Seamus Shanley is a prominent Firefighter in Worcester Ma, digital creator, and Marine Corps Veteran - He has dedicated 25 years to the Fire Service. Beyond his career as a first responder, Seamus is a highly active advocate for mental health and addiction recovery, particularly within the public safety community.

In this episode Seamus shares his own story of hardship, service, struggle, recovery, healing, perseverance, and helping others.

Kelly Chiulli joins us on the podcast and discusses her years of service - Military service, service as a Law Enforcement Officer, and service to other first responders navigating their own struggles. While Kelly talks about her many years of service, she also explains how the stress of the job can impact those who serve, she discusses some of the calls that stayed with her, and shares openly about significant loss that she has experienced personally. This episode highlights the very nature of a life of service, of loss, of grief, of resiliency, and of healing.

Chris Fields joins Linda and Jay to discuss his long career in the fire service and the work he's doing now to educate the next generation of first responders that it okay to not be okay - and its okay to talk about that.

Chris shares openly about his mindset as a new recruit & how that changed over time. He describes the impact of loosing co-workers, provides a vivid description of the of the Oklahoma city bombing scene, talks about the impact those incidents and many others had on his mental health, and the steps he took to rediscover wellness.

In this episode we interview Jared Buchanan and DanielHerzog.

Jared is a suicide loss survivor, and Daniel is afilmmaker. Together they produced adocumentary that explores grief, PTSD, suicide prevention, and resilience through telling Jared’s story on the 10th anniversary of his father’s death by suicide.

Jared’s father – Paul Buchanan – a police officer in EastHartford Connecticut died by suicide in 2013. Paul left a note for his family; in it he asks them to make his death an issue to help others who are struggling like him. Jared shares with us how he navigated grief following his father’s loss, and how that led him to becoming a mental health clinician, advocate, and ultra marathon runner dedicated to First Responder and Veteran Suicide prevention. Together, Jared and Daniel discuss their meeting, getting to know one another, their journey into telling Jared’s story, and the importance of their film’s message.

To learn more or request a screening of the film - go to Beautifully Broken . com

Elizabeth Bartholomew joins us on the podcast.

Liz worked as a police records clerk in Batavia Illinois where she met Joe Bartholomew, a paid on-call firefighter, they married in 1980. Joe was hired as a full time Firefighter in 1986. While their daughters were young Liz was able to be a stay at home mom. Later she drove a school bus part-time in Naperville, Illinois, became Band Booster President and was on the coaching staff at East Aurora High School. In 2005 Joe was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder from a response call, he later retired on a duty disability pension after 33 years as a firefighter. Seeing the reaction in the workplace to his PTSD diagnosis and watching him learn to live with PTSD she came up with the concept of Responders Retreat as a place to open a conversation and know that you are not alone.

Lieutenant Sean M. Carroll (Ret.) spent 23 years with the Providence Police Department, retiring as a Lieutenant and Commanding Officer, after serving in the United StatesMarine Corps.

Today he is Founder and CEO of A.I.O. Leadership, LLC, where he trains supervisors on the leadership decisions that determine whether officers stay whole or burn out.

He is the author of A.I.O. Leadership for Law Enforcement, a Police1 columnist, an IADLEST National Certified Instructor, an adjunct professor at Roger Williams University, andhost of the Street Tested Leadership podcast.

Sean is also a post-traumatic stress survivor. He is candid about the mistakes he made while wearing the stripes, speaks openly about recognizing the signs of PTS in himself and his fellow officers, talks about what first responders can do for themselves when stress becomes overwhelming, and how to properly navigate those moments from a leadership position when a fellow officer shows signs of struggle.

Kemmi Sadler is a best-selling author, speaker, retired U.S. Diplomat, and former Supervisory Special Agent with the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service. Over a 26-year career as a sworn law enforcement officer and federal agent, she served in high-threat assignments around the world, including Iraq and Afghanistan. She began her law enforcement career as a police officer in St. Augustine, Florida.

Her memoir, From the Badge to the Vine: A Journey Through Duty, Trauma, and Healing, explores the personal cost of a career built around service—and her unexpected journey through grief, trauma, healing through plant medicine, and personal transformation. The book became an Amazon Bestseller and #1 New Release following its publication in April 2026.

Earlier this year, Kemmi walked 780 kilometers across Spain on the Camino de Santiago with her dog, Nona, raising awareness for first responder mental health and suicide prevention while carrying the names of 56 first responders lost to suicide. The pilgrimage, called Nona’s Way, has since grown into an ongoing effort to share the message that healing is possible through storytelling, connection, and honest conversation.

Through her writing and speaking, Kemmi challenges long-held ideas about strength, service, trauma, and what it means to ask for help. Her message is simple: it’s okay to need healing, and healing is possible.

In this episode, we interview Jennie Babcock & Paul Gabrial of the Plymouth County Suicide Prevention Coalition.

Jennie & Paul share valuable information about suicide prevention, reduction, awareness, the education they provide through their coalition, & what led them to to do the work that they do.