So in this shorter than usual episode I reflect on what hosting The Hope-Makers has given me, and the lessons I've learned. It has been a hugely enriching experience and I have been humbled time and time again by the extraordinary ordinary people I have interviewed.

I will be taking some time to consider how best to proceed with season 2, and if you would like to share ideas and thoughts of what you would like, even if it is 'more of the same please' then please let me know your thoughts by emailing erica@thehopemakers.co.uk.

Darren Evans speaks with me about how his work in health care innovation and experience of a family bereavement led to a question from his 11-year old son which would result in the development of an innovative digital platform to help other people memorialise their life story.

I don't know about you, but I have family photo albums which contain pictures of people I never met, whose stories have been lost. It was the experience of looking through a family album and not having the stories to contextualise the photos which led Darren's son to ask him if he could create a way to help other families capture their stories, before there is nobody with living memories of them left.

This idea is the basis of After Cloud, a digital platform that enables people to memorialise their life by uploading a range of media, videos, photos, pictures etc to help keep the stories alive after they are gone. Not surprisingly the conversation I have with Darren is as ever wide ranging, and we touch on grief, attitudes to death and technology.

You can connect with Darren here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darren-evans-58607415/
and find out more about After Cloud here: https://www.aftercloud.co.uk

As a holistic healer, medium, writer, and a speaker, Khristee Rich advocates for women’s health and wellness. With over twenty years researching alternative health and wellness and seventeen years as a healer, she empowers empathic women and creatives to take their power back and live joyful, healthy lives by incorporating a holistic perspective.

Khristee overcame her debilitating 15-year chronic illness in one month, 100% naturally, on her own, by addressing the root cause and treating it with natural remedies. In this interview we talk about Khristee's experience of being dismissed by traditional medical professionals, and her tenacity in advocating for herself until the cause of this mysterious illness was identified as well as how this experience led her to re-connect with her purpose.

Her amazing story was featured in the Amazon bestseller, Food Heals and her other heart-felt story appeared in Tiny Buddha. Khristee’s specialty is using her skills as holistic healer, clairvoyant, and medium and her knowledge to determine the root cause and then treating the problem with natural remedies for quick and lasting results. She is currently writing her first book about childbirth around the world from a holistic perspective.

https://www.thedancingcurtain.com/

https://www.thedancingcurtain.com/free-health-gift

www.instagram.com/khristeerich

www.facebook.com/thedancingcurtain

www.pinterest.com/khristeerich

A complicated and less than ideal upbringing like the one experienced by Elliott Connie can often break a spirit. So, what then, is the reason that some of us gain strength from our shortcomings and trauma? It was this question that initiated Elliott's journey into the world of psychotherapy.

Elliott has worked alongside some of the most prominent figures in the solution focused brief therapy (SFBT) field,  and he has lectured all over the US as well as internationally, in places like the United Kingdom, Russia, India, and Australia, and he's the author of four books on the Solution Focused method.

In this conversation Elliott talks about how a random event - a bus breaking down, led him on a journey of healing from his past and towards solution focused brief therapy.

The concept of hope and best hopes is central to SFBT, and I have to admit to being a little star struck when interviewing Elliott as I have been inspired by so much of his training over the past five years.

You can see all that Elliott is doing through his website https://www.elliottconnie.com

Sara Price has more than 20 years experience in PR and communications having worked with brands such as Kelloggs, AirBnB and the royal household. Alongside her continuing PR consultancy, Sara has set up Actually, a communications, mindset and support network which serves to enable purpose-driven consultants, coaches and entrepreneurs to achieve their vision and financially thrive in the process.

In this conversation Sara speaks about why she set up Actually, and major life events that have shaped her thinking including a difficult relationship with her mum, and surviving cancer.

Website: https://actually.world/

 FB: Actually Business Page: https://www.facebook.com/actually.world

FB: Actually Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/makingadifferenceactually

 LI: Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saraactually/

LI: Actually Business Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/actually-world/

 Insta: Actually business profile: https://www.instagram.com/actuallychangingtheworld/

Sara has also provided the 10 Actually Rules of Great Communications to help you take your communications from 'good' to 'great'. 

 https://actually.world/communications/resources/10-rules/

As this episode is being put out on what has been notionally labelled 'freedom day' in England - where all legal covid restrictions have been removed, it seems apt to have this episode in which I discuss all things anxiety and how to cope with it, with the wonderful Agi Heale.

Agi worked in recruitment until after reflecting on her experience of anxiety she decided she needed something more in her life. This book, Generation Panic, published in June, combines Agi's reflections on her own experience of anxiety with more than 100 practical tools and techniques that may be helpful for anyone who experiences it.

You can buy the book here.

For more information about Agi please visit her LinkedIn profile here.

Parental alienation is the process through which children are turned against one parent, by the other. Definitions do vary, but ultimately this is what happens. Sometimes this process occurs within a wider dynamic of domestic abuse, and this is something that I myself have published on (see HERE). It is not surprising then, that I was honoured to speak with Petra Deeter in this episode. Petra, herself an adult victim of parental alienation, provides a moving account of her experiences, how her mother's behaviour turned her against her father, and the long term impact of this and the realisation that her father was not the man her mother led her to believe.

Petra also details the multi-layered approach to healing and support offered by the Victim to Hero Institute that she founded. Petra is a keen political activist and is currently campaigning for legal change in Texas at the time of airing. I am sure this episode will convince you of the need for recognition, increased awareness and legal change surrounding these issues.

You can reach Petra in these places:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/petradeeter

The Victim to Hero provides resources and support for anyone affected by parental alienation: https://victimtohero.com/

In this episode I speak with Julia Caldwell about her experiences of sexual assault, and how these experiences enabled her to see the need to support men to develop a mindful connection to their masculinity.  ?This is not always easy listening, but Julia provides a frank discussion of how her experiences impacted her own behaviour, in a way that I think may be helpful to others who have had similar experiences.

You can find out more about Julia here.