean at all. JAWS was...

There are no shortcuts in life. It is going to take time to find success. Do it anyway . -Christy Cashman Welcome to the story of Christy Cashman, a listener favorite on The Story Behind Her Success. This interview launched about two years ago, and when I lost my voice due to acute laryngitis, I had to put recording new shows on hold and went to my library to find the most popular shows to listen...

When I was serving in Afghanistan, it was always mission first. You have to get the “scared” out of your mind. I told myself that God put me here for a reason . -Erica Horan By popular demand, we’re reissuing a handful of our most popular interviews. Meet Boston Medflight www.bostonmedflight.org nurse and US Air Force veteran, Erica Horan. Recorded 5 years ago in a hangar at a municipal airport ju...

We all have “favorite places”, and for this week’s guest, it is the island of Nantucket.  Julie Gerstenblatt has been spending her summers there since she was just a child. Accessible by air or by ferry, Nantucket is located 30 miles off the coast of Cape Cod.  Steeped in history, Nantucket was once the whaling capital of the world, and even today, it seems frozen in time. Rooted in the story of t...

Success isn’t grades, money, or status.  It’s fulfillment, joy, and kindness that come together to allow you to live your best life . –  Colleen Esposito Welcome back to part 2 of my interview with my daughter, Colleen Esposito, co-author of Nelson’s Garden and our follow-up children’s book, Nelson’s Garden & the Free Little Flower Stand.  It’s been a joy to ask my daughter the same kind...

Getting a book published is not for the faint of heart. It’s kind of heartbreaking because you have this book you’ve poured your heart and soul into, and you’re hoping readers will love it, too.  -Colleen Esposito I’ve wanted to introduce my daughter, Colleen, to you for the longest time, and here she is!   Recorded from the window seat in her home just outside of Boston, part 1 of this interview...

They always say, you can’t choose your sister, but I would choose mine . – Linda Wong Chu If you are ever visiting the Boston area and you need a hot tip for the best Chinese food around, the family-owned Kowloon is the place to go! We’re on the road to Saugus, Massachusetts, for this episode, and you better believe there will be a takeout bag of Kowloon delishiousness beside me in the passe...

A good outfit can make you feel confident.  Uncommon Threads is a non-profit that boosts the self-esteem of low-income women through the power of clothes.  We focus on dignity and respect. -Susan Kanoff Meet Susan Kanoff, style blogger, influencer, and Founder of uncommonthreads.org . A life-long fashionista with a heart of gold, she has spent her career helping women feel better about themselves...

My daughter Dalia taught me about courage, sweetness, patience, and love. I am who I am because of her.  We were meant to be together. -Jessica Fein Welcome to part two of my interview with Jessica Fein, author of Breath Taking:  A Memoir of Family, Dreams and Broken Genes.    Jess and her husband, Rob, adopted three children from Guatemala.  When their daughter, Dalia, began exhibiting balance is...

We spent five years trying to have a baby and then decided to make the switch from baby making to family making – Jessica Fein We’re back in my cozy living room for this episode of The Story Behind Her Success. I’m learning that when you’re sitting on a comfy couch with the fire going, the time you spend together feels more like a chat between friends and less like a formal interview....

There were two flashes of white light at my feet, like quick fireworks, and then everything went black.  My brain knew that my right leg was beyond repair.  -Roseann Sdoia Materia April 15, 2013: That’s the day the bombs went off at the Boston Marathon finish line.  This is the story of an innocent bystander who lost her right leg when the second bomb went off in front of the Forum Restaurant. Ros...

We are on a mission to inspire and empower children and families to discover, imagine, and grow together.  -ErinGallagher The living room edition of the series continues with an interview with Erin Gallagher, a young mother of three who teamed up with a friend and neighbor to create the Children’s Museum of Franklin.   www.childrensmuseumfranklin.org .  What started as a dream in the summer of 202...

Being a scientist is a way of looking at the world, and asking the question ‘why’ without your own pre-conceived notions. I’ve learned that it’s also a great way of doing business . -Julia Wrin Piper How do you go from scientist to CEO? Meet Julia Wrin Piper. She’s got degrees in Molecular Biology, Neuroscience, and Evolutionary Biology from UC/Berkeley, the Salk Institute for Biologic...

The Amalfi Coast is a dream place, and when I saw it for the first time, something shifted in me.  I knew I had to live there.   -Lauren Birmingham Born into an Italian-American family of great chefs, Lauren Birmingham has an innate love of food and family.   As a child growing up in Cranston, Rhode Island, she spent hours swinging in a hammock under a cherry tree,  reading the classics.  This fas...

Family comes first & chocolate comes second! – Cheryl Salto We’re back in my cozy living room with the fireplace roaring for another edition of The Story Behind Her Success.  In the spotlight, a registered nurse and mother of two who makes chocolate treats all day long in her home kitchen, for special occasions.  Check out Cheryl Salto’s yummy chocolate delights here:   www.candyundercov...

This is a book about empowerment.  It’s about finding yourself within the rubble . -Sarah Elizabeth Sarah grew up on a dirt road in rural Maine in a farmhouse built in 1770…an idyllic childhood until it completely disappeared when her parents divorced when she was in high school and her family as she knew it, fell apart.  “ As a young woman, the image of the white picket fence became a mission for...

What’s my definition of fear?  F alse E vidence A ppearing R eal .  -Anna Sabatino aka “Anna Sab” Meet Anna Sabatino, wife, mother, life coach, driving instructor, entrepreneur, and all-around super-woman. It was Anna’s husband who nominated her as a guest on the show and she did not disappoint!  In this interview, we learn all about the long and winding road of life. For Anna, the twists and turn...

I found myself at the top of the ladder, took a deep breath, and realized that this wasn’t where I wanted to be anymore . -Jennifer Gulbrand In the spotlight, Jenn Gulbrand, a multi-talented woman who spent years following the path she thought she should be taking until, one day, she realized that her paycheck was feeding her family and not her soul. She flipped that script and is now a visionary...

Rise and reset your mind. Today is a new day to start over . -Lisa Ponte Meet Lisa Ponte. She’s on a mission to spread self-love and positive thinking through affirmation cards, positive vibe products, and her beautiful new line of Stacked with Love jewelry. www.lpvibes.com. The devoted mother of two, her career path has been one of reinvention, beginning with a 20-year career in finance and marke...