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This episode is a personal thank you to my guests and to the people listening who might need their stories right now. I move quickly through Seasons 1 and 2, sharing what each guest taught me and how those lessons changed the way I see life.

Timestamps

00:00–02:30 Why I’m doing this episode, what Seasons 1–2 meant to me, and a shout‑out to my first 50 guests.

02:30–08:00· Early guests: cancer, gratitude games, building a personal board of directors, and stuffing emotions vs. facing them.

08:00–16:00· Stoicism, therapists as humans, first responders, poetry as healing, and redefining disability and strength.

16:00–24:00· Job loss, humor in adversity, BRCA and preventative surgery, and the episode on narcissistic abuse that changed my life.

24:00–32:00 Boxing and faith, grief and working in tech, best‑friend episodes, in‑person comedy chaos, and miscarriage honesty.

32:00–40:00 · Vision loss double feature, kindness at work, parenting a blind daughter, trauma retreats, and escaping domestic abuse.

40:00–48:00 · Coma and the STEP method, prison and accountability, suicide loss and “carrying Sam’s light,” and becoming messy on purpose.

48:00–56:00· Narcissists at work, early childhood education and disability, losing 200 pounds, and building brighter futures for foster kids.

56:00–End · Faith‑based counseling, hospice musical, spiritual wake‑up calls, adoptee journeys, addiction and psychedelics, undercover police work, alcohol recovery, medical breakthroughs, survival memoirs, and young voices on mental health and resilience.

Key takeaways

Gratitude is a survival skill, not a cliché. From Margot playing the “gratitude game” in a hospital bed to others finding tiny things to thank God for, gratitude kept people alive in their darkest hours.

You need a “board of directors” for your life. Anita’s idea of trusted people who tell you the truth in hard seasons has changed how I think about support and decision‑making.

Unfelt feelings don’t disappear; they relocate. Conversations about grief, tumors, chronic pain, addiction, and nervous system trauma showed me how often the body keeps the score when we try to outrun our stories.

Victimhood and adversity are not the same thing. From Ryan’s layoff to Marines, cops, and survivors of abuse, a common thread was refusing to stay in “why me?” and instead asking “what’s my next step?"

Stoicism and faith can coexist. Guests like Brian and Parker reminded me that you can practice stoic discipline and cling to God or purpose at the same time.

Laughter really is medicine. - Episodes with Josh, Brianna, Meg, and Nick proved that comedy and chaos can sit right next to miscarriages, job loss, and parenting meltdowns.

Disability and blindness are spectrums, not boxes. Guests living with cerebral ataxia, degenerative eye disease, and vision loss expanded my understanding of ability, independence, and dignity.

Narcissistic abuse is real, insidious, and nameable. Professor Sam Vaknin, workplace conversations on narcissists, and survivors of domestic abuse gave language to my own story and many listeners’ experiences.

Trauma lives in the nervous system, but it’s not the end of the story. Therapists, adoptees, addiction counselors, and trauma specialists helped me see healing as both messy and absolutely possible.

Telling the truth saves lives. From the adoptee who stopped a listener from ending his life to families speaking about suicide and addiction, honest storytelling is literally life‑saving.