Feeling exhausted, no matter how much you rest? You’re not alone. In this episode of Chapter Two: Reclaim. Rebuild. Rewrite., we explore what burnout really looks like for professional women — beyond the clichés of overwork and stress.

Host Amy Smart breaks down the emotional and physical realities of burnout through research-based insights and gentle reflection. Learn why women are disproportionately affected, how systemic pressures contribute to burnout, and how to recognize the early warning signs before they turn into full-blown exhaustion.

This episode blends statistics, compassion, and healing-centred reflection to help you reconnect with yourself and take the first steps toward recovery — without guilt or shame.

✨ You’ll learn:

• The difference between burnout and ordinary tiredness
• Why professional women are at higher risk (including invisible labour and cultural expectations)
• Signs you may be in burnout — even if you’re still “functioning”
• How to begin reclaiming your energy with small, sustainable changes
• Reflective questions to help you check in with your body, mind, and heart

🪞 Reflective Moment: “What have I been calling ‘just a busy season,’ even though it’s been going on for months — or years?”

📘Free Resource: Download the Mini-Guide to Self-Reflection at www.chaptertwopodcast.com— your gentle starting point for reconnecting with yourself.

As Breast Cancer Awareness Month comes to an end, the world starts to move forward — but for those who’ve lived it, the healing continues quietly, long after the pink ribbons fade.

In this deeply personal solo episode, Amy shares her reflections on what it feels like when awareness month ends, when the noise dies down, and when you’re left to rediscover yourself in the silence that follows. She also reads her poem “Straighten Your Crown” — originally published in CURE Magazine — written during her own breast cancer journey after losing her hair, a moment that felt like losing herself.

This episode is for anyone navigating life after awareness, learning to find beauty, strength, and self-compassion in the in-between.

✨ In This Episode, You’ll Hear:

• How October’s awareness spotlight can stir both gratitude and grief
• The deeper emotional truth behind losing your hair — and what it symbolizes
• Amy’s award-winning poem, “Straighten Your Crown”
• What healing looks like after the pink fades
• Gentle reflections to help you release, reclaim, and rebuild

💌 Mentioned in This Episode:

✨ Free Mini-Guide to Self-Reflection Download your free guide at www.chaptertwopodcast.com — a gentle journaling resource to help you slow down, reconnect, and write your next chapter.

🪷 A Few of My Favourite Things

These are some of the tools and comforts that helped me through my own healing and rebuilding journey. (affiliate links where applicable)

• 📔 Journals & Notebooks: Lined journal notebook, perfect for quiet mornings and late-night thoughts
• ☕ Cozy Comfort: I LOVE this leopard print sweater – I am living in it this fall.
• 📚 Books that Healed Me: The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins

💫 Connect With Me

Website: www.chaptertwopodcast.com

Instagram: Chapter Two

LinkedIn: Amy Smart

What happens when the treatments end and life is supposed to go “back to normal”? In this deeply personal episode, Amy Smart explores the often-overlooked season of life after cancer — when the world celebrates your survival, but inside you’re asking, Who am I now?

Through honest storytelling and reflection, Amy shares what it really means to reclaim your identity after cancer: rebuilding self-trust, learning to love your body again, and finding the courage to redefine who you are on your own terms.

Listen in for gentle reminders that:

• Healing doesn’t end when treatment does
• You don’t owe anyone your old self
• Reclaiming identity is an act of grace, not speed
• You are allowed to rebuild slowly, beautifully, and wholly

This is your invitation to meet yourself again — and to embrace your second chapter with strength and softness.

In this deeply personal episode of Chapter Two, Amy opens up about the emotional side of breast cancer — the fear, the grief, and the quiet strength that grows when life falls apart. From crying alone in the shower as clumps of hair washed away, to learning how to stand back up again, Amy shares the unseen side of healing that so many women silently carry.

This conversation isn’t just for those who’ve faced cancer — it’s for anyone walking through a hard life transition. Whether it’s divorce, burnout, loss, or rebuilding after a storm, this episode reminds us that healing isn’t linear, and strength doesn’t always look loud.

You’ll Hear About:

• The emotional toll of breast cancer that few talk about
• What it means to grieve the version of yourself you used to be
• How fear can coexist with courage
• Why “being strong” often looks softer than you expect
• Simple ways to give yourself permission to rest, feel, and rebuild

Takeaway Message: You don’t have to be strong every day to be healing. Sometimes, strength is found in the quiet moments — when you let yourself cry, rest, and keep going anyway.

🩷 Follow Chapter Two on Instagram

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and in this deeply personal episode of Chapter Two, I share my own journey with breast cancer — from the moment I found a lump at 38, to my diagnosis of Triple Negative Breast Cancer at 39, to the life-changing lessons I carry with me today.

I open up about what it was like to go through treatment while navigating the end of my marriage, raising young children, and living through the uncertainty of COVID. I talk about the hardest parts of my journey — losing my hair, creating a “just-in-case” binder for my kids, and facing fears I never imagined — and the turning point that led me to create Chapter Two.

This episode is for anyone who has been touched by breast cancer, or who is rebuilding after life’s hardest chapters. My hope is that my story shines light, offers encouragement, and reminds you that even when life falls apart, you can create something meaningful from the pieces.

💡 What You’ll Hear in This Episode:

• The moment I found my lump and knew something was wrong
• Being diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer despite being young, healthy, and with no family history
• Why losing my hair was one of the hardest parts of treatment
• The binder I created for my kids in case I didn’t make it — and why it still sits on a shelf today
• How breast cancer became the turning point that inspired Chapter Two
• Lessons I learned about strength, resilience, and rebuilding life after cancer

📌 Resources & Links

• Connect with me on Instagram: amy.chaptertwo
• Share this episode with someone who needs encouragement today 💕

🎧 Listen & Subscribe

If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and review Chapter Two. Your support helps more women find the encouragement and hope they need in their own rebuilding journeys.

Episode Summary: In this episode of Chapter Two, we explore one of the hardest but most powerful parts of rebuilding: letting go. Whether it’s releasing a toxic relationship, loosening your grip on an old identity, or simply allowing yourself to move forward after burnout or illness, letting go is what makes room for healing and growth.

I’ll share parts of my own journey through divorce, breast cancer, and personal transformation, and how I learned that clinging to what felt familiar was actually keeping me stuck. By leaning into the season of change — much like the trees shedding their leaves in fall — I discovered the unexpected freedom and renewal that comes with release.

You’ll learn:

• Why letting go feels so difficult (and why that’s normal)
• How release can create space for new beginnings in life, leadership, and love
• Gentle, practical ways to begin letting go — even if you’re afraid of the unknown
• Journal prompts and reflection tools to help you embrace change with intention

If you’re in a season of transition — whether after breast cancer, a toxic marriage, or simply realizing you’ve outgrown an old chapter — this episode will remind you that letting go is not losing. It’s the beginning of becoming.

Resources & Next Steps:

• Journal prompt: What season of life am I stepping into as I let go?
• Connect with me on Instagram or LinkedIn to share your reflections.
• If this episode encouraged you, please share it with a friend who needs hope in a season of change.

✨ Remember: The trees are already showing us how beautiful letting go can be. Maybe it’s your turn, too.

Isolation can feel heavy, but community has the power to heal. In this episode, I share my personal journey of finding a breast cancer support community — even while surrounded by loving family and friends — and why that connection changed everything.

We’ll explore:

• Why isolation can be so harmful, both emotionally and physically
• The science behind how connection improves health, lowers stress, and boosts healing
• Real-life examples of community in action, from small daily gestures to support circles
• Practical steps to build or strengthen your own circle of support

This episode is for anyone who has ever felt alone in their journey and is looking for connection, understanding, and the reassurance that they’re not the only one.

Takeaway: Healing happens in circles, not silos. You don’t have to navigate your next chapter alone — there’s power in community.

Listen, reflect, and share with someone who might need to hear they are not alone.

Healing doesn’t always look like long retreats or hours of journaling. Sometimes it’s as small as three deep breaths before a meeting or stepping outside for a minute of fresh air.

In this episode of Chapter Two, I’m sharing five simple grounding practices you can take with you anywhere. These quick resets don’t take more than a minute — but they can shift how you move through your day.

✨ Inside this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why small pauses matter more than big, dramatic efforts
• 5 easy tools you can use anytime, anywhere
• How to bring calm into ordinary moments like waiting rooms, car rides, or busy workdays

Healing isn’t about perfection. It’s about remembering you have gentle tools to return to when life feels heavy.

📌 Try one today and let me know how it feels — I’d love to hear your favourite quick reset.