What happens when a child survives vitamin A toxicity, 20+ surgeries, parental kidnapping, and a front-row seat to 9/11 — and still builds a captivating life?

In this powerful episode of The Teaching Journeys Podcast, host Dave Roberts sits down with author and resilience advocate Eliza Young to unpack one of the most extraordinary life journeys you'll ever hear.

Eliza shares how she became the first diagnosed case of vitamin A toxicity — a medical mystery that left her physically handicapped and led to over 20 surgeries before her 18th birthday. She opens up about surviving her parents' brutal custody battle, including multiple parental kidnappings, and being just one mile from the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

But this isn't just a story of survival. It's a story of transformation.

Eliza discusses:

• How writing her memoir Life in Captivity became a healing journey after a breast cancer diagnosis
• The mind-body connection in medical treatment and how patients are (and aren't) truly heard
• Raising children with freedom and voice after growing up without either
• Why she's trading New York for southern Spain at nearly 60 years old
• Her definition of resilience — and why it's okay to feel the lows without staying in them

Whether you're a trauma survivor, a caregiver, a parent, or simply someone searching for proof that it's never too late to create the life you've always wanted, Eliza's story will move and inspire you.

Eliza’s Bio and Contact Information

Throughout her childhood, Eliza overcame unimaginable challenges. She was the first diagnosed case of Vitamin A toxicity that left her physically handicapped, experienced over 20 surgeries before she turned 18, faced emotional and mental trials when her parents battled for custody, including parental kidnappings, and on September 11, 2001, was just one mile away from the World Trade Center.

Eliza is a testament to resilience and strength. She embodies the spirit of survival and her story will inspire and empower others.

🌐 Website: acaptivatinglife.com

📖 Book: alifeincaptivity.com

Social Media:

https://www.acaptivatinglife.com/contact/

What if an animal has been trying to send you a message — and you just haven't been paying attention?

In this episode of The Teaching Journeys Podcast, host Dave Roberts sits down with licensed clinical social worker and intuitive spiritual guide Tammy Zumbo to explore the transformative journey behind her upcoming book, When the Lion Roars: Answering the Call (releasing August 18th).

Tammy shares how a shamanic breathwork journey in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina and a sacred ceremony on Lake Atitlán in Guatemala led her to discover the white lion as her primary spirit totem — and how that encounter completely reshaped the book she was writing.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How to identify your spirit animal or totem — including signs you may be missing in everyday life
• What shamanic breathwork is and how it can unlock deep emotional healing and shadow work
• Why forgiveness is freedom — and how to release energetic bonds that keep you stuck
• The role of soul contracts and past lives in shaping your current relationships and challenges
• What the Akashic Records are and how they can offer clarity on your soul's journey
• How energy medicine, acupressure tapping, reiki, cacao ceremonies, and compassion key can support your spiritual path

Whether you're an empath, light worker, or highly sensitive person navigating your purpose, this conversation offers practical tools and profound perspective to help you hear — and answer — the call of your soul.

Tammy’s Bio and Contact Information

Tammy Zumbo is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who works with people on an intuitive, spiritual level. Together we will collaborate in navigating your journey. She combines Energy Medicine and Energy Psychology ( acupressure tapping) into sessions. She specializes in the guidance of Empaths, Light workers, and Highly Sensitive People. Tammy’s goal is to help validate all who seek her wisdom ,support and tools to help them navigate the world.

She teaches workshops in the area of energy healing, Empath self care, Energy Psychology, and blending complementary therapies into direct practice modalities. She is available for speaking engagements.

Tammy is the author of the book, When The Lion Roars, due to be released on August 18 , 2026.

🔗 Connect with Tammy: tammyzumbo.com

📖 When the Lion Roars: Answering the Call — available on Amazon & Kindle

The Teaching Journeys Podcast can be found on your favorite podcast platforms.

In this powerful episode of the Teaching Journeys Podcast, host Dave Roberts sits down with Cristina P. Simmons — bestselling author, TEDx speaker, trauma-informed occupational therapist, and founder of Soul Story Collective — to explore the deep connection between emotional trauma and our relationship with food.

Cristina opens up about losing three biological children, raising a son with autism, surviving two major surgeries, and how all of it led her to discover occupational therapy — and ultimately, herself. She breaks down why so many of us eat our feelings, the neuroscience behind emotional eating, and the practical tools she used to heal her nervous system and redefine her relationship with food.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why emotional eating is rooted in nervous system dysregulation — not a lack of willpower
• How occupational therapy principles can help anyone manage stress, anxiety, and emotional triggers
• What "mirror work" is and how it helped Cristina rebuild her sense of self
• The surprising connection between childhood food rules and adult emotional patterns
• How vulnerability and storytelling can be powerful tools for healing
• What the Soul Story Collective is and how it helps women share their stories
• Whether you're on a wellness journey, working through grief, or simply curious about the mind-body connection, this episode will leave you feeling seen — and inspired to give yourself grace.

Bio and Contact Information

Cristina P. Simmons is a bestselling author, TEDx speaker, trauma-informed occupational therapist, and publisher. Inspired by her personal journey, she now helps women turn pain into purpose through storytelling. As the founder of Soul Story Collective, she blends clinical expertise and lived experience to guide women in healing, regulating their nervous systems, and sharing their stories with clarity, strength, and impact. She believes every woman’s story holds the power to heal not only herself, but others.

Connect with Cristina:

🌐 cristinapsimmons.com

📧 info@cristinapsimmons.com

Social Media

https://www.facebook.com/cristina.b.simmons

https://www.instagram.com/cristinapsimmons/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristina-simmons/

https://www.youtube.com/@CristinaSimmons-d3j

📚 Eat Your Feelings — available on Amazon

📱 Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | TikTok

The Teaching Journeys Podcast is on your favorite platforms

What if the energy trapped in a house could prevent it from selling — and a spiritual specialist could clear it?

In this captivating episode of The Teaching Journeys Podcast, host Dave Roberts sits down with Venus Castleberg — energetic clearing specialist, intuitive guide, ordained minister, and bestselling author — for a wide-ranging conversation that bridges the seen and unseen worlds.

Venus shares her remarkable story: how getting sober at 30 unlocked her gifts as a clairvoyant medium, her years of resistance, and the pivotal moment in Sedona that changed everything. She explains how she developed the Vibrational Flow Method — a seven-step system that helps real estate agents clear the stagnant energy holding properties back from selling.

Dave and Venus also explore:

• How to tell when a home needs energetic clearing (and 49 things to try before calling Venus)
• The psychology of self-love and why we're conditioned to work against ourselves
• Trusting your intuition even when science dominates the conversation
• The power of Reiki, spiritual awakening, and embracing your gifts instead of hiding them
• Venus's bestselling book Here To Forever: Finally Free To Be Me

Whether you're a real estate professional, a spiritual seeker, or simply curious about what lies beyond the veil, this episode offers practical wisdom, heartfelt honesty, and a powerful reminder: loving yourself is not as hard as you make it.

Venus Bio and Contact Information

Venus Castleberg is an energetic clearing specialist, intuitive guide, and ordained minister with over 25 years of experience working with the unseen. After a life-changing awakening at age 30, where she began seeing spirits and energy. Venus committed to help clear those energies that do not belong.

Venus is also the founder of the Vibrational Flow Method and brings a unique blend of spiritual insight and grounded practicality, having once owned and operated a construction company and insurance agency.

Today, she brings that blend into the world of real estate, partnering with agents to clear the energy that can prevent homes from selling. Through her seven-step Vibrational Flow system, she helps properties release old stories and attract the buyers they’re truly meant for. Venus creates a grounded, compassionate space for exploring what’s really going on behind the veil.

Connect with Venus Castleberg:

Facebook main: https://www.facebook.com/venusmariecastleberg

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/venuscastleberg/

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

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/venus-castleberg/

Website: https://www.venuscastleberg.com/

Book: Here To Forever on Amazon

Podcast: Awakening Adventures- Where podcasts are found.

Enjoyed this episode? Share it with someone who needs it, and please leave a rating or review — your support helps Dave leave a positive mark on the world, one conversation at a time.

In this powerful episode of The Teaching Journeys Podcast, host Dave Roberts sits down with Serena Mastin — founder of the award-winning Pulse Marketing agency, author, speaker, and resilience advocate — for a raw, honest conversation about healing, loss, and rebuilding life with purpose.

Serena shares her extraordinary journey: surviving a satanic cult in early childhood, living on the streets at 15, navigating a decade of infidelity and mental illness in her marriage, losing her husband Kyle to suicide in 2020, and then losing her partner Thomas to sudden cardiac arrest in 2024. Through it all, Serena found her way to healing — and now helps others do the same.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why you can't heal what you keep hidden — and how radical honesty changed Serena's life
• How chronic trauma keeps the nervous system locked in fight-or-flight mode, and practical tools (including HeartMath) to regulate it
• The difference between resilience and post-traumatic wisdom
• What grief from suicide loss and sudden loss have in common — and how they differ
• How Serena turned personal pain into a thriving business and a mission to empower others

SHORT BIO:

Serena Mastin is the founder of Pulse Marketing, an award-winning agency she launched in 2013. With more than 20 years of experience in marketing and leadership, she’s known for her thoughtful, story-driven approach that helps brands connect in meaningful ways. In addition to her work in business, Serena is an author and speaker. Her memoir, Exposed: You Can’t Heal When You Hide, reflects on her personal journey through abuse, addiction, and loss, offering encouragement to others navigating their own healing. As a single mother, advocate, and entrepreneur, Serena’s work is rooted in a desire to help others find their voice and move forward with clarity and purpose.

Social Media Links

Connect with Serena:

Website: serenamastin.com

Agency: pulsemarketingteam.com

• Agency Website: www.heartofcreative.com
• Author Website: www.serenamastin.com
• IG: https://www.instagram.com/heartfeltstories2026/
• IG: https://www.instagram.com/pulse_marketing/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PulseMarketingTeam
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heartofcreative/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/serenamastin/
• Amazon: amazon.com/author/serenamastin
• Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/Exposed-Audiobook/B0CF3NDWGM?action_code=ASSGB149080119000H&share_location=pdp

If you found value in this episode, please share it and leave a rating or review — your support makes all the difference.

What happens when the life you've built no longer fits who you are? In this episode of The Teaching Journeys Podcast, host Dave Roberts sits down with Natasha Ramlall — embodied integration coach and guide for high-functioning women navigating major life transitions and identity shifts.

Natasha shares her own journey of growing up without a single defining trauma, yet still carrying the weight of unprocessed emotions, cultural expectations as a child of West Indian immigrants, and the guilt that came from not feeling "allowed" to struggle. Her story will resonate deeply with anyone who has ever felt unmoored between who they were and who they're becoming.

In this conversation, you'll discover:

• Why trauma is less about what happened to you and more about what you didn't receive
• How identity ruptures can become powerful portals to self-discovery
• The role of embodied healing in navigating life's biggest transitions
• Why high-achieving women are often the most disconnected from their own humanness

Whether you're recovering from a difficult life transition, questioning the life you've built, or simply ready to evolve — this episode offers practical wisdom and deep insight.

Natasha’s Bio and Contact Information

Natasha Ramlall works with high-functioning, capable women who feel the ground cracking beneath them after a difficult life transition or an awakening to a mismatched life. As an Embodied Integration Coach, she guides you back into a deeper experience of your human-ness to heal, expand and evolve from an Identity Rupture and navigate the space between who you were and who you are becoming.

Return to your body with her Free Guided Audio or learn more at humanistcoaching.ca

Link to Free Guided Audio: https://humanistcoaching.eo.page/free-resourcing-audio

My website: https://www.humanistcoaching.ca/

Youtube :https://www.youtube.com/@natasharamlall

🎙️ Subscribe, share, and leave a review to support The Teaching Journeys Podcast and help this message reach those who need it most.

Keywords: identity rupture, embodied integration, life transitions, women's healing, self-discovery, trauma recovery, personal growth, mindset, coaching, awakening

In this powerful episode of the Teaching Journeys Podcast, host Dave Roberts sits down with Kari Wells — Bravo TV personality, actress, entrepreneur, and author of From Attitude to Gratitude: 15 Practices for Transforming Pain into Power — for a deeply moving conversation about survival, loss, and the radical power of gratitude.

Kari opens up about the night she was held at gunpoint during a violent armed robbery, the PTSD that followed, and how her sense of safety was shattered. She also shares the heartbreaking loss of her sister Jackie to an accidental overdose — and the 20-year journey of grief that ultimately became her greatest source of empathy and purpose.

Together, Dave and Kari explore:

• Surviving trauma and overcoming PTSD
• The stigma of addiction and how to separate behavior from identity
• Why grief is not linear — and how to move through the pain caves
• The neuroscience of gratitude and its effect on the brain
• Practical gratitude habits to shift your mindset daily
• How to move from victim to student after tragedy
• The power of near-death experiences and spiritual belief in healing

Whether you're navigating personal loss, supporting a loved one through addiction, or simply seeking more joy and resilience, this episode offers profound wisdom and actionable tools.

Kari’s Bio and Contact Information

Elegant, articulate, and effortlessly charming, Kari Wells is a British-born television personality, actress, and entrepreneur admired for her signature poise both on and off the screen. Best known as the breakout star and fan favorite of Bravo’s Married to Medicine, she was christened “The Queen of Class” by Andy Cohen—a title she carries with warmth and humor. But behind her polished presence lies a story forged in fire. After losing her sister to a tragic overdose and surviving a violent armed assault, Kari found herself shattered and searching. Refusing to let trauma define her, she turned inward and began cultivating a life anchored in gratitude, presence, and radical healing. What emerged was a profound personal transformation—one she now shares with others seeking peace, resilience, and emotional renewal.

Kari’s career spans continents and creative disciplines. Formally trained in film and television in both the U.K.and the U.S., she has appeared in national commercials, independent films, and series including Tyler Perry’s The Haves and the HaveNots and the Ghostbusters web series.

📖 From Attitude to Gratitude is available wherever books are sold.

📲 Connect with Kari Wells:

🌐 KariWellsOfficial.com

📸 Instagram: @KariWells_

Website : KariWellsOfficial.com

Subscribe, share, and leave a review — your support makes all the difference.

Keywords: trauma recovery, gratitude practice, grief and loss, addiction stigma, PTSD, Bravo TV, Kari Wells, Dave Roberts, Teaching Journeys Podcast, personal growth, resilience, healing, near-death experiences, mental health, mindset shift

What does it mean to truly start over after a life-altering diagnosis? In this powerful episode, breast cancer survivor and wellness advocate Susan "Belly" Varee shares her raw, unfiltered journey through chemotherapy, identity loss, and radical self-reinvention — and why healing is never a straight line.

Belly opens up about how cancer forced her to ask the hardest question: "If today was the last day of my life, how am I going to choose to live it?" From rediscovering a love of food and cooking during chemo (yes, even when everything tasted like metal) to confronting grief, setbacks, and the myth of overnight transformation, Belly's story is one of grit, hope, and the courage to grow beyond your comfort zone.

In this episode, you'll hear:

• Why healing is more like stepping stones than a straight shot — and why that's okay
• How food, culture, and connection became part of Belly's recovery
• The difference between living to exist and living with purpose
• Why it's never too late to reinvent yourself and expand what you thought possible
• How to "feel your feels" and move through the darkness toward the light

Whether you're navigating a health crisis, processing trauma, or simply searching for your next chapter — this episode is for you.

Belly's Bio and Contact Information

Susan "Belly" Varee is a teacher, single mother, breast cancer survivor, and author of Belly Knows Best — a deeply personal story about healing, identity, resilience, food, and rebuilding life after trauma. After years as a high-achieving educator, Ironman athlete, and self-described perfectionist, Susan's world shifted following her diagnosis. What followed was not only physical healing, but a journey of rediscovering purpose, creativity, and self-trust. Through storytelling, cooking, and honest conversations, she inspires audiences to move through fear, embrace change, and understand that healing is never linear. Her perspective is raw, authentic, empowering, and deeply relatable.

Signature Message

"It doesn't rain every day. Things will get better — you just have to have hope."

Connect with Belly

  Instagram : Belly Knows Best.

Facebook And Tik Tok : BK Knows Best

YouTube : Belly Knows Best.

Website :bellyknowsbest.net,

Book: Amazon and Belly’s website

The Teaching Journeys Podcast can be found where you get your podcasts , including YouTube.