Passing Through Life

Tim Bradford has had his share of rough life transitions.

A talented composer and musician, Tim's career was in full swing when the unthinkable happened.  A persistent and unusual headache heralded health issues that would lead to a significant loss of hearing-- a death knell to his continuing full-time in the music field.

Then, as fate would have it, Tim and his wife Kerry dealt with yet another unthinkable ...

Most of us experience a variety of job changes in our lives.  But what happens when those jobs no longer satisfy?  

If you are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to create your own business, what might that look like?  How do you know it's the right time?  What are some of the typical pitfalls? And are there tips for success that others can learn from?

Lorraine Schuchart had a dream job early on as the ...

Transitions thrust us into new worlds.

What's it like when that new world is an ocean away?  And in a foreign country with another language and different cultural, religious, and political perspectives?

Our podcast guest, Kevin Risner, was an English major whose love of the language led him in a variety of directions, one of which was to teach English to students in Istanbul, Turkey.

Follow along as ...

If you've only been married five months and your wife is the one who gets diagnosed with breast cancer?  Well, clearly your honeymoon is REALLY over.

Even though cancer hits way too many of us, we are still shocked when it attacks someone particularly young and vibrant.  Such was the case with Jennifer Merendino.  Her husband Angelo is our guest this episode, recounting how he and his wife Jen dealt with  her double m...

It's one thing to strive and change to obtain a "dream job."  It's quite another to have the clarity and courage to give up that dream job to pursue an atypical path, a stronger calling.

Jody Adams-Fesco did just that when she chose to leave an illustrator job at American Greetings in Cleveland, Ohio, and move into Cook Forest, Pennsylvania, to help her mom run a historic 30-room lodge and nearby rustic...

Finally!  We turn the tables as our host Luanne Bole-Becker shares her story of transitions, including dealing with Alzheimer's.

At first, it's a story of improbable job changes.  With a degree in accounting but a constant urge to infuse life with more creativity and adventure, Luanne eventually transitioned into an exciting career working with the families of the Challenger astronauts.  (Even when they were base...

We pretty much expect that if we're lucky enough to retire, we're going to experience transition.  But most of us retire and make incremental changes.  Others just upend their lives and try something completely new!  Today's guest, Alex Belisle, fits the latter category.

A high school English teacher in New York City for 36 years, Alex retired and started running, hiking, riding his bike.  But it wasn't...

Sometimes our transitions are intertwined closely with the transitions of another.

Our guest this episode is Cindy Hill, whose first child Ben was born with Velo-Cardio-Facial syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects a person's heart and cognitive abilities.  Cindy's eagerly anticipated prospect of joining the "sisterhood of moms" was abruptly altered.  Now life became a series of significant--and ofte...

It's the day you never, ever expect... or want... to face.

Ruth Durand's husband Matt had recently confided that they would need to be making drastic changes in their living situation, due to the recession.  That seemed to be bombshell enough.

But more was in store.

Later this year will be the 10th anniversary of Matt's untimely death.  In this episode, Ruth leads us through the days before...

Most of us have experienced roadblocks along a career path. 

For a university professor, NOT getting tenure is a major roadblock.  It means that the place where you've invested your time and reputation for years now expects you to leave.  Just like that.  There go your job security and income!  So what happens next?

Photographer, educator, and activist Steve Cagan learned this lesson the hard way.  Hear how ...

Having a baby is supposed to be one of the most joyous times of your life!  So when guest Sheila Fell and her husband Joe learned that Sheila was pregnant, they were ecstatic.  In fact, Sheila immersed herself in learning everything she could about pregnancy and new motherhood.  

However, once their son Arthur was born, reality didn’t quite match all those glorious expectations.  The Fells learned firsthand about that dreaded word “...

Michael Byun seems comfortable in his own skin.  Now the Executive Director of Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS) in Seattle, and formerly the long-term director of Ohio’s Asian Services In Action (ASIA, Inc.), it also seems that Byun always knew exactly where his life was heading.

But that was not always the case.  

Byun immigrated to the U.S. from Korea with his parents when he was less than a year old.  His is a story co...

Graphic designer Katie Melnick had never really failed.  She was accepted into the art school she wanted, won scholarships she sought, and landed a great job at a boutique design studio in Cleveland right out of college. 

And then, the recession hit.  Melnick's job disappeared unexpectedly... and virtually overnight!  (She even toyed with starting a blog called "Will Design for Food.")  Melnick's next ...