This is My Silver Lining

This Mother’s Day, we celebrate a form of motherhood grounded in boldness, agency, and unwavering love, the path of the single mother by choice. In this powerful episode of This is My Silver Lining , Leslie Stone shares how one emotional moment at her niece’s Bat Mitzvah triggered a life-changing decision: to stop waiting for the traditional path and choose motherhood on her own terms. Leslie, a f...

When playwright, author, and performer Susan Lieu was just 11 years old, her mother died after undergoing what should have been a routine tummy tuck. Her family never talked about it.  The trauma, silence, and injustice was a hard-edged shadow for Susan.  Her family’s silence only reinforced her determination to find answers. Years later, Susan embarked on a courageous journey to make sense of the...

Hard work alone won’t get you ahead—your success depends on how well you navigate workplace dynamics and communicate with decision-makers. That’s where Managing Up comes in. In this episode of This Is My Silver Lining , I sit down with Melody Wilding, executive coach and bestselling author of Managing Up: How to Get What You Need from the People in Charge , to break down the essential skills for b...

Martha Underwood discusses the essential role of end-of-life planning and the emotional complexities it entails, sharing the inspiration behind her digital vault service, Prismm. She reflects on her family's immigrant background and how resilience, risk-taking, and a commitment to service shaped her approach to building a platform that helps families organize important documents and informati...

Welcome to a brand-new season of This is My Silver Lining !  As we step into the new year, host Ingrid Busson-Hall reflects on the journey of creating this podcast, its mission to inspire hope and resilience, and the exciting plans ahead. This season will feature more extraordinary stories of courage, kindness, and gratitude—reminders that even in life’s toughest moments, there’s always a silver l...

In this thought-provoking episode of This is My Silver Lining , I sit down with Dan Kowalski, founder of Plan A Thinking and author of W.I.S.E. Choices at Work: Go From Doubting to DECISIVE When the Clock is Ticking . Dan's mission is to empower individuals and teams to make better decisions through deliberate and disciplined thinking. From his humble beginnings to navigating career transitio...

In this inspiring episode, we speak with Bill Burke, founder of the Optimism Institute and host of the Bluesky podcast, about the powerful link between optimism and gratitude. Bill shares his perspectives on how life’s toughest challenges ultimately shape us into better, more empathetic people, and how being grateful for these experiences opens us up to new relationships and greater possibilities...

In this heartfelt conversation, InsideWink co-creators and co-hosts Jean Trebek, widow of Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek, and actress, Alison Martin, explore the transformative power of friendship, everyday miracles, grief, and compassion. Jean reflects on her journey of loss and resilience, sharing deeply personal experiences of losing her brother at a young age, overcoming an eating disorder, and ca...

When faced with a breast cancer diagnosis, treatment recommendations, and reconstruction options, Becky Johnson was unequivocal: she wanted the cancer out, and she wanted to minimize the need for additional surgeries.  She opted for an aesthetic flat closure after her double mastectomy.  She never expected that this decision would take her from the world of real estate to creating a whole new line...

Amiel Handelsman opens up about his personal experience of loss and grief and how he found healing power in his discovery of positive psychology.  Amiel discusses the importance of acknowledging and expressing grief, particularly for men and removing the taboos. He shares his experience of losing his first child in the hospital after a preterm live birth and the feelings of isolation that were com...

Nik Venios, founder of The Ideas Agency, shares his journey of resilience and creativity.  When Nik lost his mother to breast cancer at age eight it made him an outlier.  The transformational impact of her death wasn’t all negative, he says.  It provided him the the ability to always look at problems from a range of perspectives. Nik discusses his early career, how he discovered design thinking, a...

Heather shares her experience of losing Jake, her four-year-old son, after a still undiagnosed illness that caused constant seizures.  Heather emphasizes the importance of breaking the taboo on grief and finding the light in difficult situations.   She and her husband Brian started Jake's Help From Heaven, a nonprofit organization to provide support for individuals and families confronted wit...

Mike knew he wanted to be a professional golfer when he was five years old.  He talks to us about how he made his big dream come true as a golf pro.  We explore how he and his business partner, Andy Plummer, created the Stack & Tilt System of golf instruction through intense study and data analysis long before artificial intelligence was a thing. Mike tells us about the controversial Golf Dige...

Just in time for Spring Break and with a special nod to National Optimism Month, we're thrilled to bring you this inspirational interview with Travel Expert, Lindsey Epperly, the CEO of JetSet World Travel.  Lindsey shares some of her most difficult challenges as an entrepreneur in the travel industry during a global pandemic.  She also talks to us openly about how an unexpected health scare...

The daughter of immigrant parents, Sabrina was the consummate high achiever growing up.  An Ivy Leaguer with her sights on law school, she did a summer internship at a prestigious firm that changed her plans.  She took a role as a fixed income analyst on Wall Street.  She was young and curious; she was great at her job.  By all measures, Sabrina was a success, but she wanted more from life.   As s...

Jamil Simon is a documentary filmmaker, development worker, peace activist and lifelong adventurer.  Over the course of multiple capacity building projects across sub saharan Africa, the Middle East, and beyond, Jamil gained insights into the deep challenges associated with building and maintaining lasting peace in several conflict-ravaged areas.  He witnessed firsthand that signing peace agreemen...

For Meredith Tapper, boxing is as much about patience and persistence as it is about landing the perfect punch.  Meredith is a 38-year-old lawyer from Winnipeg, Manitoba who works on Wall Street.  She’s a big thinker driven by intellectual challenge who gets things done.  She is also a risk taker who won't hesitate to take a solo trip to Southeast Asia or some other far-flung destination.  In...

When she was just seven years old Erin Dionne knew she wanted to be an author.  She took all the right steps - she majored in English at Boston College, she earned a Masters in Fine Arts in Creative Writing at Emerson College in Boston, and set her sights on writing the great American novel.  But a chance opportunity to take a class in children’s literature ignited a new creative spark. Today, Eri...

Just off the coast of Portland, Maine, in the Casco Bay lies Great Diamond Island, the home of Crown Jewel, a unique dining hotspot where you are sure to make new friends and memories while you delight in the chef’s creative twists on seafood standards and truly smashing cocktails.  A 20-minute ferry or water taxi ride will get you there, but you’ll definitely need a reservation.  This gem is open...

For Bram Zeigler, an economist and unapologetic capitalist, changing the narrative on poverty starts with dignity and self-determination.  In 2021, Bram founded Capitalists for Shared Income (C4si).  Inspired by the work of Milton Friedman, who advocated for a negative income tax in the late 1960s, C4si offers an innovative approach to address poverty and income inequality.  Through one-time debit...

How do we teach students about civics and generate excitement around civic engagement in the 21st century?  Like our ever-evolving American experiment, we try new tools.  iCivics leverages a suite of interactive video games that put students at the center of the educational action.  By the time Justice O’Connor retired from the Supreme Court, she had grown increasingly concerned about the lack of...

In this final installment of our series highlighting stories of the achievements and challenges faced by some of the most distinguished women judges in our history, we speak with former Chief Justice Peggy Quince of the Florida Supreme Court, who is featured in the ABA’s recently published Her Honor - Stories of Challenge and Triumph from Women Judges , edited by  Lauren Rikleen. Raised by a singl...

Nestled in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies in southern Alberta lies the small town of Pincher Creek.  With a population of just under 4,000, Pincher Creek has the distinction of being the “Wind Capital of Canada.”  It is perhaps better known as the birthplace and hometown of the Right Honorable Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, the longest serving Chief Justice of Canada’s Supreme Court. Des...

Last Friday, This is My Silver Lining lost a dear friend.  Kevin Sousa lost his battle with skin cancer, which had suddenly and aggressively metastasized to his brain.  He passed away in his beloved Hermosa Beach, California, with his wife Patti by his side.   Kevin was a kind soul with an unshakeable effervescence for life.  By day, he worked as a psychotherapist, counselor, and mentor, taking th...

This episode contains content related to suicide that may be triggering to some listeners.     May is Mental Health Awareness Month.  If you or someone you know is in distress, please dial 988 in the United States for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, a suicide prevention network of over 200+ crisis centers that provides 24/7 service to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress.  Calls to 9...