Shame can look like freedom on the outside and still keep you locked up for years. Matilde Hernandez reveals how she turned incarceration, silence, and self-protection into a life of real freedom, and why the hardest prison to escape is often the one in your own mind.

Host Dave Roberts sits down with Matilde Hernandez, certified coach, speaker, author of Beyond These Walls, and founder of Dare to Lift It, for a powerful conversation about what it takes to stop surviving and start truly living. Matilde shares the experiences that shaped her, from incarceration to years of mental imprisonment after release, and the moment she realized healing had to begin with forgiveness, self-awareness, and community.

You'll discover:

• Why incarceration is not just physical, but deeply mental and emotional
• How shame, fear, and silence can keep you stuck long after release
• The difference between strength and freedom, and why one does not guarantee the other
• How forgiveness becomes a tool for liberation, not just a moral ideal
• Why community, honest conversation, and aligned support matter for lasting change
• This episode is a reminder that your past does not get the final word. Whether you're navigating trauma, recovery, self-doubt, or a season of reinvention, Matilde's story offers something urgent and deeply practical: freedom is a choice, healing is a process, and your voice matters.

Essential listening if you need encouragement to forgive yourself, reclaim your voice, and step into the life waiting beyond your walls.

Matilde’s Bio and Contact Information

Matilde Hernandez is a , certified coach, speaker, author, and founder of Dare 2 Lift It.

For years, she carried the weight of expectation, silence, and responsibility. Matilde knew how to be strong, but didn’t always feel free. She poured into others, held things together, and kept moving — even when she hadn’t fully acknowledged what I needed to heal.

Matilde’s life shifted when she stopped surviving and started asking better questions. When she chose to pause and examine the patterns that kept pulling her back. When she started reclaiming the parts of myself that were hidden or buried.

Dare 2 Lift It was born out of that process. Not just personal growth, but personal liberation. She is also the author of Beyond These Walls.

• Website: Dare 2 Lift It — spelled “D-A-R-E,” the number 2, “Lift It”
• Podcast: Unpack That Be Free
• Listen on: YouTube and Spotify
• Available through her website: book information, workshops, a free assessment, and a complimentary 30-minute call

Subscribe to the podcast for more great episodes.

Music licensed through Soundstripe.

Code: IPWCP5GHVDFOUAWL, A44QH5EYCGOVCTYH