Some conversations quietly shift how you see your own life. This one did that for me. Sitting with Dr. Allison Alford felt like naming something I have lived for years but never quite had words for. The constant tending, the emotional awareness, the invisible effort that keeps families moving forward.

In this episode, we talk about daughtering. Not as a duty or burden, but as an active, meaningful role that many women step into across their entire lives. Dr. Allison shares how daughtering shows up through emotional labor, planning, problem-solving, and staying connected, often without recognition or rest. We explore why burnout happens, how inherited family scripts shape us, and how choosing awareness can turn exhaustion into intentional connection.

Dr. Allison Alford is a communication scholar, speaker, clinical associate professor at Baylor University, and the author of *Good Daughtering: The Work You’ve Always Done, The Credit You’ve Never Gotten, and How to Finally Feel Like Enough*. This conversation reflects the heart of adventure as it lives inside relationships, family systems, and the courage it takes to stay present in the now while honoring who you are becoming

Reflections and takeaways

• Daughtering is a lifelong role that deserves language and respect
• Burnout often comes from unseen effort, not lack of love
• Good enough can be grounding, not a failure
• Family can be one of our most meaningful inner adventures

Links and resources

• Good Daughtering Book
• Website
• Instagram
• TikTok
• Facebook
• LinkedIn

I’ve also launched a new podcast called Year Of The Horse Adventure Coach. You can listen here:

• Apple P

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...

The deepest adventures are not always the ones we plan. They are the ones that ask us to trust, to receive help, and to keep going even when the ground beneath us has shifted.

Jo Giese is an award winning journalist, lifelong hiker, and author whose life changed after a devastating accident and a medical outcome that told her she might never walk again. Instead of accepting that ending, Jo chose something else. She chose hope, grit, and community. She became the CEO of her own healing.

In this conversation, Jo shares her journey from a traumatic Achilles injury and multiple surgeries to learning how to walk again through determination, support, and deep connection to nature. We talk about the paradox of loss and becoming, the power of subtraction when certain voices no longer belong on the trail, and how waterfalls, movement, and meaning carried her forward.

This episode is for anyone navigating a hard diagnosis, a life altering setback, or a season where progress feels slower than expected.

What you will hear and feel in this conversation

• Why some people accept a grim diagnosis and others refuse to let it define them
• What it means to become the CEO of your own healing
• How choosing the right people can change the outcome
• The role of nature and adventure in recovery and resilience
• Why comparison leads to despair and presence restores hope

If you are rebuilding trust in your body, your path, or your future, let this conversation walk with you.

Links and Resources

• Jo Giese website https://jogiese.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giesejo
• Books:
  • Book Never Sit If You Can Dance
  • Upcoming book You’ll Never Walk Alone available February 10

Send a text

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...

Some episodes feel like a deep exhale. This one did that for me.

In this episode, I sit down with Rebecca Schlosser, a trauma informed breathwork facilitator, yoga teacher, and free spirited midlifer joining me from Albuquerque, New Mexico. What unfolds is not a tidy how to conversation. It is real. Messy. Funny. Honest. And deeply embodied.

We talk about what it means to be labeled too much and how that story shows up in midlife, relationships, creativity, money, and even how we decorate our homes. We explore how perfectionism freezes us, how comparison sneaks in quietly, and how breath becomes a way back to ourselves when life feels overwhelming or unfinished.

Rebecca guides us through a gentle breathwork practice you can do as you listen, inviting you to meet the parts of yourself you usually try to push away. Not to fix them. Just to notice them. To breathe with them. To let them belong.

This episode is about the paradox of slowing down in order to move forward. About trusting that the adventure is already happening, even when it looks imperfect or incomplete.

In this full episode, we explore

• The idea of too muchness and why it might actually be your gift
• How breathwork helps us meet insecurity instead of resisting it
• Perfectionism, comparison, and the nervous system
• Why small moments of presence can change everything
• Learning to live breath by breath instead of striving for certainty

As you listen, notice what you are being asked to meet rather than manage.

Links and Resources

• Free 15-minute live breathwork every Monday morning with Rebecca: 12441.myflodesk.com/soulmondayoptin
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebeccahappybreaths/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rebecca.schlosser.5

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...

This conversation felt like a deep exhale. A remembering. With Mary Ann Simonds, we explore what happens when we stop trying to control the moment and learn to be with it. Horses, wildlife, children, and humans all exist within the same field of awareness. When we soften our attention and shift from looking at to looking with, real connection becomes possible. This episode invites you back into the adventure that is already here, alive in your body, your relationships, and the natural world around you.

Mary Ann grew up loving horses in California and has spent more than four decades as a researcher, educator, coach, and pioneer in equine psychology and human animal interaction. Her work weaves science, consciousness, and lived experience to help humans and horses reduce stress, build trust, and thrive together. We explore social behavior, boundaries, safety, awareness, and what horses can teach us about leadership, regulation, and belonging.

• Why looking with nature reveals more than looking for answers
• What horses teach us about boundaries, safety, and social intelligence
• How presence and energy shape behavior in both humans and animals
• The parallels between equine psychology, child development, and healing
• Why awareness and relationship matter more than rigid training systems

Reflection for you
Where in your life are you pushing for answers instead of allowing connection? What might shift if you softened your focus and chose to be with the moment instead?

Links and resources mentioned

• Website: https://maryannsimonds.com/
• Book A Horse By Nature available on Amazon: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-ann-simonds-26697010/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/equinesbynature/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maryann.simonds
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-ann-simonds-26697010/
• YouTube:

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...

This moment matters more than we realize.

In this reflective solo episode, I’m checking in with you from a snowy mountain town and inviting an honest pause as the year unfolds. We talk about shedding old skins, standing at the edge of long held dreams, and remembering that the adventure is not something we arrive at later. It is happening now.

I share behind the scenes reflections from my TEDx journey, lessons inspired by Martin Luther King Jr, and how powerful moments are often born through connection, presence, and listening to what is calling from within. We explore the transition into the year of the fire horse, the courage it takes to let dreams evolve, and how animals, nature, and real human connection bring us back to what is true.

This episode is a gentle invitation to slow down, assess what is working, and ask yourself what you are ready to release so you can meet what is next with clarity and courage.

You’ll hear reflections on

• Why presence matters more than perfection
• How connection creates powerful turning points
• Letting go of outdated goals and honoring new callings
• Using nature and animals as guides back to yourself
• Questions to help you reassess where you are and where you are headed

Links and Resources

• TEDx Spokane virtual tickets - http://tedxspokane.com/tickets
• Spiritual Ascension Summit - https://eliteascensionsummit.com/registration-page?am_id=catcaldwellmyers3839
• Gravity Haus - https://gravityhaus.com/
• SkiJoring retreat and horse adventure weekend - https://tetonskijor.org/

Send us a text

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...

This is the full episode interview with Monica Stahlmann, who also writes under the pen name Leokadia George.

Monica is a children’s book author, mental health therapist, and volunteer at the Wolf Conservation Center. In this conversation, we sit with wolves, story, family, and the deeper threads that connect us to nature and each other.

We talk about Trumpet, a critically endangered Mexican gray wolf known as F1 1505, and how her story inspired a children’s book series rooted in honesty, care, and respect for wild animals. Monica shares why early storytelling matters, how fear around wolves is often learned, and what it looks like to offer children a different first story.

We also explore conservation, dialogue in polarized spaces, ancestry, wildness, and why being close to nature can feel so grounding. This conversation is thoughtful, gentle, and full of heart.

Key Takeaways

• Wolves live as families, much like we do
• Stories shape how fear or understanding takes root
• Dialogue opens space for shared solutions

Reflection and Action

• What story about nature are you ready to see differently?
• Spend a few quiet moments outside this week and notice what settles

Resources and Links

• Email: leokadiageorge.books@gmail.com.
• Wolf Conservation Center and live webcams
• https://nywolf.org
• FB: https://www.facebook.com/nywolforg
• X: https://x.com/nywolforg
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7pgxuIaHyodYW0kDD27-dw
• IG: https://www.instagram.com/wolfconservationcenter/
• Trumpet The Miracle Wolf Pup: https://a.co/d/0RIBa3h

Monica’s books are available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble online, independent bookstores, libraries, and the Wolf Conservation Center store.

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...

This is a short preview episode with Monica Stahlmann, who writes under the pen name Leokadia George. Monica is a children’s book author, mental health therapist, and wolf conservationist. The full conversation will be released soon.

In this mini episode, we briefly touch on Monica’s children’s book series centered on wolves, including Trumpet, a critically endangered Mexican gray wolf. We also open the door to why wolves are often misunderstood and how storytelling can invite curiosity rather than fear.

We lightly explore how wolves live in family groups, why listening matters in a time of strong opinions, and why connection, whether through nature, story, or sound, still has a place in our lives.

This episode is meant as a teaser. The deeper stories, history, and reflections will be shared in the full interview when it drops in the coming days.

Takeaways

• Wolves are often misunderstood, especially in popular stories
• Story and nature can open space for curiosity and dialogue
• Listening is a simple place to begin connection

Reflection

What might shift if you stayed curious instead of certain?

Links and Resources

• Email: leokadiageorge.books@gmail.com.
• Wolf Conservation Center and live webcams
• https://nywolf.org
• FB: https://www.facebook.com/nywolforg
• X: https://x.com/nywolforg
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7pgxuIaHyodYW0kDD27-dw
• IG: https://www.instagram.com/wolfconservationcenter/
• Trumpet The Miracle Wolf Pup: https://a.co/d/0RIBa3h

Monica’s books are available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble online, independent bookstores, libraries, and the Wolf Conservation Center store.

The full episode is coming soon.

Send us a text

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...

This conversation is an invitation to slow down and remember that the adventure is not waiting somewhere else. It is happening right here.

This is the full episode with Tara Wear, a coach and facilitator with over 30 years of experience supporting leaders and women through growth, burnout, and transition. Tara and I met through the TEDx Spokane community, where she coached me through my upcoming talk, and this conversation felt like a natural deepening of that shared journey.

We talk about burnout, emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and the pressure so many women feel to overdo, overthink, and constantly improve. Tara shares her personal path into coaching, group work, and leadership, including how healing, community, and compassion shaped the work she offers today through Ready to Thrive Coaching.

We explore the balance between being and doing, the power of intention, breath, and grounding, and why safe community matters when we are trying to grow without losing ourselves. This episode is about choosing again, listening inward, and learning to thrive without abandoning your needs.

Tara also shares about her Women’s Winter Book Club and Thrive Circles, spaces designed for women to practice self-compassion and connection together.

Key takeaways
• You can choose again, even in the middle of burnout
• Self-awareness creates space for real change, not forced improvement
• Thriving happens when being and doing are allowed to exist together

A reflection to try
Pause today and notice where you are pushing to be better instead of listening to what you need. Take one small action that supports your body, breath, or heart, not because you earned it, but because you are here.

Links and resources

• Website https://readytothriveco.com
• Email: thrivewithtaraw@gmail.com
• Women’s Winter Book Club
• Thrive Circle
• Book Mindful Self-Compassion for Burnout by Dr. Kristin Neff and Dr. Christopher Germer:

Send us a text

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...