Episodes

Rebecca walked the path of cancer with her mom twice, including when she was going through a divorce with small children. She knew she had a choice. Rebecca could crumble under the weight of it all or accept that change is how we grow. She took on her mom’s strength, chose to live a life of gratitude and became an observer in her life. Rebecca shares these powerful nuggets of life wisdom:
– choose gratitude
– find joy in the midst of pain
– it’s all about perspective
– this life is for you
– continue to thrive and grow each day
– believe that good will come from any experience
– be open to what we are here to learn
– treasure each moment
– take stock of what life means to you

Rebecca is passionate about rethinking possible and brings intellectual humility to all of her endeavors, including several teaching roles at the master’s level. Her passion in writing is to demystify taboo topics, such as cancer and death, and to inspire others to be courageous and learn about their loved ones’ wishes, while creating lasting connections. Rebecca’s award-winning debut memoir, The Gift of Goodbye: A Story of Agape Love, is her personal story of walking the End of Life path with her mother. Her second book, All Of Us Warriors: Cancer Stories of Survival and Loss, provides advice regarding how to approach someone you love living with cancer and tips and tricks for helping others feel joy in the midst of pain. She has been a featured Maria Shriver Architect of Change on surviving grief and shared her healing through yoga story on mindbodygreen.com. She holds a certification in the Foundations of Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, is a certified End of Life Doula, and a Fellow of the Nashville Healthcare Council. She has served in healthcare executive roles for several global companies, most recently UnitedHealthcare, and now is the COO of 180HealthPartners. Rebecca is happiest when outdoors, practicing yoga, finding great Medican food, being a mom, and using her chaotic Aries energy for good. She was born in Bloomington, IN, grew up in Houston, TX, and has lived in Nashville, TN, since 2005.

https://rebeccawmunnauthor.com/ 
https://www.facebook.com/rebeccawmunnauthor/ 
https://twitter.com/rebeccawmunn 

tags:  Rebecca, Whitehead, Munn, author, writer, All, of, Us, Warriors, Cancer, Stories, of, Survival, and, Loss, storiesthatempower.com, story, stories, that, empower, empowering, empowerment, inspire, inspiring, inspiration, encourage, encouraging, encouragement, hope, light, podcast, Sean

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Diane lived in an orphanage, then adopted by a family. She felt rejected and abandoned, as if no one was coming to retrieve her. Diane internalized the trauma. She became her own mother and father; with inner logical voices of wisdom. Then, Diane’s biological father contacted her. Initially, her cart was turned over, as she had to become conscious of her new and old self. Then, Diane began to feel complete and utter relief and thought ‘at last’. She began to dismantle the stories she had constructed about herself and erase the old patterns. Diane started stitching together a new identity. She accepted herself for who she was. Diane shares these powerful nuggets of life wisdom:
– stories are at the crust of our identities
– let go of others’ expectations
– trust that you have everything you need within you
– recognize that we are flawed
– embrace yourself, the dark and the light
– speak and own your story
– you have the right to your story
– connect to yourself and others through your story

Gulf Coast author Diane Dewey writes a memoir of family secrets, lies, love, and redemption. Adopted in America from a German orphanage, she met her Swiss biological father at age forty-seven after he searched for her. The impact of uncovering these roots was Diane’s quest to find her German biological mother and learn her story. These discoveries reverberated throughout her life in myriad unexpected ways.

https://dianedewey.com/ 

tags: Diane, Dewey, writer, author, memoir, Fixing, the, Fates, Adoptee’s, Story, Truth, Lies, storiesthatempower.com, story, stories, that, empower, empowering, empowerment, inspire, inspiring, inspiration, encourage, encouraging, encouragement, hope, light, podcast, Sean

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Watching her mother and grandmother experience alzheimer’s disease, encouraged Joan to pursue to educate and empower herself on the disease. She shares the following nuggets of life wisdom:
– there is no way to calculate own personal risk
– we need to be comfortable with the risk of alzheimer’s
– good writing is authentic
– educate yourself about alzheimer’s at https://alz.org/

Originally from Mount Vernon, New York, Joan Cohen received her BA from Cornell University and her MBA from New York University.

She pursued a career in sales and marketing at computer hardware and software companies until she retired to return to school for an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts.

She has been a Massachusetts resident for many years, first living in Newton, where she raised her family, and later in Wayland. She now resides in Stockbridge, in the Berkshires, with her husband and golden retriever.

http://joancohenauthor.com/ 

tags: Joan, Cohen, author, writer, Land, of, Last, Chances, storiesthatempower.com, story, stories, that, empower, empowering, empowerment, inspire, inspiring, inspiration, encourage, encouraging, encouragement, hope, light, podcast, Sean

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