Courage Unravelled

Today we enter the world of psychologist Steph Schmidt and her experience with post-natal depression. Not just once but twice. Post-natal depression doesn’t discriminate, even when you’ve been trained with tools and strategies at your fingertips. Steph talks about her time and what has helped her move through the challenges that PND brings. 

We also talk about what it’s like to be a rural psychologist in isolated communities and be ...

What is it that makes someone want to become an activist? Peta Goodwin is an activist and co-founder of the unplanned movement called Nannas for Native Forests. Being an activist takes time, co-ordination skills and a lot of work – especially if you are the co-founder. There has been a groundswell of support for Nannas for Native Forests as people realise or come to realise how destructive the culling of forests means for the envir...

Meet Melia Brent-White.  A past wine maker who gained minor celebrity status in the 2000s. Find out why she decided to radically change direction and leave the wine industry and the family legacy. 

The decision meant setting out on her own courageous path. A path that would take Melia towards Body Talk - an energetic-type therapy which enables Melia to communicate with the body to help it heal itself. 

Growing up rurally and being a ...

Ever wondered what it would be like to foster a child in the middle of nowhere? Jane Smith (not her real name) lives on a station somewhere in Australia on 1 million acres of land. 

Jane was studying to be a doctor and during her training she did a few units on indigenous affairs and thought she had it all covered when she and her husband decided to adopt two indigenous children. 

Little did she realise she was going to go on a rolle...

Libby Finlayson grew up rurally and on stations during her childhood and eventually got married to a farmer. She loved her life. She was on acreage, worked the land and with animals, got to ride horses all the time and began a family with her husband on the land. One day, it all changed. She was given unexpected news. Her husband no longer wanted to be married – to her. 

Libby’s whole world was rocked. The farming and community life...

Donna Campisi is a driven and passionate woman. What has made her that way? It would be fair to say, that having a stroke at the age of 7, being diagnosed with diabetes at 14 AND being told you were unlikely to talk or walk again, would have something to do with it. Donna could have accepted her circumstances and be living a very different life today. Instead, with determination and ongoing support from her parents, hospital staff,...

A lot of authors write books based on direct experience. Author and coach Sherianna Boyle was not expecting to take a deep dive into why her perfect marriage fell apart so quickly while undertaking research on her (then) up and coming book Mantras Made Easy.

Betrayal is tough in any relationship and while in the thick of her own despair Sherianna uses her marriage breakdown as research and to do her own emotional decluttering. She t...

Meet Christoffel Sneijder, a Dutch man who immigrated to Australia some years ago and now calls Australia home. He’s on the author series as he wrote a book with a sexy title - How Men and Women Fit - finally understand your partner with the three brains theory.
I did say sexy didn’t I? 
We weave the subject matter of his book title with real life examples. You find out about Chris’s  mother and grandmother  being forced to...

Fleur McDonald is one of Australia’s leading authors in rural literature and storytelling. Fleur is a prolific writer and to date has published 16 novels, while still living on a working farm. 

We talk about courageous characters in her novels and find out whether there is a hint of Fleur in any of the rural heroines we read about. We don’t just talk books though. We dive into Fleur cutting her teeth working the land, firstly as a j...

Meet wellness presenter and Sports kinesiologist Amanda Campbell from Melbourne Australia.
Amanda was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) at 24 and by 29 was faced with the reality of never being able to walk again. Discover out how Amanda proved the medical profession wrong by finding  ways to heal herself that revolve around rest, repair, nutrition and a flexible mindset.
She has written the pending book Bend Like Ba...

Carly  Israel loves her tattoos. The tattoos Carly has on her body represent things or phrases that are meaningful to her. One of these phrases is The North Star. This metaphor is what keeps Carly together when things get tough. You see, the North Star represents her sons. She will do anything for her boys. This is clear when you read her beautifully written and at times raw and heart wrenching memoir Seconds and Inches. 
Find...

Rebecca Hannan spent many years in real estate but found it wasn’t her calling. In this episode Rebecca shares what it is like to overcome her fear and  become a professional speaker in her area of passion - wellness. Learn about her journey as a public speaker, how she was discouraged to pursue public speaking in the wellness industry and why it’s important to choose your wizards wisely!

Approx 32 min

We talk about: 

·     ...

 B Pagels-Minor who was born in Mississippi and now lives in the Silicon Valley in California. B is a product developer for Netflix and is described as a diamond speaker. 

Bs background is in product development and creating strong cultural work environments within tech companies. 

Today B and I catch up, not to talk about B’s work or passions but something deeply personal. B was charged with multiple crimes they did not commit and h...

What do you get when you cross an academic with Chief Executive Adventurer? You get Dr Erika Jacobson from Edgewalkers. Erika walks miles and miles with fellow hiking and walking enthusiasts across beautiful landscapes within Western Australia and beyond. But we don’t just traverse landscapes in this interview. We cover the terrain of autoimmune conditions and specifically Orofacial Granulomatosis.  Discover how Erika had to naviga...

Childhood trauma can either break you or make you stronger. In today’s episode I reveal my experiences of childhood trauma and how they’ve affected my life. 

I talk about:

·         How gambling addiction can affect a household

·         How childhood trauma has shaped my resilience

·         The challenges of being brought up in a strict Macedonian household

·         How my upbringing has affected my mental and physical health

·       ...

Morry Morgan is a man of ideas. So many in fact that he keeps on creating new businesses. His latest venture is co-founder of The School of Hard Knock Knocks in Melbourne Australia. What is it? A comedy school set up prior to COVID-19 that isn’t just good for comedian wannabes but also for bucket list tickers and people with mental health challenges.

We talk comedy in this interview and have a laugh along the way. But there is SO mu...

Jahna Cedar is a Nyiyaparli/Yindjibarndi woman from the Pilbara region of Western Australia. She is an accomplished leader who is at the forefront of advocating for equality and social justice for indigenous affairs. 

We talk about:

·         What it feels like walking in two cultural worlds

·         The constant pressure to prove herself

·         Why courage and resilience are so important

·         What motivated her to break the ge...

Tanya Princi is a mother and single parent to 7 children. She has survived three abusive marriages, was the main carer for one of her husbands who was a schizophrenic and has had to navigate her way out of intense periods of anxiety and deep depression. 

Tanya’s intense lived experience has been the catalyst for her wanting to help people create a new life for themselves. She knows it’s possible as she is living proof of this.

Tanya’...

Ep11. 

What makes someone decide to do a 19.7km ocean swim from local iconic Perth swimming spot Cottesloe Beach to Rottnest Island?

Imogen Mason had always loved swimming as a child. She dreamed of participating in the Cottesloe to Rottnest ocean swim but never really thought it would become a reality. In 2020 she made the decision to give it a go.  

In 6.5 months of training Imogen swam over 500km and at her peak, was swimming 7km p...