SARAH STOCKHAM: From Rainfores to TV Host. Painful life detours and the secrets to staying grounded.

In this episode of Stories Across the Table, Bridget Cook-Burch and Steve Ramona welcome Sarah Stockham, award-winning television host of Simply Sarah on E3 TV, former music educator, and a woman whose childhood at a makeshift table on the edge of the rainforest in central Africa turned out to be the best preparation imaginable for a life spent hosting meaningful conversations.Sarah grew up in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where her missionary parents built schools and welcomed dignitaries from around the world to a table made of two sawhorses and a door draped in African fabric. People came with different languages, different beliefs, and different visions for the future, and the table held all of it. That early lesson, that conversation across differences is not just possible but essential, became the throughline of everything Sarah has done since.With grace, humility, and a warmth that fills the room, Sarah shares how thirty-five years of teaching music gave way to a television career she never planned, how a traumatic event in a classroom became the doorway to a calling she could not have imagined, and why she believes the most powerful thing any of us can do is honor the people who invested in us by keeping that energy moving forward.Around the table, Bridget, Steve, and Sarah explore the art of unintentional mentorship, what it means to start the day grounded before you start it in service, and how a show built on nothing but honest unhurried conversation is reaching over a million viewers a year.This episode is for anyone who has ever felt pushed out of something they loved and wondered whether what waited on the other side could possibly be worth it.Pull up a chair. This is a story of a girl raised at the edge of the rainforest who grew up to build a table of her own, and of the quiet voice that kept telling her the best conversation was still ahead.BIO:Before Sarah Stockham was born, she was introduced to loss. During her mother's pregnancy, an international incident in the Democratic Republic of Congo claimed the life of a colleague who died attempting to rescue a group of missionaries — including Sarah's parents, who were among those being held. Sarah shares this not to compare losses — one cannot — but because it shaped everything that followed. It was her earliest introduction to what she would spend a lifetime learning to navigate: the cascading stress of loss, grief, and the long work of choosing life again.Sarah spent 35 years as an award-winning educator before discovering that stress isn't just something to manage — it's something you can prevent. A #1 Amazon Bestselling Author, Award-Winning TV Host, and Reiki Master, she now teaches women — especially teachers nearing retirement — how to break stress cycles and choose life again after loss, transition, and the accumulated weight of giving everything to everyone else.As Host, Creator, and Producer of Simply Sarah on e360TV, founder of Peaceful Pathways Community, and creator of Reiki Claremont, Sarah brings over three decades of teaching excellence together with energetic healing, nervous system science, and her own journey through PTSD recovery and reinvention at 58.She has witnessed firsthand how loss — of loved ones, of identity, of financial structure, of the ease of gathering — can lead us to build emotional tombs for ourselves, stuffed with regret, guilt, loneliness, and anxiety. Her life's work is giving voice to what choosing life again actually looks like — through the deeply connecting power of community, spiritually guided meditation, Reiki healing practices infused with celestial wisdom, and leaning into the God she calls Papa.She holds a Master's Degree in Education and an Administrative Certificate and has been recognized as both a Master Teacher and Mentor Teacher.Sarah believes it is always okay to care — without carrying the burden.LINKS: https://instagram.com/sarahstockhamhttps://www.facebook.com/sarah.stockham.2025/https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahstockhamSarahStockham.comReikiClaremont.comhttps://www.youtube.com/SarahStockhamYouTube: @StoriesAcrossTheTable https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHPeekMqKYjBAwO28gLSvRABridget’s Free Community - Inspired Writers Clubhouse for Writers and Authors: https://www.inspiredwritersclubhouse.comBridget’s Free Newsletter: https://www.yourinspiredstory.com/newsletter Steve’s Free Community: https://www.skool.com/steve-ramona-community-9836Steve’s Free Newsletter: https://doing-business-with-a-servants-heart.kit.com/steveramonaSteve’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveramona/’Bridget’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mbridgetcookburch/  Steve’s X/Twitter: https://x.com/oppbrokerBridget’s X/Twitter: @inspiritwriter Steve’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bizopportunitynow/Bridget’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bridgetcookburch/ Substack: https://p...