Emotional Intelligence In One-Page Profiles
Disability inclusion and leadership. Eighteen years ago, Cathy Hockey stepped into an employment program for people with intellectual disabilities with no experience in the field. A simple tool, a one-page profile capturing what each person valued and how to support them, became the foundation for everything: hiring, team-building, and later her entire coaching practice. ⚠️ […]
How does trauma live in your body and what sets it free
Sarah Rowan spent 38 years hiding who she really was in a strict Christian environment. Trauma stored in her body as rheumatoid arthritis, a marriage that wasn’t hers, and a life on autopilot. Here is how she took back the steering wheel, rebuilt through art, and discovered that creativity and unconditional love are paths to […]
From Caregiver At Eight To Peer Worker Supporting Homeless Youth
Luis Montero’s journey through addiction recovery and homelessness shows how early caregiving responsibility, shame, and grief spiral into substance use, and how one turning point with his son became the catalyst to rebuild. A real story of resilience from lived experience. ⚠️ Content advisory: this episode discusses addiction & recovery, which some listeners may find […]
Leaving A Cult At 18: How Queer Support Services Saved My Life
Growing up in a controlling religious cult, our hero was told who to be and how to feel. At 18, after their family’s reaction to their non-binary identity escalated from verbal abuse to physical threats, they left home with almost nothing. In this episode of Pride in Stories, they share the concrete steps that kept […]
The mantra that rewired my life
Mindi Kessler survived a childhood in a volatile Kansas family. When chronic pain became debilitating 12 years ago, a single phrase shifted everything: what if this is happening for you, not to you? Her trauma healing journey reveals how mindset, somatic work, and inner child healing can rewire what trauma built into the body. ⚠️ […]
Access, not ammunition | Melanie Marshall | Kintsugi Heroes Shorts #podcast
Melanie Marshall chose to protect her son’s relationship with his father after separation, a Kintsugi Heroes story about co-parenting with love. After a relationship ended, Melanie made a deliberate choice to keep her son’s bond with his father intact. She set a clear boundary: love for the other parent, and zero conflict over access. It’s […]
When withdrawal of support is the only honest gift
Social support in addiction recovery is not about doing more for someone-it’s about knowing when to step back. In this episode of Grit Diaries, Melanie Marshall shares how she became her partner’s reality partner, wrote three letters that changed everything, and learned the hardest lesson: you cannot care for somebody more than they care for […]
Her father saw the danger and chose to leave everything | Kintsugi Heroes Shorts
Alyssa Chhim-Michelle’s father made an impossible choice. he abandoned his family’s land and dreams to protect them from what was coming. Alyssa Chhim-Michelle’s father faced a moment of clarity during a time of rising conflict. Despite speaking only Cambodian and Thai, he made the decision to leave behind generations of family wealth and land. His […]
A drama series became a mirror to her family | Alyssa Chhim-Michelle | Kintsugi Heroes Shorts
Alyssa Chhim-Michelle watched a young character struggle with illness on screen, then months later discovered her own father carried the same diagnosis. Alyssa Chhim-Michelle was moved to tears by a drama series depicting a young woman facing a genetic illness. The emotional weight of that story stayed with her. Months later, she learned that the […]
My sister’s disability changed everything I thought I wanted
Alyssa Chhim-Michelle grew up in a Cambodian Australian family shaped by her parents’ escape from genocide. When she learned her father carried a rare genetic condition, she faced an impossible choice about her own future. Now as her sister’s caregiver, she confronts the gap between family duty and the life she wants to build. Alyssa […]