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What happens when the life you pictured is not the life you are living?

On her 18th birthday in Ireland, Caroline Hales survived an accident that should have ended her life. In the aftermath, she encountered something she still finds difficult to define: a sense of light, presence, and a clear internal shift that brought her back toward living.

From that point on, life felt different.

In the years that followed, Caroline discovered yoga, travelled to Australia as a backpacker, and met the man who would become her husband. Together they dreamed of building a family, but the path to motherhood was marked by heartbreak. Miscarriages, fertility struggles, and the devastating loss of a longed-for child tested everything she believed about herself, her future, and her capacity to keep going.

Through it all, Caroline held onto the idea of becoming a mother, even as each loss reshaped what she thought her life would be.

When she stopped forcing a future and began to surrender to the reality she was actually living, life opened up to her.

This is a story of survival, love, grief, and the quiet transformation that comes when life no longer follows the plan you made for it.

For more information about Caroline, visit her website: https://www.carolinehales.com/

Follow her on Instagram: @carolinehales_

Facebook: Caroline Hales - Integrative Energy Healing

⚠️ Our episodes contain conversations about difficult life experiences. Some episodes include coarse language and themes such as childhood trauma, sexual assault, infant loss and references to suicide. Please take care while listening and prioritise your wellbeing.

If this episode brings up anything for you, support is available:

• Lifeline – 13 11 14
• Suicide Call Back Service – 1300 659 467
• Beyond Blue – 1300 22 46 36
• Headspace – 1800 650 890

Support the show:

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Production assistance from John Hresc at Sydney Sound Brewery

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What happens when the carefully made plan falls apart and all you have left is your instinct?

Mary Howley has never been interested in living a small life. When the pull to travel across Europe took hold, she planned it meticulously—researching routes, mapping contingencies, preparing for every possible outcome long before the internet made it easy.

She and a friend set off together, but the trip changed early. Her travel companion decided to stay in London leaving Mary to continue the planned trip alone.

What began as a shared adventure became solo travel through unfamiliar cities, each step demanding more instinct than planning.

In Athens, Mary got into what she believed was a taxi to her accommodation. Instead, the driver continued far beyond the expected route, taking her away from the safety of the city streets and into a situation that quickly felt wrong.

In that moment, everything came down to intuition.

Relying on her instincts and a steady kind of courage, Mary made choices that ultimately helped her escape a situation that could have turned fatal.

And yet, for years she told no one. As the daughter of immigrant parents who had never wanted her to travel, she carried the story quietly, not wanting to add to their fear or confirm their worst worries about the world.

This is a story about solo female travel, intuition, and the constant, invisible negotiation women make with safety everywhere they go.

For more information about Mary, visit her website: https://www.maryhowley.com/ or follow her on instagram @maryhowley_

⚠️ Our episodes contain conversations about difficult life experiences. Some episodes include coarse language and themes such as childhood trauma, sexual assault, infant loss and references to suicide. Please take care while listening and prioritise your wellbeing.

If this episode brings up anything for you, support is available:

• Lifeline – 13 11 14
• Suicide Call Back Service – 1300 659 467
• Beyond Blue – 1300 22 46 36
• Headspace – 1800 650 890

Support the show:

• Subscribe for new episodes every week!
• Follow us on Instagram @ThatDayPodcast
• Have a story to share? Email us at hosts@thatdaypodcast.com

Production assistance from John Hresc at Sydney Sound Brewery

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What happens when life blindsides you just as you think you’ve got it all steady?

Chrissie Bellbrae’s life has been defined by resilience. From family upheavals and raising four children to overseas travels in her fifties, she’s repeatedly faced challenges head-on. But the day she was diagnosed with breast cancer stopped everything in its tracks.

In this episode, Chrissie recounts that moment and the days that followed: the fear, the compartmentalisation, and the determination to take control of her story. She shares the support that carried her, the unexpected things she discovered about herself, and how she began reshaping her life in ways she never imagined.

From stepping out of her comfort zone to trusting her instincts and leaning into nature, Chrissie’s story is one of courage, community, and quiet transformation.

This is a story about finding strength, clarity, and even joy in the middle of crisis.

For more information, visit: https://www.chrissiebellbrae.com

This episode is sponsored by Amoena Australia.

Australian website: https://www.amoena.com/au/

Amoena is the global market leader in breast care products for women who have undergone breast surgery including mastectomies, lumpectomies, reconstructions or other aesthetic procedures. They offer a holistic product portfolio including breast forms & shapers, pocketed lingerie & swimwear, post-surgical recovery care plus comfort & compression bras for lymphoedema. Founded in Germany more than 50 years ago, they are available in more than 80 countries, including Australia.

Social channels:

https://www.facebook.com/AmoenaAustralia

https://www.instagram.com/amoena_australia/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/amoena-australia

⚠️ Our episodes contain conversations about difficult life experiences. Some episodes include coarse language and themes such as childhood trauma, sexual assault, infant loss and references to suicide. Please take care while listening and prioritise your wellbeing.

If this episode brings up anything for you, support is available:

• Lifeline – 13 11 14
• Suicide Call Back Service – 1300 659 467
• Beyond Blue – 1300 22 46 36
• Headspace – 1800 650 890

Support the show:

• Subscribe for new episodes every week!
• Follow us on Instagram @ThatDayPodcast
• Have a story to share? Email us at hosts@thatdaypodcast.com

Production assistance from John Hresc at Sydney Sound Brewery

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What happens when the career you worked so hard for becomes the thing slowly breaking you?

Tennille Gould had spent more than twenty years building a successful corporate career in Injury Management and Return to Work while raising a family alongside it all.

From the outside, it looked like success. But behind the scenes were impossible expectations, constant pressure, and the slow exhaustion that comes from holding everything together for too long.

While working remotely with her family in Mildura, Tennille made the decision to walk away from corporate life, reclaim her wellbeing, and choose a different kind of success.

What followed was a complete shift in perspective. Family, farming, boundaries, and finally feeling present in her own life again.

This is a story about burnout, courage, and what happens when you stop building the life that looks good on paper and start building one that actually feels good to live.

Follow Tennille on Instagram.

⚠️ Our episodes contain conversations about difficult life experiences. Some episodes include coarse language and themes such as childhood trauma, sexual assault, infant loss and references to suicide. Please take care while listening and prioritise your wellbeing.

If this episode brings up anything for you, support is available:

• Lifeline – 13 11 14
• Suicide Call Back Service – 1300 659 467
• Beyond Blue – 1300 22 46 36
• Headspace – 1800 650 890

Support the show:

• Subscribe for new episodes every week!
• Follow us on Instagram @ThatDayPodcast
• Have a story to share? Email us at hosts@thatdaypodcast.com

Production assistance from John Hresc at Sydney Sound Brewery

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What happens when your entire future is put on hold before you’ve even had the chance to begin it?

At 29, Casey was newly married, back at uni studying health science, and trying to start a family. From the outside, life looked hopeful. But behind the scenes was the quiet grief of miscarriages and fertility struggles.

Then one ordinary morning, standing on a street before brunch, she felt a lump.

Five days later came the diagnosis.

Treatment took over her life, survival became the only priority, and the future she’d imagined, especially motherhood, suddenly felt out of reach. What she discovered was unexpected kindness, shifting relationships, and a perspective she still carries today: not sweating the small stuff, because she’s lived through what actually matters.

This is a story about fear, resilience, and the strange way life sometimes gives back what you thought you’d lost, but not before changing you completely.

Casey Nott is a contemporary fiction author. Her stories celebrate women and explore the challenges they face in modern society. Casey draws inspiration from her own experiences, including her experience of surviving cancer, specifically in her second novel The Five Stages of Grace.

For more information about Casey and her novels, please visit: https://www.caseynott.com/

Follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caseywritesstories/.

For support with cancer, please visit: https://www.cancer.org.au/support-and-services.

The article Casey referenced in her interview can be found here: Are you in tune with your life season?

⚠️ Our episodes contain conversations about difficult life experiences. Some episodes include coarse language and themes such as childhood trauma, sexual assault, infant loss and references to suicide. Please take care while listening and prioritise your wellbeing.

If this episode brings up anything for you, support is available:

• Lifeline – 13 11 14
• Suicide Call Back Service – 1300 659 467
• Beyond Blue – 1300 22 46 36
• Headspace – 1800 650 890

Support the show:

• Subscribe for new episodes every week!
• Follow us on Instagram @ThatDayPodcast
• Have a story to share? Email us at hosts@thatdaypodcast.com

Production assistance from John Hresc at Sydney Sound Brewery

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What happens when a test to prove someone wrong changes your life?

Anne Freeman was 22, confident, and certain life would unfold exactly as she imagined. After leaving a controlling relationship and starting anew, she felt unstoppable, until her health quietly began to unravel.

Weight loss, relentless thirst, and exhaustion crept in. She ignored it all until colleagues joked about her condition. Wanting to shut it down, she booked a GP appointment to prove there was nothing wrong. Instead, she received an unthinkable diagnosis: Type 1 Diabetes.

In this deeply personal episode, Anne shares what it feels like to have your body shift from familiar to unpredictable in an instant. She speaks honestly about denial, fear, and the confronting reality of daily insulin injections and lifelong monitoring. Over time, she reflects on how the diagnosis reshaped her identity, deepened her compassion, and found its way into the women she now writes about.

This is a story of learning to live with vulnerability and redefining the future inside a body that demands constant attention. A conversation for anyone navigating chronic illness, disability, or curveballs that arrives without warning.

Anne Freeman is a contemporary fiction writer from Melbourne, Australia. Her novels explore the extraordinary ways women shake themselves loose from stuck lives. Anne draws inspiration from her own experiences, including her journey with Type 1 Diabetes.

For more information about Anne, please visit her website:
https://www.annefreeman.com.au/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annefreemanwrites/

For support with diabetes, please visit: https://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/

⚠️ Our episodes contain conversations about difficult life experiences. Some episodes include coarse language and themes such as childhood trauma, sexual assault, infant loss and references to suicide. Please take care while listening and prioritise your wellbeing.

If this episode brings up anything for you, support is available:

• Lifeline – 13 11 14
• Suicide Call Back Service – 1300 659 467
• Beyond Blue – 1300 22 46 36
• Headspace – 1800 650 890

Support the show:

• Subscribe for new episodes every week!
• Follow us on Instagram @ThatDayPodcast
• Have a story to share? Email us at hosts@thatdaypodcast.com

Production assistance from John Hresc at Sydney Sound Brewery

Send us Fan Mail

What happens when the year you’ve been waiting for turns into the one that tests you the most?

On New Year’s Day 2023, Jodie entered what she believed would be her fresh start. She had survived her hardest years: working and parenting through lockdowns, farewelling three beloved aunties, and ending a 19-year relationship. She bought a house, began renovations, finalised her divorce, and settled her boys into a new rhythm. A year of freedom and fun was ahead.

Within days, a car accident, a camping trip, and a text message about a long-forgotten mammogram shattered that optimism.

Breast cancer. Two tumours.

What followed was a year defined by survival and medical misogyny. Multiple surgeries, and the devastating news (twice!) that the cancer hadn’t been fully removed. She made the agonising decision to have a double mastectomy, followed by forced menopause, chronic pain, and relentless insomnia.

A sudden change at work while she was still on sick leave, the reality of a mortgage resting solely on her shoulders, and two teenage boys watching their mum try to hold it together took its toll.

She kept working, parenting, renovating, and showing up when she had nothing left to give. But resilience has limits. By the second half of the year, the cracks showed. Physical exhaustion collided with emotional depletion.

This is not a story of pink ribbons. It’s about grief, determination, and the brutal reality of starting again when you thought the hard part was already behind you.

And still, you find a way through.

• The financial course Jodie mentions.

Support the show

⚠️ Our episodes contain conversations about difficult life experiences. Some episodes include coarse language and themes such as childhood trauma, sexual assault, infant loss and references to suicide. Please take care while listening and prioritise your wellbeing.

If this episode brings up anything for you, support is available:

• Lifeline – 13 11 14
• Suicide Call Back Service – 1300 659 467
• Beyond Blue – 1300 22 46 36
• Headspace – 1800 650 890

Support the show:

• Subscribe for new episodes every week!
• Follow us on Instagram @ThatDayPodcast
• Have a story to share? Email us at hosts@thatdaypodcast.com

Production assistance from John Hresc at Sydney Sound Brewery

Send us Fan Mail

What happens when the person who tries to block your teaching dreams accidentally launches your career?

For years, Vikki Petraitis lived a double life. By day, she was a teacher in a prestigious private school, shaping young minds and paying the bills. By night, she was deep in cold cases—researching, investigating, and writing true crime stories driven by a fierce desire to see justice served.

What began as a side passion grew into something far bigger: twenty books, a loyal podcast audience, and a thriving community of writers.

And yet, within the very institution she worked, Vikki found herself repeatedly overlooked. Despite her qualifications, her publishing record, and her growing public profile, she was told she wasn't qualified enough to teach senior English.

But instead of shrinking, she expanded. She enrolled in a PhD and quietly proved—to herself as much as anyone—that her value was never up for debate.

Her PhD novel The Unbelieved went on to win the inaugural Allen & Unwin Crime Fiction Prize and was later adapted for television as Dustfall, starring Anna Torv and premiering on the ABC in 2026.

Today, Vikki is a full-time writer, podcaster, speaker, and workshop facilitator, still devoted to the power of story but now working in a world that recognises her worth.

This is a story about what can happen when you refuse to be defined by the limits other people place on you.

For more information about Vikki, head to her website or follow her on Instagram @vikkipetraitis.

⚠️ Our episodes contain conversations about difficult life experiences. Some episodes include coarse language and themes such as childhood trauma, sexual assault, infant loss and references to suicide. Please take care while listening and prioritise your wellbeing.

If this episode brings up anything for you, support is available:

• Lifeline – 13 11 14
• Suicide Call Back Service – 1300 659 467
• Beyond Blue – 1300 22 46 36
• Headspace – 1800 650 890

Support the show:

• Subscribe for new episodes every week!
• Follow us on Instagram @ThatDayPodcast
• Have a story to share? Email us at hosts@thatdaypodcast.com

Production assistance from John Hresc at Sydney Sound Brewery