50. Healing Isn’t Pretty: Grief, ADHD & Connecting the Dots with Amanda Graham

Welcome to Life, Biz and All That Jazz — the podcast where real talk meets transformation.This one is Episode 50, and it’s for the multi-passionate creatives, the grief holders, the people who know they’re meant for more… but don’t know where to begin. If you’ve been moving through the fog, carrying too much, and wondering when it finally starts to make sense, you’re going to feel seen here.In today’s episode, Jasmine is joined by Amanda Graham, screenwriter, speaker, author, and storytelling powerhouse — for a raw and powerful conversation about healing, grief, creativity, ADHD, and rebuilding your life after chaos. Amanda doesn’t sugarcoat it: healing isn’t aesthetic. It’s not “yoga by a waterfall.” It’s messy, confronting, and sometimes ugly, but it’s also where the turning point begins.Amanda shares what life was like before things started to shift: growing up in religious fundamentalism, living through control and chaos, and navigating adulthood feeling like everyone else had life figured out… while she was still trying to survive. She takes us into the moment that changed everything — a day after praying for something, anything, to keep going — when she heard a message that would become her anchor:You can only connect the dots looking backwards.At first, she hated it. (Fair.) But as life continued throwing curveballs — breakups, financial stress, career uncertainty, and grief — she began to see what that message actually meant: the painful moments weren’t random. They were dots. And over time, those dots started to create a map.This episode also dives into what it’s like to be the “adult in the room” while your inner child is panicking — how uncertainty can trigger old survival patterns, why shame keeps us stuck, and how self-awareness becomes the tool that stops the spiral. Jasmine shares her own reflections on sobriety, grief, nervous system healing, and how learning to sit with emotion (instead of escaping it) changed everything.One of the biggest gems in this conversation is Amanda’s take on reverse engineering — not just reverse engineering goals, but reverse engineering your failures. Instead of staying stuck in “why am I like this?”, she shows how to ask:What did this breakdown reveal?What problem keeps showing up?What skill did I gain from surviving this?How can I turn the thing I struggled with into the thing that becomes my work?That shift took her from chaos to clarity, and helped her build opportunities, create momentum, and turn lived experience into something meaningful.Amanda also opens up about writing her book: “Good Stuff to Read When You’re About to Lose Your Sh*t” — a practical, real-life support guide for the moments when you don’t have the energy for long chapters or perfect routines… you just need something true enough to get you through the next hour.This isn’t an episode about having it all figured out. It’s about remembering that you’re not behind, you’re not broken, and you’re not alone. You’re becoming — one messy, brave step at a time.If you’re in the fog right now, let this episode be your reminder: the dots are there. And one day, you’ll see the picture.Connect with Jasmine📍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasminelisciottoofficial📍 Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifebizandallthatjazz📍 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lifebizandallthatjazz📍 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JasmineLisciottoConnect with Amanda:📍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/minefieldness/📍 Website: https://www.itsamandagraham.com/📚 Book - Good Stuff to Read When You're About to Lose Your Shit https://www.itsamandagraham.com/shop/p/buy-good-stuff