Soul SiStories Trailer: Finding Hope Through Creativity w/Brianna McDonnell

Send us a text

What happens when hope meets creativity? Dona Rice, an intuitive medium and author, alongside Diana Herweck, a seasoned therapist and counselor, invite you to embark on an emotional journey in their premiere podcast episode featuring LA-based performer and creative powerhouse Brianna McDonnell. We promise you’ll encounter stories that illuminate the path of resilience and growth, drawing inspiration from Brianna's experiences as she breaks barriers and honors the legacy of women who preceded her. This episode encapsulates the essence of finding hope through creativity, a theme that resonates deeply within our own personal narratives and those we seek to share.

Join us as we weave through heartfelt conversations that explore the boundless power of hope. Donna and Diana open up about their transformative journeys and the profound impact of hope on their lives, which have led to the creation of Soul Sisteries. Listen closely as Brianna McDonnell shares her journey of artistic expression and community building, offering a testament to the strength we can find in creativity. This episode is a celebration of connection and inspiration, reminding us all that hope is a vital force that can carry us through life’s most challenging and beautiful moments.

https://soulsistories.buzzsprout.com
https://www.instagram.com/soulsistoriespod/
https://www.youtube.com/@SoulSiStoriesPodcast

Find STTS:
Steps To The Stage (@stepstothestage) | Instagram
Facebook
Steps To The Stage (buzzsprout.com)
Steps To The Stage - YouTube

Please follow on your favorite podcast platform and we appreciate 5 Star ratings and positive reviews!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The lights are on, the curtains up.
This is Steps to the Stage.
Hey gang, hope this messagefinds you well as we head into
the holiday season.
We're excited to announce oursister podcast, Soul Sisteries.
Producer Kirk here and we havebeen underway for a few months

(00:20):
now recording episodes on whatis sure to be an uplifting,
enlightening and just all-aroundhopeful podcast.
Please, if you like what you'relistening to on Steps to the
Stage, you'll love SoulSisteries.
Here's our trailer.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
Welcome to Soul Sisteries, where we find hope
through lived stories.

Speaker 3 (00:47):
Hi, I'm Donna Rice and I am an intuitive medium and
author, as well as a theaterteacher, drama teacher, and all
of these experiences, and, mostprofoundly, the loss of my
eldest son, Kenny, have broughtme to this place, this journey

(01:11):
that I've been on, to bringforward my story, my vision of
hope, and to pull out and pullforward those stories from
others as well those storiesfrom others as well.

Speaker 2 (01:27):
I'm Diana Herwick.
I am a licensed marriage andfamily therapist and licensed
professional counselor.
I am a professor in counselingand psychology programs at the
graduate level and, following myown profound losses several
years ago, I was thrown onto anew journey of really creating
hope and finding hope andsharing hope with others who had

(01:51):
been through similarexperiences.
My goal through this medium isto share new ideas about hope
and encourage others to createhope in their own lives.

Speaker 3 (02:06):
So we've come together in Soul Sisteries in
order to share our passion forhope, and hope has carried us
through our own journeys, ourown lived stories, and so we
knew, through all of thisexperience, there's something
more.
There's something more thatwe've got and something more

(02:27):
that others have that needs toget out there, and we want to be
a part of that.

Speaker 1 (02:33):
Here's a small sampling of our upcoming
premiere episode with theLA-based performer, creative
producer and social mediaspecialist, brianna McDonald.

Speaker 2 (02:44):
And so, of course, being your older aunts not too
old, but your older aunts ofcourse, we are totally inspired
by you, you know, from just likeearly days you've just been an
inspiration and not yes, I knowyou're modeling poses and not
just really not just for us, butwe get to share the joy that we
have, you know, for you andyour growth and your journey

(03:07):
with all the people that we knowand love also right, so I think
you do.
Your blog started with this oneaudience in mind, but it
certainly has grown from there.
Your film doesn't stick withone community, it crosses kind
of community lines, right, and Ithink that's one of the things
about you that I know is justthat you kind of break down

(03:28):
barriers, like you are a kickass girl, like nothing's going
to stop you, which for me to seethat in somebody I love, you
know, a young woman who'sgrowing up kind of behind me,
that's just really reallyexciting to see, which is one of
the reasons why Donna and Ireally wanted to have you kind
of be the inaugural guest yeahbecause you're just so important

(03:52):
in our life and have so muchvalue in this world that like
we've got to get it out evenmore right.

Speaker 3 (03:57):
So, yeah, truth.
So you know part of what, a bigpart of what brought Diana and
me together in the soulsisteries journey is this idea
of hope that we've been on somepretty dramatic, wild, powerful,
beautiful, deep, heartbreaking,glorious all the things

(04:21):
journeys for the past many yearsas which right that is just
human existence also.
But we have been veryintentional about about hope
through this journey and holdingthat space and, and, like I
said, being intentional aboutthat.
So we've got a tagline for thispodcast we are soul sisteries,

(04:44):
hope through dot, dot, dot, andso our idea is that each of our
guests, you know, sort of hasthat hope through um experience,
and we talked with you a littlebit about that and what is your
hope through word and that yougave to us and we would very
much like for you to speak on itif you could.
This is hope through creativity.

Speaker 4 (05:06):
Yes, hope through creativity.
I, through my own soulsearching and growth, and I mean
I first, I feel like I have toacknowledge that I am nothing
without the legacy of womenbefore me.
Like you know also, we maybeshould can't do this podcast,
because whenever we're together,we always just cry.

Speaker 3 (05:27):
I'm I'm stunned that these are the first moments of
tears honestly among us.

Speaker 4 (05:31):
So I was holding it really together.
But, um, no, I mean I like,yeah, I am nothing without the
legacy of women for me, andthat's so pivotal to just who I
am as a person, but also so muchabout the world through, like

(05:59):
the lens of the women, like ofmy aunts, my mom, my grandmother
, like in growing up, sort ofaround a kitchen table and like
just so many stories ofwomanhood that are so like just
who I am because of you guys, sohappy to be here.
And hope through creativity isreally, yeah, it's a tenant of

(06:24):
my being.
It is an absolute I live in,die by hope and by creativity,
through my own soul, searchingand really getting alignment of
like, what are my values?
And 10 years of doing thisonline blog turned production

(06:44):
company, creating my art andreally questioning like, does
this still matter to me?
Does this still matter toanyone?
Do I still want to do this 10years in, do I still care?
Do I not care?
And so, really searching allparts of myself, I really really
found that without hope, I amnothing Like if I do not have

(07:05):
hope for a better tomorrow or abetter future or a hope for the
world or for, like, globalcommunity, or for my neighbor,
or for my best friend like, orfor myself, like, if I don't
have hope, then I'm, I, brianna,as an entity, as a soul.
It's done so.
Hope means so much to me andI'm so, uh, aligned with you

(07:26):
both that that is the theme ofthis project yeah, thanks for
joining us today on soulhistories and thanks for sharing
stories with us.

Speaker 3 (07:37):
We'd love to hear your stories as well and keep
the conversation going,absolutely keeping the hope
going.
So we're really hopeful thatyou'll connect with our guests
as well, who have great storiesto share.
Go ahead and follow them invarious social media platforms
or live venues, wherever it isthat they're performing and

(07:58):
sharing what they do.

Speaker 2 (07:59):
We would love to have you follow us on all of our
social media platforms,subscribe and rate, as that will
help us get our message of hopeout to others.
Thanks for listening to.

Speaker 3 (08:09):
Soul Sisteries.

Speaker 1 (08:11):
Please follow Soul Sisteries on Facebook, instagram
and YouTube.
We also have a website.
Link will be in the show notes.
And please follow us on yourfavorite podcast platform, apple
Spotify all of them.
You'll also be able to watchand hear episodes on YouTube.
Thanks for supporting the arts.

(08:32):
We really hope you guys have afantastic holiday season.
Thanks for listening to Stepsto the Stage and now it's time
for the curtain call.