Five days before heart surgery, Amy Liz Harrison opens her heart—literally and spiritually. In this intimate solo episode, Amy reflects on mortality, fear, surrender, and the surprising peace found by going inward. Drawing from Christian mysticism, neuroscience, meditation, and lived recovery, she explores what it means to stop striving, let go of outcomes, and find the calm center within—even when everything feels uncertain.

This episode isn’t about answers. It’s about presence. About the heart as both a physical organ and the seat of the soul. And about learning how to do hard things scared.

Key Takeaways

• Why heart illness carries a unique emotional weight—and how it mirrors vulnerability itself
• How Christian mysticism and The Interior Castle reframe spiritual transformation
• The difference between emotional regulation and emotional suppression
• Why surrender isn’t passive—it’s courageous
• How meditation and the parasympathetic nervous system support healing and peace

Key Timestamps

• [02:40] — Facing heart surgery and the loss of control
• [05:20] — Why heart illness feels different than any other diagnosis
• [08:45] — St. Teresa of Avila and The Interior Castle
• [13:30] — The nervous system, fear, and emotional regulation
• [17:05] — Meditation, ADHD, and 175 days of showing up
• [22:15] — The defibrillator, resentment, and letting go of outcome
• [27:40] — “Doing it scared” and finding the true center

Notable Resources & Mentions

• The Interior Castle — St. Teresa of Avila
• Father Richard Rohr — Falling Upward & Immortal Diamond
• HeartMath Institute
• Insight Timer (Amy as meditation teacher)

If this episode resonated, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone navigating uncertainty, recovery, or a health journey of their own.

Thank you so much for listening to Eternally Amy, a mom of eight’s journey from jail to joy. Amy Liz Harrison is a bestselling author, speaker, meditation teacher, and recovery advocate. To learn more, visit www.amylizharrison.com and follow @amylizharrison on all platforms.

What happens when the life you were trained for stops making sense? In this deeply honest Boozeless Book Club conversation, Amy Liz Harrison sits down with Dr. Sarah Michaud to unpack Wake Up by Jen Hatmaker—a raw exploration of religious conditioning, patriarchy, shame, betrayal, and the long road back to self-trust. Together, they examine how repression breeds rage, why recovery often begins with grief, and what it means to finally choose agency over obedience.

Takeaways

• Patriarchy and religious conditioning often strip women of agency long before adulthood
• Shame thrives in systems that reward silence and compliance
• Rage can be a healthy, clarifying emotion in recovery and deconstruction
• Codependency often begins as “goodness” disguised as self-erasure
• Rebuilding identity means learning to ask: What do I actually want?

Key Timestamps

• [00:01] — Introducing the Boozeless Book Club + Wake Up
• [00:06] — Religious conditioning and the loss of self
• [00:10] — Shame, obedience, and the “good Christian girl” myth
• [00:15] — Rage, repression, and addiction as rebellion
• [00:18] — Betrayal, divorce, and discovering agency

Notable Resources

Wake Up by Jen Hatmaker

Dr. Sarah Michaud — Leaving CrazyTown

Amy Liz Harrison — Eternally Expecting, Eternally Awkward

CTA

If this episode stirred something in you, share it with a friend who’s waking up too—and don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review.

Visit www.amylizharrison.com for books, memoir courses, and soulful recovery resources.

In this deeply moving episode of Eternally, Amy, Amy sits down with author Alex Konicke to explore the unthinkable — loving a family member through severe mental illness, surviving devastating loss, and choosing truth over silence. Alex shares the story behind his memoir Evil Among Us, chronicling the events that led to his mother’s death at the hands of his brother during a psychotic break, and the systemic failures that followed. Together, Amy and Alex discuss intuition, boundaries, grief, recovery, and the courage it takes to tell a story that could save lives.

Takeaways

• Why trusting your intuition in crisis situations matters
• The difference between compassion and enabling
• How systemic gaps in mental health care impact families
• The role of storytelling in trauma recovery
• What it means to survive — and still advocate for change

Key Timestamps

• 00:01 – Introducing Alex Konicke and Evil Among Us
• 00:06 – The warning signs and the hospital discharge
• 00:15 – Trusting your gut when something feels wrong
• 00:23 – Writing through trauma and grief
• 00:34 – Advocacy, accountability, and systemic change
• 00:44 – Alex’s mission moving forward

Notable Resources & Guest Links

Evil Among Us by Alex Konicke (Amazon)

Audible & Spotify Audiobook (launching January 19)

CTA

If this episode moved you, please share it with someone navigating mental health challenges or recovery. Your share could save a life.

Follow Alex: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/alexkonicke/⁠

Buy Alex’s Book: ⁠https://a.co/d/ibqqLsA⁠

For more from Amy Liz Harrison, visit ⁠www.amylizharrison.com⁠ and follow along on social @amylizharrison.

Be kind. Rewind. Thank you for the honor of your time. Take what you like and leave the rest behind.