Unabridged You

Many people believe their life isn’t interesting enough to be written down. They assume that stories belong to famous people, public figures, or those who have achieved something extraordinary.  But what if the stories of everyday lives are just as powerful—perhaps even more so?  In this episode of Unabridged You , Julie speaks with biographer, ghostwriter, and journalist Joy Persaud, founder of t...

In this episode of Unabridged You , Julie sits down with UK-based breathwork facilitator, trainer and founder of Breathguru, Alan Dolan to explore the depth and integrity of breathwork.  Breathwork has been mentioned by several guests on this podcast as a powerful part of their journey toward becoming more authentic and unabridged. In this conversation, we go deeper.  Alan shares how he first came...

This episode is a table of contents for Season Three to Date. The links for the similar episodes for Season One and Season Two are as follows Season One: An Update, A conclusion and a Plan (7min)  https://www.buzzsprout.com/2271523/episodes/14302181 Season Two: Season Two Wrap-up (6min) https://www.buzzsprout.com/2271523/episodes/15331397 If you would like to connect with Unabridged You, you can d...

We open this episode with our guest's thoughtful words — a reminder that pain is never just physical, and never just medical:  “You can’t separate the social aspect of being human from the personal experience of pain because it touches on all of those sides of ourselves… Pain is such a complex phenomenon.” Laura is a pain clinician and educator who approaches pain through a whole-person lens....

In this powerful follow-up episode, Alicia returns to share her personal story — a story marked by dark chapters, deep resilience, and a fierce commitment to choosing joy. Building on the themes introduced in the previous conversation, Alicia opens up about navigating neurodivergence, assault, life-threatening illness, unsafe relationships, and the complexities of becoming a mum. Through it all, s...

Twenty-five years after their last conversation, Julie reconnects with an old classmate, whose story of reconnecting to her a Māori cultural roots and understandings of matakite offers a powerful lens on identity and belonging. In this episode, they explore what it means to search for your place after growing up in a world shaped by The Machine — the social, religious, and colonial pressures that...

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to step away from the noise of daily life and experience a silent retreat? To remove all distractions and responsibilities and simply be with yourself?  Earlier this year, I attended an 8-day Vipassana meditation retreat — a profound journey into silence and self-observation. In this episode of Unabridged You , I’m joined by our teacher, mentor, and gui...

In the previous episode we spoke with Edward about Resilience, Parenting, Happiness and Values.  We shared a formula for happiness:  When what you personally feel, think, say and do are in harmony.  All the ideas discussed here were more directed toward the individual and their growth. In this episode, Edward joins us again, and we take the conversation from that focus on the individual to more of...

What if we treated Resilience like a muscle and realised it is something we need to help our kids strengthen? In this episode, Edward Haarmans, a coach, consultant, keynote speaker and parent among many other roles, joins me to share their story of understanding resilience from the perspective of a parent. Together we explore the ideas of Resilience, Happiness and Values and how they help us make...

What does it mean to look for the answer ? When I turned 42, I couldn’t help but wonder if this was the year it would all click — the age where everything made sense. After all, 42 is famously “the answer to life, the universe, and everything” in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. But as I reflect back, I found something very different. Not one neat answer, but many small lessons, questions, an...

What does it take to turn rock bottom into a turning point? For Melanie Wert, online personal trainer and life coach, the answer was realizing that no one else could make lasting changes for her — she had to do it herself.  In this conversation, Melanie shares her story of transformation and how she now helps others bring together physical and mental health to support growth. She talks about:  Wha...

In this episode, Elsa joins us via zoom from France.  Else begins by sharing her story about how this chapter of her life, where she is becoming unabridged, starts with the death of her father.  We go on to have an 'emotionally naked' conversation and talk about all sorts from death to conversations with strangers, Gestalt therapy to philosophies on living and so much more!   If you woul...

Ronni was the first ever guest on Unabridged You, and he is back in this episode to share his conversation and storytelling skills with us and help me explore my thoughts about the concept of Unabridged. This is Episode 30.   As the podcast has progressed so has my thinking.  Together Ronni and I peel back the layers (like onions), talk about our favorite canned food and wonder: does being unabrid...

In this episode our guest is Arjen Barel: storytelling coach and director of the Storytelling Centre in Amsterdam. Arjen shares part of his story as well as his experience with story to weave together a potent understanding of story and the power of storytelling in contemporary society.  Among other topics he considers story and resilience and demonstrates how story can be seen in action, in the i...

As Season Three is about to begin next week this is a wee reminder of how we got here and what Unabridged You is all about. Remember to like, follow and share Unabridged You wherever you feel comfortable, that way you will be kept up to date with the plans. And these are the links to follow along with Unabridged You Our new Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/UnabridgedYou Instagram: https://w...

This episode is a summary of the episodes from this season and shares a little about the podcast plans for the future. We will be back for Season Three but can't give a re-start date just yet. Remember to like, follow and share Unabridged You wherever you feel comfortable, that way you will be kept up to date with the plans. And these are the links to follow along with Unabridged You  Our new...

In this episode Margie Breault shares her story which starts with a disconnect from self, limiting beliefs and self destructive behavior.  Then she is introduced to energy medicine and finds a new path. Margie takes time to speak about organizational psychology, communication, meeting people where they are and the Natural Laws. This episode is full and overflowing with more ideas and examples of a...

In this episode Laura Rubin shares her story and her guidance on living a life you design and choose as opposed to floating along with the current. After years of following society’s check boxes, Laura found herself trapped in a cycle of hustle and burnout.  But a pivotal midlife moment led to a profound realisation:  She was merely surviving on autopilot, not truly living.  Determined to align he...

In this episode, Vanessa, an integrative child and adolescent psychotherapist shares her story and motivation for the Life Skills for Mental Health and Wellbeing programs she has developed for primary schools. She shares science, research and practical steps to help our kids learn to manage their wellbeing from school age.   This is the link to Vanessa's information: www.lighteducationtrainin...

In this episode Dawn, nurse practitioner, creative artist, author and host of the podcast Catch Some Soulshine shares her story and how creativity can light a path to help your soul shine when life's darkest moments hit. Dawn's website with all her information including the link to her podcast and the Journal she talks about can be found through this link. https://dawnreneebova.com/ Plea...

This episode summarizes the common four pathways to becoming unabridged that guests have spoken on in their episodes. These pathways are Story Physical Movement Conscious Thought Creativity I also share the exercise of blackout poetry that I have been practicing for the last 99 days. If you are curious to check out the Tuesday Orange project search @tuesdayorange on Instagram or click this link: h...

In this episode our guest is New Zealander Mason Ludlow, author of the recently released book called Becoming Diamond. Here we discuss the core of his book and go into detail on some of the key concepts of Wisdom, Jungian thought and dream analysis, specializing in life as compared to being a generalist and other topics designed to help the reader/listener comprehend the idea of becoming diamond a...

In this episode, our guest Hazel joins us via zoom from Ireland.  Hazel begins her story by reminding us of the fairytale character Rumpelstiltskin and how he teaches us what power there is in naming a thing.  In this episode the named things that are addressed include acknowledging histories of trauma and experiences such as abuse, gaslighting, narcissism and the lived experience of being a femal...

Welcome back to Unabridged You. Our guest this week is Rachel Fowler who talkes about becoming Grief Literate and her journey to her understandings.  She speaks of her award winning short film titles STILLNESS and her soon to be created Somewhere Very Near.  In this episode with Rachel we cover a lot from grief to international travel, AI and mixed tapes.  If you would like to contact Rachel direc...

In this episode UK woman Lucinda Roberts shares her lived experience of receiving the diagnosis of an incurable autoimmune disease at 17.  She shares the story of her health journey and it has been a journey full of ups and downs and twists and turns including the realization of her mortality, her hedonist phase, being in liver failure and her hope for the future by being an organ donor recipient...