Warrior Words | Stories of Hope | Finding Beauty After Battles & Thriving After Surviving Trauma

Welcome to Episode 54 of the Warrior Words podcast!   "Celebrate Good Times..." (Cue Kool & The Gang!) You're welcome. Now you'll be singing it all day! "Celebrate Life!" Today's episode is a celebratory one! We are talking all things birthdays and anniversaries (with a special announcement thrown in to celebrate!). Even though you may be walking through storms, I want to give you permission -...

Welcome to Episode 53 of the Warrior Words podcast!   We are a week into the new year - have you abandoned your resolutions yet? I've never been much for resolutions, but I do try to set goals. In this episode, I share my approach to looking back and looking forward. One of the things I look forward to is sharing 2025 with you - bringing stories of hope and lots of beauty to the podcast world. I h...

Welcome to Episode 52 of the Warrior Words podcast!   We talk a lot about community, and that's what this week's guest kept searching for. However, her method of finding that community had a detrimental impact on her health and relationships. Join Christy Walker and me as we discuss her path to sobriety and the missteps she made along the way. Hear how God was with her the whole time, gently invit...

Welcome to Episode 51 of the Warrior Words podcast!   This episode is my Christmas message, and I share some things that may help, or at least provoke thought, as you navigate this season of profound peace, love, and joy when, perhaps, those are not the feelings you are experiencing. Know that you are seen and loved. Period. Whatever you are walking through right now, no matter your situation, I s...

Welcome to Episode 50 of the Warrior Words podcast!   It's the holiday season, and the world tells us we should be happy and joyful, busy with an excess of merriment. However, that's not reality. Last week, we heard about the loss of parents, and this week, we hear about a mother who lost her son. Tune in to find out how Teresa responded, especially regarding her relationship with God, and what sh...

Welcome to Episode 49 of the Warrior Words podcast!   Strike one. Strike two. Strike three. What comes next? You're out, right? Well, not for this week's guest!  Nichole was hit with three strikes in approximately six months, as the mother of six young children. Adding a large financial crisis on top of the deaths of two significant people in her life was not the way she wanted to end 2019 and beg...

Welcome to Episode 48 of the Warrior Words podcast!   We talk about voice a lot on this podcast - finding your voice, using your words. But what if cancer literally takes part of your body that helps you speak? Join Shawn and me as we discuss the voice cancer that tried to steal and how she's able to speak with us today. But more importantly, listen in to learn how she conquered fear and anxiety o...

Welcome to Episode 47 of the Warrior Words podcast!   Cancer is a disease of older people, right? Sadly, this is not true. Children, teens, and young adults are being diagnosed more and more. What do you do if you're the only one you know who is undergoing cancer treatment as a young adult with a baby at home? There are no support groups. There's no one to contact who is currently in treatment or...

Welcome to Episode 46 of the Warrior Words podcast!   Pregnancy is something women have been experiencing since the beginning of time. Some women have phenomenal experiences, and others' experiences can be downright horrendous. Sadly, there are many reasons for this. In this week's episode, I speak with Brigid, who has had five different experiences - one of which literally tore her up inside. And...

Welcome to Episode 45 of the Warrior Words podcast!   November is typically associated with gratitude (and maybe football and family feasting!). To that end, I wanted to share some thoughts on gratitude, my personal experiences of gratitude while walking through storms, and ways you can consider gratitude as you walk through your own storms.   Donate to the Star of the Sea Guild through our fiscal...

Welcome to Episode 44 of the Warrior Words podcast!   Being a single mom is hard. Being the single mom of five boys is harder. I'm pretty sure we've all heard about the concept of free will, but just in case, it's the gift from God that allows us to make our own decisions. I used the word 'gift' intentionally because sometimes - usually when someone doesn't behave the way we want them to behave -...

Welcome to Episode 43 of the Warrior Words podcast!   October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month AND Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I WAS a victim of both and now I am a SURVIVOR. I am dedicating these five episodes in October to: #StompOutBreastCancer and #StompOutDomesticViolence   It's the last Tuesday of October! And our October Awareness Series is ending in a powerful way!   My guest, Fitz,...

Welcome to Episode 42 of the Warrior Words podcast!   October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month AND Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I WAS a victim of both and now I am a SURVIVOR. I am dedicating these five episodes in October to: #StompOutBreastCancer and #StompOutDomesticViolence   It's the 4th week of October! In this week's Awareness episode, my conversation is with a woman who has become a...

Welcome to Episode 41 of the Warrior Words podcast!   October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month AND Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I WAS a victim of both and now I am a SURVIVOR. I am dedicating these five episodes in October to: #StompOutBreastCancer and #StompOutDomesticViolence   This week, we're talking about a long-term domestic violence relationship and how to get out of it. My guest, Mel...

Welcome to Episode 40 of the Warrior Words podcast!   October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month AND Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I WAS a victim of both and now I am a SURVIVOR. I am dedicating these five episodes in October to: #StompOutBreastCancer and #StompOutDomesticViolence   This week, Gillian Lichota generously shared her incredible story of surviving breast cancer, the lessons she lea...

Welcome to Episode 39 of the Warrior Words podcast!   October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month AND Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I WAS a victim of both and now I am a SURVIVOR. I am dedicating these five episodes in October to: #StompOutBreastCancer and #StompOutDomesticViolence In this episode, I share some sobering statistics about both of these traumas, plus a few things that are in our co...

Welcome to Episode 38 of the Warrior Words podcast!   Tanya Harris Roundy is an author, teacher, singer, actress, director, and more! In her life, she has experienced many losses and experiences of bullying - some in her childhood and others in her adult life. Trauma is a reality we all experience, not just once, but multiple times. The possibility of trauma doesn't just stop when we've hit a cert...

Welcome to Episode 37 of the Warrior Words podcast!   Nick Prefontaine's parents were told that he would never walk or talk again. Well, he's a guest on the podcast, so at least half of that is not true. And I'm going to let him reveal in his own words what happened to the other half of that prognosis. Yes, sometimes doctors get it wrong. They are human, and all humans make mistakes. But sometimes...

Welcome to Episode 36 of the Warrior Words podcast!   This week, I'm acknowledging that we all can experience trauma through everyday occurrences. These traumas can cause us to feel some of the same ways and ask some of the same questions as those more intense traumas.   Donate to the Star of the Sea Guild through our fiscal sponsor! https://raisedonors.com/xaviermissionfund/star-of-the-sea-guild...

Welcome to Episode 35 of the Warrior Words podcast!   In this episode, I am airing an interview conducted by Dr. Carron Silva on the Forgiveness is For YOU podcast with yours truly!   We discussed my forgiveness journey as it pertained to my marriage. She also asked me about my feelings of bitterness and resentment. I'm sure it is not surprising that these feelings, when we hold onto them, can imp...

Welcome to Episode 34 of the Warrior Words podcast!   This is Part Two of a 2-part series. Here is Part One . In Part Two, Lauren Burns and I discuss what her life was like once she returned to her family in the United States; including the extreme measures they had to take. We also talk a bit about the made-for-TV movie - Desperate Rescue - that was released about her experience. Lauren also shar...

Welcome to Episode 33 of the Warrior Words podcast!   This is Part One of a 2-part series. In this episode, my guest, Lauren Burns, and I talk about her abduction by a family member. And if that wasn't scary enough for a child, she was taken out of the country where she was born and placed into an entirely new culture where things were very different. Lauren shares about the many people impacted b...

Welcome to Episode 32 of the Warrior Words podcast!   Lauren's story is difficult and wonderful, fearful and hope-filled, and full of battles and surrender. She shares how she walked through one of the most horrendous times in her life while simultaneously trying to figure out how to enjoy one of the most blessed.   Learn more about Lauren: Website: https://www.walkingbravecounseling.org/ TikTok:...

Welcome to Episode 31 of the Warrior Words podcast!   NOTE: I misstated the title of Tasha's book in my conclusion. The correct title is "Miss Me, Always" - please forgive me, Tasha. This story is one of strength and persistence. But it is also one of darkness, advocating for oneself, and love. Tasha is generous with her story, which contains many chapters of sadness and frustration. But as she su...

Welcome to Episode 30 of the Warrior Words podcast!   Have you ever struggled with your weight? What about body image? And has either negatively impacted you and your life? My guest, Brandice, began this struggle at age 14, and I'm sure many of us can relate in some way.   What would you have done - or maybe, what did you do - when faced with a condition as a requirement to belong to a specific gr...