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Why You Should Listen to This Episode: Author Aaron Cully Drake has a provocative and practical take on AI in the writing process — not as a ghostwriter, but as a structural editor that never lets a contradiction slide. And Roy Forbes, Member of the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame and CKUA Radio host, has been writing songs since Grade school and performing across Canada for more than five decades.

This Episode Features:

(07:23) Aaron Cully Drake is a BB-based author, former newspaper reporter and editor whose debut novel was longlisted for the Leacock Medal for Humour Writing. His new novel, When the World Was Twice as Big, is now available. Aaron joins the podcast to talk about using AI as a writing partner - not to write the story, but to critique structure, catch contradictions, and push you past the blocks that keep you stuck. "AI is not going to replace writers," he says. "But I think eventually AI will replace writers who don't use AI."

(30:30) Roy Forbes picked up a guitar at 14, and never looked back. Known in his early years as Bim, he spent more than five decades writing, recording, and performing across Canada, earning a place in the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame and a UBC honorary doctorate. He has been the host of Roy's Record Room on CKUA Radio for more than 20 years. Roy talks about opening for Santana as a young artist, writing songs after losing his sight, and the old $7 Stella guitar he used to make his album Edge of Blue — an album he describes as feeling like his first, even though it was his 14th. He'll be at Char's Landing in Port Alberni in May. This interview contains the song: More Than a Little Bit Blue.

Episode Quotes:

"AI is not going to replace writers. But I think eventually AI will replace writers who don't use AI." - Aaron Cully Drake

"I hope people can come in, maybe laugh and cry, laugh some more, maybe cry a little — forget their lives for a couple of hours, and become part of what's happening." - Roy Forbes

LISTEN: We've had the pleasure of sitting down with musicians from across Vancouver Island and beyond — explore more stories and interviews on our Vancouver Island Musicians page.

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Why You Should Listen to This Episode

If you’ve experienced loss in motherhood — or love someone who has — this episode is for you. Alicia Nicholsen speaks with the kind of honesty that only comes from having lived through the unimaginable. Her story of losing a child to miscarriage and a second child at 23 weeks is one of profound grief. But it’s also one of extraordinary purpose — and the quiet, determined resilience that grows when you decide to turn your pain into something that helps others.

In this episode:

Alicia Nicholsen joins Cindy Thompson on A Resilience Project to share the deeply personal story behind The Resilient Mommy Blog — and how writing became a conduit for healing and a bridge for resilience as a mother.

Having experienced the loss of a child to miscarriage and a second child at 23 weeks, Alicia knows grief in a way few can fully understand. In this conversation, she opens up about how those losses shaped her, and how the act of writing — of putting words to experiences that often go unspoken — helped her begin to heal. What started as a personal space became something far larger: a community and a resource for women navigating some of motherhood’s most devastating moments.

Alicia is the author of The Resilient Mommy Blog, a space dedicated to the resilience of being a mommy. Since welcoming her daughter in 2020, she describes herself as being on an entirely new journey — one where grief and joy exist side by side, and where she continues to invite other mothers along the way.

The PULSE Community Podcasts can be found at: ThePulseCommunity.ca

Cindy Thompson’s website: cindythompsoncounselling.ca

Learn more about Alicia Nicholsen: theresilientmommy.com

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Why You Should Listen to This Episode: Richard Brodeur backstopped the Vancouver Canucks to their first Stanley Cup final in 1982 — and spent the next four decades quietly building a second remarkable career as a painter. Now he’s soon opening Gallery 35 in Parksville, bringing eight professional artists with him. Brad Merritt, co-founder and bassist of 54–40, joins us ahead of the band’s only Vancouver Island date this summer — the inaugural Rock the Range festival in Qualicum Beach. Two stories about longevity, passion, and what happens when you refuse to stop.

This Episode Features:

(06:35) Richard Brodeur spent 17 years between the pipes in the WHA and NHL, backstopping the Vancouver Canucks to their very first Stanley Cup final in the spring of 1982. What most people didn’t know was that he’d been painting the whole time — sketchpad on road trips, canvases set up at home until three or four in the morning after games, all of it kept secret from teammates in what he describes as a very macho era. The connection between goaltending and painting, he explains, is the same: preparation. Knowing where you’re going before the puck drops, or before the brush touches canvas. He speaks candidly about sustaining 13 concussions during his playing career, the depression that followed for 30 years, and how art — quite literally — saved his life. He’s also opening Gallery 35 in Parksville in partnership with his son, featuring eight professional artists and art classes. https://brodeurartist.com/

(25:16) Brad Merritt is the co-founder and bassist of 54–40, one of Canada’s most enduring rock bands. Their new album Porto, was recorded live off the floor at an all-analog studio in Portugal. Brad recalls the story of how Hootie & the Blowfish discovered “I Go Blind” at a Washington DC club in 1989 and eventually it became the third most-played song in the US that year. He confirms he’ll be bringing his golf clubs to Rock the Range, the inaugural festival at Qualicum Beach Memorial Golf Course, September 12th. Contains the tune "Running for the Fence". https://www.rocktherangeqb.com

Episode Quotes:

“If it wasn’t for my art, I wouldn’t be here today. That was my refuge — my place where I was happy, where I could find myself again.” - Richard Brodeur

“When the Rolling Stones quit, that’s our 20-year warning. We are still doing it. We still like it. We do it as well or better than we ever have.” - Brad Merritt

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Episode Sponsors: Tablet Pharmacy, Ian Lindsay & Associates, Thrifty Foods Parksville & SOSD69

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