Send us fan mail. We love to hear from you!

Running from your past works right up until it doesn’t. Nichol Ellis McGregor sits down with Author Angel Willard. What if the experiences that shaped you don't have to determine who you become?

In this episode of Overcomers Approach, Angel Willard shares her powerful journey of breaking painful cycles, facing trauma, taking accountability, and rebuilding her life after incarceration and loss.

Angel talks about motherhood, faith, healing, boundaries, and the importance of making intentional choices that move you toward the life you want instead of returning to environments that keep you stuck.

Her memoir, Fighting to Come Home: Coming Home to Myself, captures the deeper journey behind this conversation, a journey of confronting the past while learning to create a different future.

We also talk about rebuilding after incarceration and the grief that can come with it, especially when you’re a parent. Angel opens up about separation from her children, the weight of missed time, and why “blame keeps your power somewhere else.” Nichol connects those truths to her own story of parenting, guilt, apology, and repair, naming how healing often starts when we stop defending ourselves and start listening to what the people we love actually needed.

From faith and baptism to boundaries, nature, and the discipline of small steps, this conversation is full of tools you can use right now: separating responsibility from shame, asking smaller questions when life feels overwhelming, and using writing to make sense of your story. If you’re navigating trauma, reentry, court systems, or simply trying to break painful cycles, this is a reminder that consequences are not the end of your life.

If you're working through trauma, reentry, regret, or simply trying to become a healthier version of yourself, this conversation offers an honest reminder: your past is part of your story, but it doesn't have to be the end of it.

Read Angel’s story:
Amazon – Fighting to Come Home: Coming Home to Myself

Support the show

Nichol Ellis-McGregor, MHS | LinkedIn

Facebook

Mrs. Nichol (@mrs.nichol_7) | TikTok

Nichol Ellis-McGregor (@mrs_nichol) • Instagram photos and videos

HOME | Nichol-Empowerment Life Coach (nicholkellis-mcgregor.com)

Thank you for listening!