May 10, 2025 • 20 mins
When life deals you an unexpected blow, do you crumble or transform? For Briana Rice, a devastating collision with a semi-truck in 2021 didn't end her story, it began a powerful new chapter.
Briana takes us through her remarkable journey from scientist and world traveler to traumatic brain injury survivor and advocate. With raw honesty, she shares how she initially thought her life was over after suffering brain and spinal injuries, only to discover that these challenges would become the catalyst for her greatest transformation. Through intensive rehabilitation, Brianna not only regained her strength but also found her voice as an advocate for brain injury awareness.
Her path to healing led her to compete in and win the Woman of Achievement pageant with her platform "Grace for Your Journey", a message that resonates deeply with anyone facing seemingly insurmountable obstacles. As Brianna explains, "Sometimes you have to crumble to put the pieces back together, to build something new and more beautiful." This philosophy anchors her work as an author in the anthology "Women We Are Stronger Together" and as the director of the Riverside Chapter for the Global Society of Female Entrepreneurs, where she creates spaces for women to support rather than compete with one another.
Perhaps most touching is Brianna's dedication to honoring her friend Justin Bowman, a fellow brain injury survivor who passed away in 2024. Through her Blackberry Merlot wine festival and charitable foundation, she continues to raise funds for those who need treatment but cannot afford it. Brianna's story reminds us that our darkest moments often contain the seeds of our greatest purpose, and that with grace, resilience, and community support, we can not only survive our traumas but use them to create meaningful change in the world.
Ready to find grace in your own journey? Connect with Briana through her website and discover how your challenges might become your greatest source of power and purpose.
We look forward to seeing you succeed! - www.KeepOnSharing.com - Code - KOS
www.CoachMikkiandFriends.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, I'm Coach Mickey and I'm so glad that you're
here with us and if this is yourfirst time joining us, come on
in and make yourself comfortable.
And for those of you that joinus on a regular basis, we are so
glad that you do, and thank youso much for always reaching out
to all of our guests.
We love the fact that youconnect with these people.
You reach out to them with yourcomments, your questions and
suggestions of what you'd liketo hear from me to present here
(00:22):
on Coach Mickey and Friends.
And for those of you that havebeen asking for me in a while to
finally write a book, I wantedto let you know that it will be
available on May 8th, fourth inOne Mindset.
The link will be down below.
If you're looking at theYouTube video and if you're
listening to the podcast, pleasefind it in the description, but
not just my book, becauseyou're going to be excited
(00:43):
because the guest that I have onwith me today is also an author
and she has got some incredibleinformation insight.
She's a lovely person.
I met her at a networking groupthat I have been a member of of
many, many years and for thoseof you listening that are
looking for an incredible way toconnect with so many empowering
women to be able to presentyour business and collaborate
(01:08):
and do some amazing things inthe world, you are going to want
to connect with Brianna Rice.
Her mission is to inspire menand women to step into their
king and queen energy andembrace their inner beauty.
She uses affirmations,personalized roadmaps to guide
individuals on their journeyfrom trauma to complete healing,
both mentally and physically.
(01:28):
She empowers them to manifesttheir desires with a power of
self-love embracing the lightwithin.
So welcome, welcome, briannaRice.
How are you?
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Oh, I'm doing phenomenal.
Thank you for having me andthank you for that delightful
intro.
I'm truly humbled.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Well, I'm excited to have you and I had an
opportunity to attend your eventand you were gracious enough to
allow me to be a keynotespeaker, and I was so honored
and touched by the amount ofsupport and love that was
presented to me walking into aroom of networking, because a
(02:05):
lot of times networking youdon't know what to expect, and
GSFE is such a different elementwhen it comes to networking.
And it was even more fun anddelightful that you are the
director, because you bring sucha warm and welcoming vibe to
that group.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Well, thank you.
Yes, as of 2025, I took over asa director for the Riverside
Chapter for the Global Societyof Female Entrepreneurs.
Say that five times fast.
But I am just so blessed to bein that group because one of the
main things that we're there toeducate and inspire female
entrepreneurs, and we reallystand on the basis that we're
(02:42):
not here to compete against oneanother.
We're here to complete oneanother with our missions, our
goals, our businesses and reallygetting women in the Inland
Empire to work together.
So I'm really excited abouttaking this on.
We have our new home at UCRiverside.
We meet the first Monday ofevery month from 530 to 7 at the
Stable at UCR.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
And it's a great venue.
I mean it's on a beautifulcampus.
Now you also do kind of ahybrid, so someone who's
listening globally could stillattend, because you do it
virtually also.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Yeah, and we always send out the information.
If you just email me atloveandlightmovement at gmailcom
, I'm able to send you a Zoomlink so you can join virtually.
We tap in about 6 pm to 7 togive people time to get set in
so you can still virtually catchwhatever speaker is there and
what information is justrelevant to GSFE at large.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
And it's an amazing group.
Like I said, everybody there is.
They were so supportive andhelpful and my favorite thing is
you always say what's your ask,what do you have, what do you
need?
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Yeah, it's really getting women to show up and not
be afraid to ask whether youneed support, whether you have a
new offering, but making sureeverybody's involved in asking,
because that's where the poweris.
In your ask, you never knowwhat you're going to get.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Well, I love the collaboration and the support is
, like I said, is phenomenal,and I belong to other networking
groups and GSFE by far has beenone of my favorites.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
And we really have to thank Dr Robbie for really
setting that standard ofexcellence and kindness.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Yeah, and that's the other thing too.
If you're looking for anetworking group to belong to,
kindness is like the number onekey factor and I've seen that
over the years and it's prettyamazing.
But you are amazing too,Brianna, because you are oh my
gosh, you're such an inspiration, going to jump right in.
(04:41):
I know that you suffered amajor brain injury and what you
have accomplished to get throughthat and what you're doing to
inspire is incredible.
I mean, would you mind sharinga little bit of your story?
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Yeah, I'm honored because, yes, in 2021, I was
rear-ended by a semi-chuck and Isuffered a traumatic brain
injury, a spinal injury and aPTSD.
A semi-chuck and I suffered atraumatic brain injury, a spinal
injury and a PTSD and initiallyI thought my life was over.
It was one of the hardestthings I've ever been through
(05:16):
and still to this day, I'mdealing with physical therapy
and just learning how to livewith my new normal with a brain
injury.
But I found that not that I'mhappy that it happened, but it
was one of the mosttransformational things in my
life because it caused me topivot and it taught me how to
take my pain into my purpose.
So I actually took that andcompeted in the beauty pageant
the woman of achievement pageantand I won.
(05:38):
I'm your 2025 Miss US woman ofachievement, and my platform is
grace for your journey, showinghow you can take something so
dark and use it as a source ofachievement.
And my platform is Grace foryour Journey, showing how you
can take something so dark anduse it as a source of
inspiration, that I'm living nowa more graceful and
grace-filled life because of mybrain injury, and allowing other
people to see themselves in me,to know that it doesn't have to
(06:00):
be the end, also to know thatthere's different treatments
available.
I never thought I would reallybenefit from chiropractic care
the way I did, but that's beenso transformational in my
journey.
Or like moderate to severe, ifyou don't have a brain bleed, it
(06:25):
may not show up in the MRI CATscan but they have a blood test
that's valid for up to threeyears that can still track it
and get the treatment and knowhow severe things are.
So I'm really, really trying toget that out there, because it
doesn't just affect accidentvictims but a lot of times for
women who are dealing withdomestic violence.
They have trouble leaving andgetting themselves up and not
realizing that they're dealingwith a brain injury, not just
(06:47):
the trauma of the domesticviolence.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
That's interesting because I wouldn't correlate a
brain injury with traumaticevents and I think that's pretty
important.
But you're right, it's all thatsynopsis and what connects that
allows us to think the way wedo and our focus and who we are,
and it makes I've seen peoplechange and I guess that makes a
(07:11):
lot of sense.
That is really empowering.
So I know you've also takenthis and you've.
You're an author and you havebrought this information into
your book.
How can people not only findthat but also tell us a little
bit about that and what broughtyou to bring that, that book, to
life?
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Yes, so I.
I've always loved writing.
I have been a blogger since2020.
I've written in magazines as atravel and leisure editor.
Um, but this brain injurykicked off my of journey.
I've actually written a bookcalled Women we Are Stronger
Together.
It's an anthology in a globalempowerment book with the Godly
(07:51):
Encouragement Ministries.
I have a chapter in here calledmy Journey to Love and Light,
which talks about my life priorto the accident, as a scientist,
a world traveler, anentrepreneur.
And then boom, everything comesto a screeching halt.
I think life is over, but I wasable to find new avenues to
advocate, to heal and just givemyself grace to fall apart.
(08:14):
I think some people don't givethemselves permission to crumble
, and sometimes you have tocrumble to put the pieces back
together, to build something newand more beautiful and create a
new normal.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
You know that is so right.
I think a lot of times we getstuck, we get something happens
or transpires in our life and wethink it's the end and it's not
.
A lot of times it's just anobstacle.
And if you can reevaluate andreform and restructure, you know
a lot of times, like you said,pain is power.
If you take that, that, thatevent or what happened and you
(08:47):
use it and and build from it,then you're in control of what
happened.
That thing is not in control ofyou.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
Yeah, and it really taught me what resilience means.
You know you hear it as abuzzword, but when you're
actually having to go through itas a buzzword, but when you're
actually having to go through it, dealing with the humbling of
balance issues, memory issues,but then it also those little
glimmers of hope.
When the rehab kicks in and youfind new opportunities.
(09:15):
It gives you something to lookforward to.
So I always want women to knowlike sometimes that thing that
knocks you down that's thebeginning of your story, and
that's why I love this book,because it's not just me.
It's about 20 different womenwho all have different stories
of something that changed thetrajectory of their life and
inspired them and made them findthemselves blossoming like a
(09:38):
rose instead of breaking.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
And that takes a lot of courage, yeah, instead of
breaking, and that takes a lotof courage.
It really does, becausesometimes, like you said, when
things are happening, especiallyif you're going through a
traumatic experience and itcould be a relationship, like
you said, you were dealing withwomen that are dealing with
domestic violence it is veryhard to pull yourself out of
that and then get your mind backto who you are and rediscover
(10:03):
what are your strengths, and todo that it does take a lot of
courage.
And that's another element thatI like about what you do is
because you're collaborating notonly this information and these
events, but you've got a group,an empowering ability to bring
people together so you canconnect and lift each other up
(10:23):
out of these situations to bringpeople together so you can
connect and lift each other upout of these situations.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
And the one thing we may not be able to directly
relate to each person because weall have our own journey, but
we all can relate to some typeof trauma it's going to happen
and there's no strong womanwho's made it to the top, who
didn't overcome something.
So I do find that's kind ofthat common ground where I meet
with women from any walk of life, Like tell me your story, Tell
me what you overcame and whatlittle gems did you come back.
(10:51):
What's the medicine that youcan give me and other women?
And we all have some kind ofmedicine in us from what we
overcome.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
Well, what you have to offer is very empowering,
because suffering from a braininjury is not an easy thing and
I've seen it over the years,especially with many concussions
, and I know how long it takes,and sometimes I've seen people
that haven't even recoveredfully.
I mean, they're still buildingand doing what they need to do
to get through that.
(11:20):
To get through that and forwhat you've done is you've taken
something that happened to youand you are making it an
extraordinary tool to be able tohelp others.
But I wanted to ask you aboutyour pageant.
I mean, you're beautiful insideand out, so for you to even do
the pageant, that doesn'tsurprise me, because when you
get to know Brianna, I mean herbeauty just comes from the
(11:42):
inside.
The pageant was just an extrathing.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
Yeah, that again being at the right place at the
right time.
I was receiving a humanitarianaward with the Godly
Encouragement Ministries groupand I happened to be sitting
across from my pageant directorand at that time, especially
dealing with my disability, Ididn't feel beautiful.
But she's like, you're gorgeous.
(12:07):
And I was like what?
But she was like do you havesomething bigger than you that
you could advocate for?
And I'm like whoa, this couldbe my moment to talk about
traumatic brain injury awareness.
I got with my coach.
We worked on my speech.
I will say this also helped mefind my voice.
It also kicked off my publicspeaking career.
(12:28):
So the crown, the beauty,that's the background.
But finding my voice andfinding the words to take
something that could have beenlike a woe, is me situation like
?
No, actually, these are how yousaid the tools.
These are the tools on thetools.
These are the tools on how Iovercame the situation and if I
can do it, you can do it.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
And that's a that is very powerful.
You also have events where youcan help other people and do
stuff.
I know, do you meet with othersto this?
Or are there all these programsjust like different groups,
like how could people reach outto you?
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Well, you can find me , um at the love and light
movementcom or wwwbriannaricecom.
Um, I've actually just starteda two groups a monthly sound
healing Cause that was actuallyreally transformative for me a
monthly sound healing group atBliss Crystals in Temecula and a
monthly women's circle.
The next one will be what is it?
(13:28):
Sunday, the 27th, and theyhappen.
They're going to happen everyfull moon and new moon
consecutively.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
And if you're looking to reach out to Brayne, as you
guys know, the information willbe down below in the link.
If you're on the YouTubechannel and if you're listening
to the podcast, just click onher name.
It'll be highlighted and youcan click on there and go
straight to her website, andthat's an amazing way for you to
reach out and connect withBrianna, especially if you're
dealing with something and you'dlike a little bit of insight or
(13:55):
some information, or even justto attend the groups.
So what's the next big thingfor you, brianna?
I mean, you got all thesethings going on and, by the way,
this is something we didn't geta chance to cover and we will,
because this is a whole notherpodcast, because Brianna is a
scientist and she's got someincredible information.
I'm going to bring her back andwe're going to discuss that,
(14:17):
because you guys are going to infor a treat for that.
But what's the next big thingfor you?
Speaker 2 (14:28):
What are you looking to do?
What are you going to do for2025?
I mean, what is it?
What is your next big journey?
So the biggest thing, because,of course, I do so many things,
but I have a wine festivalcalled Blackberry Merlot and I
have a charity, charitablefoundation attached to it called
Blackberry Merlot CommunityVines, where we raise funds to
help people get chiropracticcare if they can't afford it, if
they have a brain injury orsome kind of injury.
(14:49):
But that will be coming inOctober of 2025.
Come sip for a good cause.
We bring out DJs, we're rentingout Belvino winery and it's
just an opportunity for any kindof professional to come network
, let your hair down and havesome wine and who doesn't like
(15:11):
wine.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
It's so true.
How lovely is that.
I mean blackberry wine.
That's pretty amazing.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Yeah, and again, being a scientist, I would
travel around the world todifferent medical conferences
and anytime there was ascientific presentation or
research or poster presentation,they would serve wine and have
a wine mixer.
And I was like, why don't I dothat Temecula for my friends, my
people, the ladies in GSFE, andI started in 2021.
I took a break a little bit forthe accident, so it's coming
(15:43):
back this fall.
I'm really, really excitedabout that, so that's my big
thing.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
That's wonderful, and when that gets closer, please
let me know so I can go in andpromote that for you.
It's for such a good cause andI know that what you have gone
through and what you have donehas brought you to where you are
.
And the fact that you'rehelping so many people with
exactly your story and with whatyou're doing, I mean that
(16:09):
really is a gift.
And again, it takes a lot ofcourage, especially to go
through something like that andthen turn it into a positive.
So I'm gonna give you the lasttwo minutes to offer anything
you wanna talk about or sharethat we didn't get a chance to
cover.
And please know again linkswill be below for her book, her
website, to please, please,please, reach out to Brianna.
But, brianna, I'm going to letyou wrap this up.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
Yeah.
So the only other thing I wouldlike to highlight and my
platform breaks for your journey.
Funny enough, I actually wasgoing to start a podcast as soon
as I won the pageant with mybest friend, justin Bowman.
Unfortunately, he's a braininjury survivor, but he
succumbed to his injury inSeptember 2024.
So my platform is actuallydedicated in his loving memory,
(17:00):
because his life is a reminderthat, how he said, it takes
courage.
He even said he was inspired bymy courage because he had
talked about his strokes and hisheart condition.
But he kind of let it go by thewayside and pretended like he
was okay.
But he wanted to start apodcast to talk about these
things and he didn't make it.
But now he's our angel and he'spart of my.
Why that?
Just because you can't see itdoesn't mean it isn't happening.
(17:22):
And while I'm so grateful toGod that I'm here to tell my
story, that just because youcan't see it doesn't mean it
isn't happening.
And while I'm so grateful toGod that I'm here to tell my
story, there are other peoplewho aren't.
So I just my platform is justencourage people, not just
living with differentdisabilities, but even those
with terminal illnesses, to havegrace for their journey in
(17:43):
their final years.
Because one thing I do treasurewith Justin before he left, we
got to take a trip to Dubai.
We got to live.
So don't forget to live, evenif you're going through things.
You might have to slow down,you might need some help, but I
just wish you grace for yourjourney.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
Thank you so much.
And thank you so much for beinghere with us.
I really enjoyed having you asa guest.
I definitely want you backbecause we got more to talk
about.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
Yeah, definitely the science, the healing and more
about your book.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
Well, this is about you.
So for me, I would like to beable to let everyone know please
reach out.
The Amazon link for BreannaRice will be in the link down
below down here, if you're again.
If you're here, if you'relistening to the podcast, please
click on her name.
You'll get to her website.
They'll take you everywhere youneed to be to connect with her.
I appreciate each and every oneof you.
(18:39):
Thank you so much forconnecting with me.
Please don't forget to like andsubscribe and please reach out
to my guests, because they lovehearing from you, and let them
know they were here on coachmickey and friends.
And until then, remember themost courageous thing you can do
is be yourself.
Until then, see ya.
Hey, I'm Coach Mickey and I'm so glad that you're
here with us and if this is yourfirst time joining us, come on
in and make yourself comfortable.
And for those of you that joinus on a regular basis, we are so
glad that you do, and thank youso much for always reaching out
to all of our guests.
We love the fact that youconnect with these people.
You reach out to them with yourcomments, your questions and
suggestions of what you'd liketo hear from me to present here
(00:22):
on Coach Mickey and Friends.
And for those of you that havebeen asking for me in a while to
finally write a book, I wantedto let you know that it will be
available on May 8th, fourth inOne Mindset.
The link will be down below.
If you're looking at theYouTube video and if you're
listening to the podcast, pleasefind it in the description, but
not just my book, becauseyou're going to be excited
(00:43):
because the guest that I have onwith me today is also an author
and she has got some incredibleinformation insight.
She's a lovely person.
I met her at a networking groupthat I have been a member of of
many, many years and for thoseof you listening that are
looking for an incredible way toconnect with so many empowering
women to be able to presentyour business and collaborate
(01:08):
and do some amazing things inthe world, you are going to want
to connect with Brianna Rice.
Her mission is to inspire menand women to step into their
king and queen energy andembrace their inner beauty.
She uses affirmations,personalized roadmaps to guide
individuals on their journeyfrom trauma to complete healing,
both mentally and physically.
(01:28):
She empowers them to manifesttheir desires with a power of
self-love embracing the lightwithin.
So welcome, welcome, briannaRice.
How are you?
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Oh, I'm doing phenomenal.
Thank you for having me andthank you for that delightful
intro.
I'm truly humbled.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Well, I'm excited to have you and I had an
opportunity to attend your eventand you were gracious enough to
allow me to be a keynotespeaker, and I was so honored
and touched by the amount ofsupport and love that was
presented to me walking into aroom of networking, because a
(02:05):
lot of times networking youdon't know what to expect, and
GSFE is such a different elementwhen it comes to networking.
And it was even more fun anddelightful that you are the
director, because you bring sucha warm and welcoming vibe to
that group.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Well, thank you.
Yes, as of 2025, I took over asa director for the Riverside
Chapter for the Global Societyof Female Entrepreneurs.
Say that five times fast.
But I am just so blessed to bein that group because one of the
main things that we're there toeducate and inspire female
entrepreneurs, and we reallystand on the basis that we're
(02:42):
not here to compete against oneanother.
We're here to complete oneanother with our missions, our
goals, our businesses and reallygetting women in the Inland
Empire to work together.
So I'm really excited abouttaking this on.
We have our new home at UCRiverside.
We meet the first Monday ofevery month from 530 to 7 at the
Stable at UCR.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
And it's a great venue.
I mean it's on a beautifulcampus.
Now you also do kind of ahybrid, so someone who's
listening globally could stillattend, because you do it
virtually also.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Yeah, and we always send out the information.
If you just email me atloveandlightmovement at gmailcom
, I'm able to send you a Zoomlink so you can join virtually.
We tap in about 6 pm to 7 togive people time to get set in
so you can still virtually catchwhatever speaker is there and
what information is justrelevant to GSFE at large.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
And it's an amazing group.
Like I said, everybody there is.
They were so supportive andhelpful and my favorite thing is
you always say what's your ask,what do you have, what do you
need?
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Yeah, it's really getting women to show up and not
be afraid to ask whether youneed support, whether you have a
new offering, but making sureeverybody's involved in asking,
because that's where the poweris.
In your ask, you never knowwhat you're going to get.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Well, I love the collaboration and the support is
, like I said, is phenomenal,and I belong to other networking
groups and GSFE by far has beenone of my favorites.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
And we really have to thank Dr Robbie for really
setting that standard ofexcellence and kindness.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Yeah, and that's the other thing too.
If you're looking for anetworking group to belong to,
kindness is like the number onekey factor and I've seen that
over the years and it's prettyamazing.
But you are amazing too,Brianna, because you are oh my
gosh, you're such an inspiration, going to jump right in.
(04:41):
I know that you suffered amajor brain injury and what you
have accomplished to get throughthat and what you're doing to
inspire is incredible.
I mean, would you mind sharinga little bit of your story?
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Yeah, I'm honored because, yes, in 2021, I was
rear-ended by a semi-chuck and Isuffered a traumatic brain
injury, a spinal injury and aPTSD.
A semi-chuck and I suffered atraumatic brain injury, a spinal
injury and a PTSD and initiallyI thought my life was over.
It was one of the hardestthings I've ever been through
(05:16):
and still to this day, I'mdealing with physical therapy
and just learning how to livewith my new normal with a brain
injury.
But I found that not that I'mhappy that it happened, but it
was one of the mosttransformational things in my
life because it caused me topivot and it taught me how to
take my pain into my purpose.
So I actually took that andcompeted in the beauty pageant
the woman of achievement pageantand I won.
(05:38):
I'm your 2025 Miss US woman ofachievement, and my platform is
grace for your journey, showinghow you can take something so
dark and use it as a source ofachievement.
And my platform is Grace foryour Journey, showing how you
can take something so dark anduse it as a source of
inspiration, that I'm living nowa more graceful and
grace-filled life because of mybrain injury, and allowing other
people to see themselves in me,to know that it doesn't have to
(06:00):
be the end, also to know thatthere's different treatments
available.
I never thought I would reallybenefit from chiropractic care
the way I did, but that's beenso transformational in my
journey.
Or like moderate to severe, ifyou don't have a brain bleed, it
(06:25):
may not show up in the MRI CATscan but they have a blood test
that's valid for up to threeyears that can still track it
and get the treatment and knowhow severe things are.
So I'm really, really trying toget that out there, because it
doesn't just affect accidentvictims but a lot of times for
women who are dealing withdomestic violence.
They have trouble leaving andgetting themselves up and not
realizing that they're dealingwith a brain injury, not just
(06:47):
the trauma of the domesticviolence.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
That's interesting because I wouldn't correlate a
brain injury with traumaticevents and I think that's pretty
important.
But you're right, it's all thatsynopsis and what connects that
allows us to think the way wedo and our focus and who we are,
and it makes I've seen peoplechange and I guess that makes a
(07:11):
lot of sense.
That is really empowering.
So I know you've also takenthis and you've.
You're an author and you havebrought this information into
your book.
How can people not only findthat but also tell us a little
bit about that and what broughtyou to bring that, that book, to
life?
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Yes, so I.
I've always loved writing.
I have been a blogger since2020.
I've written in magazines as atravel and leisure editor.
Um, but this brain injurykicked off my of journey.
I've actually written a bookcalled Women we Are Stronger
Together.
It's an anthology in a globalempowerment book with the Godly
(07:51):
Encouragement Ministries.
I have a chapter in here calledmy Journey to Love and Light,
which talks about my life priorto the accident, as a scientist,
a world traveler, anentrepreneur.
And then boom, everything comesto a screeching halt.
I think life is over, but I wasable to find new avenues to
advocate, to heal and just givemyself grace to fall apart.
(08:14):
I think some people don't givethemselves permission to crumble
, and sometimes you have tocrumble to put the pieces back
together, to build something newand more beautiful and create a
new normal.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
You know that is so right.
I think a lot of times we getstuck, we get something happens
or transpires in our life and wethink it's the end and it's not
.
A lot of times it's just anobstacle.
And if you can reevaluate andreform and restructure, you know
a lot of times, like you said,pain is power.
If you take that, that, thatevent or what happened and you
(08:47):
use it and and build from it,then you're in control of what
happened.
That thing is not in control ofyou.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
Yeah, and it really taught me what resilience means.
You know you hear it as abuzzword, but when you're
actually having to go through itas a buzzword, but when you're
actually having to go through it, dealing with the humbling of
balance issues, memory issues,but then it also those little
glimmers of hope.
When the rehab kicks in and youfind new opportunities.
(09:15):
It gives you something to lookforward to.
So I always want women to knowlike sometimes that thing that
knocks you down that's thebeginning of your story, and
that's why I love this book,because it's not just me.
It's about 20 different womenwho all have different stories
of something that changed thetrajectory of their life and
inspired them and made them findthemselves blossoming like a
(09:38):
rose instead of breaking.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
And that takes a lot of courage, yeah, instead of
breaking, and that takes a lotof courage.
It really does, becausesometimes, like you said, when
things are happening, especiallyif you're going through a
traumatic experience and itcould be a relationship, like
you said, you were dealing withwomen that are dealing with
domestic violence it is veryhard to pull yourself out of
that and then get your mind backto who you are and rediscover
(10:03):
what are your strengths, and todo that it does take a lot of
courage.
And that's another element thatI like about what you do is
because you're collaborating notonly this information and these
events, but you've got a group,an empowering ability to bring
people together so you canconnect and lift each other up
(10:23):
out of these situations to bringpeople together so you can
connect and lift each other upout of these situations.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
And the one thing we may not be able to directly
relate to each person because weall have our own journey, but
we all can relate to some typeof trauma it's going to happen
and there's no strong womanwho's made it to the top, who
didn't overcome something.
So I do find that's kind ofthat common ground where I meet
with women from any walk of life, Like tell me your story, Tell
me what you overcame and whatlittle gems did you come back.
(10:51):
What's the medicine that youcan give me and other women?
And we all have some kind ofmedicine in us from what we
overcome.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
Well, what you have to offer is very empowering,
because suffering from a braininjury is not an easy thing and
I've seen it over the years,especially with many concussions
, and I know how long it takes,and sometimes I've seen people
that haven't even recoveredfully.
I mean, they're still buildingand doing what they need to do
to get through that.
(11:20):
To get through that and forwhat you've done is you've taken
something that happened to youand you are making it an
extraordinary tool to be able tohelp others.
But I wanted to ask you aboutyour pageant.
I mean, you're beautiful insideand out, so for you to even do
the pageant, that doesn'tsurprise me, because when you
get to know Brianna, I mean herbeauty just comes from the
(11:42):
inside.
The pageant was just an extrathing.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
Yeah, that again being at the right place at the
right time.
I was receiving a humanitarianaward with the Godly
Encouragement Ministries groupand I happened to be sitting
across from my pageant directorand at that time, especially
dealing with my disability, Ididn't feel beautiful.
But she's like, you're gorgeous.
(12:07):
And I was like what?
But she was like do you havesomething bigger than you that
you could advocate for?
And I'm like whoa, this couldbe my moment to talk about
traumatic brain injury awareness.
I got with my coach.
We worked on my speech.
I will say this also helped mefind my voice.
It also kicked off my publicspeaking career.
(12:28):
So the crown, the beauty,that's the background.
But finding my voice andfinding the words to take
something that could have beenlike a woe, is me situation like
?
No, actually, these are how yousaid the tools.
These are the tools on thetools.
These are the tools on how Iovercame the situation and if I
can do it, you can do it.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
And that's a that is very powerful.
You also have events where youcan help other people and do
stuff.
I know, do you meet with othersto this?
Or are there all these programsjust like different groups,
like how could people reach outto you?
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Well, you can find me , um at the love and light
movementcom or wwwbriannaricecom.
Um, I've actually just starteda two groups a monthly sound
healing Cause that was actuallyreally transformative for me a
monthly sound healing group atBliss Crystals in Temecula and a
monthly women's circle.
The next one will be what is it?
(13:28):
Sunday, the 27th, and theyhappen.
They're going to happen everyfull moon and new moon
consecutively.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
And if you're looking to reach out to Brayne, as you
guys know, the information willbe down below in the link.
If you're on the YouTubechannel and if you're listening
to the podcast, just click onher name.
It'll be highlighted and youcan click on there and go
straight to her website, andthat's an amazing way for you to
reach out and connect withBrianna, especially if you're
dealing with something and you'dlike a little bit of insight or
(13:55):
some information, or even justto attend the groups.
So what's the next big thingfor you, brianna?
I mean, you got all thesethings going on and, by the way,
this is something we didn't geta chance to cover and we will,
because this is a whole notherpodcast, because Brianna is a
scientist and she's got someincredible information.
I'm going to bring her back andwe're going to discuss that,
(14:17):
because you guys are going to infor a treat for that.
But what's the next big thingfor you?
Speaker 2 (14:28):
What are you looking to do?
What are you going to do for2025?
I mean, what is it?
What is your next big journey?
So the biggest thing, because,of course, I do so many things,
but I have a wine festivalcalled Blackberry Merlot and I
have a charity, charitablefoundation attached to it called
Blackberry Merlot CommunityVines, where we raise funds to
help people get chiropracticcare if they can't afford it, if
they have a brain injury orsome kind of injury.
(14:49):
But that will be coming inOctober of 2025.
Come sip for a good cause.
We bring out DJs, we're rentingout Belvino winery and it's
just an opportunity for any kindof professional to come network
, let your hair down and havesome wine and who doesn't like
(15:11):
wine.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
It's so true.
How lovely is that.
I mean blackberry wine.
That's pretty amazing.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Yeah, and again, being a scientist, I would
travel around the world todifferent medical conferences
and anytime there was ascientific presentation or
research or poster presentation,they would serve wine and have
a wine mixer.
And I was like, why don't I dothat Temecula for my friends, my
people, the ladies in GSFE, andI started in 2021.
I took a break a little bit forthe accident, so it's coming
(15:43):
back this fall.
I'm really, really excitedabout that, so that's my big
thing.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
That's wonderful, and when that gets closer, please
let me know so I can go in andpromote that for you.
It's for such a good cause andI know that what you have gone
through and what you have donehas brought you to where you are
.
And the fact that you'rehelping so many people with
exactly your story and with whatyou're doing, I mean that
(16:09):
really is a gift.
And again, it takes a lot ofcourage, especially to go
through something like that andthen turn it into a positive.
So I'm gonna give you the lasttwo minutes to offer anything
you wanna talk about or sharethat we didn't get a chance to
cover.
And please know again linkswill be below for her book, her
website, to please, please,please, reach out to Brianna.
But, brianna, I'm going to letyou wrap this up.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
Yeah.
So the only other thing I wouldlike to highlight and my
platform breaks for your journey.
Funny enough, I actually wasgoing to start a podcast as soon
as I won the pageant with mybest friend, justin Bowman.
Unfortunately, he's a braininjury survivor, but he
succumbed to his injury inSeptember 2024.
So my platform is actuallydedicated in his loving memory,
(17:00):
because his life is a reminderthat, how he said, it takes
courage.
He even said he was inspired bymy courage because he had
talked about his strokes and hisheart condition.
But he kind of let it go by thewayside and pretended like he
was okay.
But he wanted to start apodcast to talk about these
things and he didn't make it.
But now he's our angel and he'spart of my.
Why that?
Just because you can't see itdoesn't mean it isn't happening.
(17:22):
And while I'm so grateful toGod that I'm here to tell my
story, that just because youcan't see it doesn't mean it
isn't happening.
And while I'm so grateful toGod that I'm here to tell my
story, there are other peoplewho aren't.
So I just my platform is justencourage people, not just
living with differentdisabilities, but even those
with terminal illnesses, to havegrace for their journey in
(17:43):
their final years.
Because one thing I do treasurewith Justin before he left, we
got to take a trip to Dubai.
We got to live.
So don't forget to live, evenif you're going through things.
You might have to slow down,you might need some help, but I
just wish you grace for yourjourney.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
Thank you so much.
And thank you so much for beinghere with us.
I really enjoyed having you asa guest.
I definitely want you backbecause we got more to talk
about.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
Yeah, definitely the science, the healing and more
about your book.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
Well, this is about you.
So for me, I would like to beable to let everyone know please
reach out.
The Amazon link for BreannaRice will be in the link down
below down here, if you're again.
If you're here, if you'relistening to the podcast, please
click on her name.
You'll get to her website.
They'll take you everywhere youneed to be to connect with her.
I appreciate each and every oneof you.
(18:39):
Thank you so much forconnecting with me.
Please don't forget to like andsubscribe and please reach out
to my guests, because they lovehearing from you, and let them
know they were here on coachmickey and friends.
And until then, remember themost courageous thing you can do
is be yourself.
Until then, see ya.
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