REWiRED - A Memoir Podcast

Standing on a freezing Portland curb in January with a cardboard box of belongings and a dead car, everything changed. In this video episode, we explore the sharp, terrifying transition from corporate structures of security to the freedom of building a life entirely from scratch. From a frantic, winter move to the Nampa foothills to navigating a physical body healing from consecutive emergency C-s...

What happens when you carry a grief the world gives you no ritual to mourn? In this episode, we step directly into the raw, unspoken realities of maternal loss, silent miscarriages, and the heavy fog of postpartum depression. We look at the specific shame women carry when their bodies cannot finish the oldest, most automatic work there is, and why we so often mistake this silent, solitary enduranc...

As an independent contractor in America I had absolutely no paid leave. At four weeks postpartum I was back in a ballroom running events and the honest truth is that work was a relief. I knew exactly how to fix problems on a show floor but I would blank out my entire morning commute because I felt completely lost at home. I was leaking milk through my shirts during client meetings and calculating...

Nobody hands you a drawing or a call sheet for having a baby. I spent my career building shows from detailed schematics and suddenly I was climbing an eight-step ladder to hang a leko at thirty weeks pregnant with no backup plan but my own instincts. I talk through the thirty-six hours of labor that ended in an emergency c-section. My son Apollo was born screaming in outrage but I spent the next f...

The room was half-built when I walked up to the registration desk to shake my client's hand. Cables were still being run across the floor of the Governor Hotel. The banquet team was setting water glasses down the long tables. She looked at me and refused to take my hand. "You're a woman, and you speak with an accent," she said. "What do you know about AV?". Every late l...

What does it take to make a moment of national power or a glamorous Hollywood event look completely effortless? In this episode of the Rewired journey, we are walking past the beautiful ballrooms and into the windowless back offices where the real work happens. We explore the unseen choreography of live events and the creation of the "Technical Event Planner" role, a job built on reading...

What is the true cost of staying authentic to who you are? This video episode unpacks the profound themes of sacrifice, professional resilience, and genuine belonging. We break down the author's journey of defying rigid cultural expectations, even at a steep financial and social cost, to create a wedding day that truly reflected her partnership rather than community traditions. We also examine...

In this episode, we explore the deeply personal journey of rebuilding your life and identity in a new environment. Drawing from Chapter 7 of REWIRED , we follow the author's transition from the bustling event production world of Los Angeles to the rainy, challenging landscape of Portland. We discuss the beauty of finding "sisters by choice" when blood relatives are an ocean away, and...

In this episode of REWiRED , we explore the profound impact of hands-on leadership and deep technical knowledge in the high-stakes world of live AV production. The episode follows a Romanian immigrant navigating a male-dominated industry under the quiet, commanding guidance of her mentor, Ian. Long before the sun came up over Southern California, Ian would translate complex AV rigging plans—vetted...

The Hidden Grit of Hollywood Glamour In this episode of REWiRED , we pull back the curtain on the A-list fashion world of Los Angeles to reveal the relentless, unseen work that makes the magic happen. We follow the journey of a 5'2" Romanian immigrant navigating the heavily male-dominated AV production industry. While audiences marvel at the flawless lighting and celebrity-filled front ro...

In this episode of the REWiRED memoir podcast, we dive into the profound metaphor of "The Audio Engineering of Emotion" from Chapter Five. Following her move to California, the author discovers that while relocating fosters independence and forces a pivot toward deep self-reliance—tested through early crises like an engine fire in Joshua Tree—her internal emotional wiring remains tied to...

This episode of the REWiRED memoir podcast explores a profound realization from Chapter Five: physical distance and professional success do not automatically heal deeply ingrained emotional patterns. After moving to California to seek reinvention and the freedom to "program [her] own destiny", the author discovers that her internal emotional templates remain largely unchanged. The episode delves i...

“The Recipe for Endurance: From Raw Survival to Deliberate Strength” is a video overview that explores how childhood lessons in scarcity and the immense physical and mental toll of displacement shaped a lasting philosophy of resilience. The video details the internal journey from fear to deliberate strength, focusing on several foundational life lessons: Dismantling Bias: The process of recognizin...

"The Brutal Reality of One Way Tickets" is an audio deep-dive that explores the unpredictable and costly lessons of leaving everything behind to start over in a new country . The episode unpacks the initial shock of arriving in America with a meticulously saved $150, only to watch forty percent of it instantly vanish during a single $60 limo ride. It also delves into navigating intense culture sho...

In Chapter Three of my memoir  REWiRED , titled  “The Silent Symphony of Hearts,”  I take you inside the grey-carpeted control room of a Romanian radio station. For a seventeen-year-old girl seeking refuge from a chaotic household, it was a sanctuary of “active” and “alive” silence. But it also became the setting for a dangerous entanglement that would take me decades to untangle. To accompany thi...

In the 2nd chapter, titled  “The Formative Years,”  I take you back to my beginnings in a communist Romanian hospital in 1982, a world built on stark contradictions where survival demanded both strength and subtlety. I share the early moments that defined my character, from attempting to change my infant sister’s diaper at just two years old while my mother searched for rationed bread, to managing...

“Becoming Signal”  is an excerpt from Chapter 1 of REWiRED and it's a metaphor used in the memoir to describe the profound process of personal transformation, emotional healing, and finding one’s authentic voice after experiencing life’s disruptions. The concept of “Becoming Signal” centers on several key themes: Transformation Disguised as Disaster:  The collapse of a carefully maintained profess...

In this video overview of the first chapter, we explore  the profound lessons of growing up as the eldest of ten children in a deeply religious family in communist Romania . Guided by the metaphor of a towering oak tree that served as a childhood compass, we delve into a powerful story of navigating the chaos of a crowded home and the state-engineered hunger of the  Rational Eating Programme . Thi...

REWiRED: Notes From My Memoir Writing Journey - I’m starting a new series of small video updates here on Spotify as I work toward the release of my upcoming memoir, REWiRED: Take Back Control and Unlock Your Power: A Life of Love, Loss, Legacy . ⁠⁠https://ancaplatontrifan.me/memoir/⁠⁠ This series is where I’ll share behind-the-scenes reflections from the writing process, chapter themes, personal s...

REWiRED: Notes From My Memoir Writing Journey - I’m starting a new series of small video updates here on Spotify as I work toward the release of my upcoming memoir, REWiRED: Take Back Control and Unlock Your Power: A Life of Love, Loss, Legacy . ⁠https://ancaplatontrifan.me/memoir/⁠ This series is where I’ll share behind-the-scenes reflections from the writing process, chapter themes, personal sto...