Let’s Get UnStuck Podcast

A Fatherhood Story About the Kind of Love That StaysMy Dad is a Superhero was not just a story I read. It was a story I lived, and finally understood.I shared what it looked like to grow up in a home where illness changed everything, and how, in the middle of that, my dad became more than a father. He became caregiver, provider, protector, and the person who kept our family moving when nothing about our situation felt stable.As a kid, I saw tasks getting done. Rides. Meals. Schedules. Presence.As an adult, I see what it actually was.Sacrifice. Pressure. Fear.Love in its most relentless form.What made tonight even more powerful was having Chris B. Writes join us to read his poem, The Caregiver’s Lament. His words added another layer. It brought language to the emotional toll caregivers carry, often in silence, often without recognition.There was something about hearing that poem alongside this story that made everything land deeper.Caregiving is not one moment nor one decision.It is a life that shifts, often without warning, and asks people to keep showing up anyway.That is what tonight was about.It was about the father who stayed.The mother who kept fighting.The family that adjusted, adapted, and grew up inside something none of us chose.And the realization, years later, that what I witnessed was not just responsibility.It was love at a level most people never fully see.If you joined live tonight, thank you.If you are reading this and couldn’t make it, the full episode is now available on Let’s Get Unstuck.If you are a caregiver, or love someone who is, I hope this story made you feel seen.And if you know someone who has carried more than the world ever acknowledged, tell them.Some people spend a lifetime showing up.They deserve to know it mattered.Thank you Nabanita, Sarah-SMR, Ellen Scherr , Lynn J. Broderick , Life On The Other Side and many others for tuning into my live video with Chris B. Writes! Join me for my next live episode with imi Weds, 5/6 5:30pm pst. Get full access to Let’s Get UnStuck at traciedwards1.substack.com/subscribe

Last night, Jason MacKenzie and Let’s Get Unstuck went live for one of those conversations that stays and stays and stays with you long after it ends.Jason shared the heartbreaking loss of his 19 year old daughter, Chloe, and brought listeners into the reality of what grief can look like when tragedy hits a family without warning. He spoke with honesty about shock, fear, trauma, and the impossible moments no parent should ever have to face.We talked about what happens when your body and mind are trying to process something too big to understand. We talked about the decisions people are forced to make while they are still in survival mode. We also talked about the role family can play when someone is barely able to stand under the weight of what has happened.Jason also spoke about men and grief. Too many men are taught to keep it together, stay silent, and carry pain alone. He offered another path, one built on truth, vulnerability, support, and allowing yourself to be fully human in the middle of heartbreak.One of the most meaningful parts of the conversation was hearing how love continues after loss. Even when someone is gone, the connection, the memories, and the impact they had do not disappear.This episode is for anyone grieving a child, grieving someone they love, supporting a person in pain, or trying to understand how people survive life altering loss.It is honest. It is emotional. It is important.The full episode is now available.Come listen to Jason’s story on Let’s Get Unstuck.Thank you Bear Sage, Marlana aka Outtamydamnmind, Lynn J. Broderick, Life On The Other Side, Nabanita, Sarah-SMR, Karen C-Collector of Books📚🧿♒️, and many others for tuning into my live video with Jason MacKenzie! Join me for my next live 4/29 5:30pm pst. SOLO! I will be officially ending The Fatherhood Series to read about my Dad aka my Superhero! Get full access to Let’s Get UnStuck at traciedwards1.substack.com/subscribe

Tonight was incredible. 2 poems, 2 different versions of life and a ton of tears! Seriously Chris B. Writes you need to write a poem book and title it The Gospel of Bray Bray! The two poems, Shave and Another Anagram, and together they gave us a deeply honest look at fatherhood through two very different lenses.👉 Read Shave brought us into the future he once imagined with his son. It held the milestones, the ordinary moments, and the version of life many parents assume will naturally unfold. You could feel the tenderness in that poem, along with the grief that comes when life moves in another direction.👉 Read Another Anagram brought us into the reality he lives every day with Bray Bray, who was born with the rare genetic disorder GNAI1. This poem carried the weight of caregiving, constant awareness, and the kind of love that remains fully present when every moment matters.What made tonight so meaningful was not only the contrast between the two poems, but the truth they revealed together.Life does not always follow the path we pictured. Love does not disappear when that happens. In many cases, it becomes stronger, deeper, and more intentional.Chris gave language to a version of fatherhood that deserves to be seen.He reminded us that strength is not always loud. Sometimes it looks like staying engaged. Sometimes it looks like adapting. Sometimes it looks like continuing to show up in circumstances that ask everything from you.To everyone who joined us live tonight, thank you for being part of a conversation that mattered.If you missed it, the full episode is available now on Let’s Get Unstuck.Thank you mary beth kaplan🪶, Lynn J. Broderick, Annette Sharp, Denise Servais, Sarah-SMR, Bear Sage , Hannah Brown , Erin Gregory, Marlana aka Outtamydamnmind , Milret2, Kelly - Mothers never give up, FaithBindsUs , Jess, The Creator, Bud Hager, Osorio Neo 🇲🇽, Eladio Matos and many others for tuning into my live video with Chris B. Writes! Join me for my next live on 4/22 at 5:30pm PST with Jason MacKenzie where we complete The Fatherhood Series.. Get full access to Let’s Get UnStuck at traciedwards1.substack.com/subscribe

What we talked about in this conversation with Bear Sage and why it matters more than people thinkLast night’s conversation with Bear Sage stayed with me.Not because it was shocking or dramatic, but because it was honest.The kind of honest that most people do not open up about.We talked about what it means to be a parent when the beliefs you were raised with do not line up with the reality in front of you.When your child comes to you and says this is who I am and you realize that loving them is not the question.It is how you love them that matters.Bear did not sit here and pretend he got it right from the beginning.He talked about the discomfort.The resistance and the moments where he did not know what to say or how to respond.That is what made this conversation land.This was not about perfection, it was about staying.Staying in the conversation, in the relationship and long enough to see clearly.There is a moment in the conversation where everything shifts.Where it stops being about understanding and becomes about choice.Do you hold onto what you were taught?Or do you choose your child?That is not a one time decision, it is something you make over and over again.It’s in the way you speak, show up and the way you decide whether your child feels seen or questioned.What Bear showed in this conversation is that protecting your children is not always what we think it is.It is not control.It is not forcing them into something that makes you comfortable.It is learning how to stand with them in who they are, even when you are still figuring it out yourself.That takes humility.It takes self awareness and a willingness to let go of the version of your child that only ever existed in your own expectations.Maybe the most important part of this conversation is this.His children are not in crisis.They know who they are.The real question is whether the people around them are willing to accept it.That is where the work is.That is where the shift happens.If you missed the live, the full episode is now available.And this is one I would sit with.Not just listen to.Sit with.Somewhere in this conversation, there is a moment where you will recognize something in yourself.And that is usually where it starts.Thank you Fiona Bridges , Ilias Shepherd Marrow, Nabanita, Mack Devlin, Sherrie Phillips, KFitz , Life On The Other Side , Dorie Snow/雪多丽 and many others for tuning into my live video with Bear Sage! Join me next week with Chris B. Writes 4/15 5:30pm pst Get full access to Let’s Get UnStuck at traciedwards1.substack.com/subscribe

A post-live reflection on Jeff’s story of infant loss, grief, and what it means to keep goingTonight, Jeff read his story out loud. Boy the tears were flowing for us both! And there are some stories that do not leave you when they are over.This was one of them.He walked us through what it means to become a father…and lose your child in the same moment.Not once.Twice.He spoke about Davian.He spoke about Jadon.And you could feel it.Not in a dramatic way.Not in a way that tries to make it bigger than it already is.Just in a real way.The kind of real that makes you stop what you are doing and actually listen.What stayed with me the most was not only the loss.It was how honest he was about what came after.The grief.The confusion.The pressure to be “the strong one.”He said something that matters.That people told him Cassie needed him to stay strong.To hold it together.But what about him?What about the father who is also grieving?That part does not get talked about enough.And tonight, he talked about it.He gave space to something that so many men carry but do not say out loud.He also talked about faith.Not in a way that had all the answers.But in a way that felt like someone trying to make sense of something that does not make sense.There was a moment where you could feel the shift.Not away from grief.But toward something else existing alongside it.Hope.Not the kind that erases what happened.But the kind that allows you to keep living anyway.That is what this conversation was.Not a story about moving on.But a story about carrying something that never leaves… and still finding a way forward.If you were there live, you felt it.If you were not, I encourage you to go back and listen.Because stories like this matter.They matter for the people who have lived it.And they matter for the people who need to understand it.Thank you, Jeff, for telling the truth about something this heavy.Thank you mary beth kaplan🪶, Nabanita, A Reflection, Bear Sage and many others for tuning into my live video with Life On The Other Side! Get full access to Let’s Get UnStuck at traciedwards1.substack.com/subscribe

Last night, we didn’t define motherhood.We expanded it.Four stories (well 3 b/c Ellen was sick).Four completely different experiences.All true at the same time.We talked about postpartum depression — and what it feels like when you don’t feel like yourself, but everyone expects you to.We talked about adoption — loving a child before you know if they’ll be yours.We talked about breaking patterns — and how hard it is to stop what you were taught without even realizing it.And we talked about identity — how becoming a mother can change how you see everything, including yourself.What stood out wasn’t just the stories.It was how honest everyone was.No one tried to clean it up.No one tried to make it sound better.And because of that, people listening felt it.Not because their story matched exactly.But because parts of it did.One question stayed with me:How do you stay connected to yourself while showing up for everyone else?There wasn’t a perfect answer.Just the reminder that it takes intention.Over and over again.If there’s one thing last night made clear, it’s this:Motherhood is not about getting it right.It’s about being aware enough to choose differently when it matters.Motherhood is not one story.But telling the truth about yours changes everything.Thank you A Girl With MS and a Dream, Kristina Ray, Anna | Tender & True, Christopher Carazas (🇫🇷🇪🇸🇮🇹🇬🇧), Linda Johnson, The Therapist Who Came Undone Marlana aka Outtamydamnmind and many others for tuning into my live video with Erin Gregory and Lynn J. Broderick! Get full access to Let’s Get UnStuck at traciedwards1.substack.com/subscribe

Tonight was an excellent episode with Dr Deborah Vinall who read her story A Metaphorical Kiss. Healing Body Image and Learning Self Compassion in a World That Teaches Us to Criticize Our BodiesThis week’s conversation was centered on something so many people carry, yet rarely pause to examine.The relationship we have with our bodies.Her story reflects on how that relationship begins long before we fully understand it. It forms through the messages we absorb growing up. Comments about appearance. Expectations about how we should look. Subtle comparisons that slowly shape how we learn to see ourselves.Over time, those messages don’t just stay external.They become internal.They turn into the voice in our own heads. The one that critiques. The one that measures. The one that quietly suggests we are not enough as we are.What made Dr. Deb’s story especially powerful is that she shared this not just from her work as a trauma therapist, but from her own lived experience. She took us back to a moment from childhood that stayed with her for years. A moment that, over time, helped her recognize just how deeply those early messages had shaped the way she related to her own body.And more importantly, it opened the door to something different.A shift.Not one that happened all at once, but one that began with awareness.The realization that the way we speak to ourselves is often learned. And if it is learned, it can also be questioned.It can be softened.It can change.At the heart of her story is an invitation.To move away from criticism and toward compassion.To stop viewing our bodies as something to control or fix, and begin seeing them as something that carries us through life.If this conversation resonated with you, you’re not alone in it.And more importantly, you’re not stuck in it.There is another way to relate to yourself.And it can begin with something small.A different thought.A softer voice.A moment of compassion you choose to give yourself.Thank you Andrea 🌄, The Therapist Who Came Undone, Kathryn Wallenstein, and many others for tuning into my live video with Dr Deborah Vinall! Get full access to Let’s Get UnStuck at traciedwards1.substack.com/subscribe

This week on Let’s Get Unstuck, I had the opportunity to sit down with Pam Voss for a deeply honest conversation about how clarity sometimes arrives slowly, and often in ways we do not expect.Pam shared how journaling began as a simple daily habit. At first it was a place to reflect on her thoughts, her faith, and the things she hoped to improve in her life. But over time those pages began capturing something else entirely. Conversations that left her unsettled. Moments that felt confusing. Patterns that slowly started to reveal themselves.As Pam continued writing, she began to recognize something she had not fully understood before. The relationship she believed was healthy was actually shaped by manipulation, gaslighting, and emotional control that had left her questioning her own reality.What makes Pam’s story so powerful is that the realization did not come through one dramatic moment. It came through small observations, counseling, and the willingness to look honestly at what her journal entries were revealing over time.Eventually that clarity brought Pam to a difficult crossroads. She had to decide whether to continue living within a relationship that was harming her or choose a different path forward.She chose courage.Today Pam uses her experience to help others who may be feeling confused or stuck in their own lives. Through coaching and conversation, she helps people cut through the fog, gain clarity about what they are experiencing, and move toward lives that feel healthier and more aligned with who they truly are.Our conversation was a reminder that sometimes the most powerful thing we can do is begin paying attention to our own story. And sometimes the simple act of writing things down can help us see truths we were not yet ready to face.Pam’s story is not just about leaving a marriage. It is about learning to trust your own voice again.Thank you Marlana aka Outtamydamnmind Chris B. Writes Lynn J. Broderick and to everyone who tuned into my live video! Join me for my next live Weds, 3/18 5:30pm PST with Dr Deborah Vinall Get full access to Let’s Get UnStuck at traciedwards1.substack.com/subscribe

Isabelle will be reading her story November 24.What may seem like a date to you, is a date that changed Isabelle’s entire life around.Twenty four had always been her lucky number. The day she was born. A number that felt whole. Shared.And then on November 24, 2023, everything changed.That was the night she gathered her two little boys, fought for her life in her own garage, and drove away barefoot, unbuckled, shaking, but alive.This conversation includes domestic violence, mental illness, and suicide. Please listen with care and honor your capacity.Isabelle speaks openly about loving someone who was struggling with mental illness, about the night that forced her into survival mode, and about the complicated truth of holding compassion while refusing harm.She talks about panic so intense her body could not manage it.About choosing medication when she did not want to.Building rituals that helped her nervous system feel safe again.And stepping out of people pleasing and into power.Also, what it means to choose yourself when staying could cost you everything.This is not an easy story.But it is an important one.If you have ever ignored the whisper in your body or felt isolated in your own home and loved someone and still had to leave, please join us.We will talk about survival, motherhood, trauma, grief, and rebuilding after the unimaginable.There is strength inside this conversation.There is honesty.And there is hope.Thank you Spirit Punk, Hannah Brown, Pam Voss, CHPC, Mark Bayless, Para-Prose, and many others for tuning into my live video with Isabelle! Get full access to Let’s Get UnStuck at traciedwards1.substack.com/subscribe

**Note this can be triggering as it talks about attempted suicide. Ellen Scherr has completed our Motherhood Series, All the Ways a Mother is Born. Ellen’s story I Almost Lost My Daughter Before I Realized I Was the Problem is one of the heaviest stories I have read about Motherhood, self realization, self-reflection, accountability and it is pure honesty.She read her story and walked us through the moment everything changes because of a 2:47am phone call no parent every wants to receive.A 20-year-old daughter.A bottle of pills.An emergency room.And a mother forced to confront the truth no parent wants to see:“I wasn’t the parent helping my daughter survive.I was the reason she wanted to die.”This is not a story about teenage rebellion.This is a story about intergenerational trauma.About nervous systems stuck in survival mode.About control disguised as love.About “stress management” that never touches the wound.Ellen thought she had done the work.She was a therapist.She didn’t drink like her father.She showed up.She tried harder.But trying harder doesn’t heal trauma.And sometimes the hardest truth to face is this:Your unhealed wounds don’t stay in the past.They live in your body.They shape how you parent.In this episode, we talk about:* The night everything collapsed* The moment her daughter said, “I’m scared of you.”* Becoming the parent she swore she would never be* Starting trauma therapy at 55* What it actually takes to break a generational cycle* The difference between being “stressed” and being dysregulated* Repairing a relationship that almost didn’t surviveAnd the line that will stay with you:“Starting trauma therapy wasn’t about becoming a better parent.It was about becoming a less dangerous one.”This conversation is raw.It’s confronting.It’s honest in a way most parents are too afraid to be.But it’s also hopeful.Because Ellen’s daughter is 35 now.Thriving. Married. Living her life.And Ellen did the work.If you are a parent…If you were raised in chaos…If you’re afraid of repeating what was done to you…Thank you Erin Gregory, Lynn J. Broderick, Nabanita, Marlana, and many others for tuning into my live video with Ellen Scherr! Please subscribe to Let’s Get Unstuck Blog Get full access to Let’s Get UnStuck at traciedwards1.substack.com/subscribe

Erin Gregory writes, How I Lost MySelf in Motherhood and Found Myself Again , is a deeply honest reflection on what happens after the baby arrives… when the expectations fade, the exhaustion sets in, and the version of yourself you once knew feels harder to reach.This isn’t a story about not loving your child.It’s a story about loving your child and struggling with the quiet loss of identity that can follow.In our live conversation, Erin opens up about postpartum mental health, colic, medical uncertainty, isolation, and the emotional weight of feeling responsible for everything — while slowly realizing she no longer recognized herself. She talks about the pressure to “bounce back,” the guilt that comes with needing space, and the long, uneven road back to purpose.We’ll be talking about:* The early realities of motherhood that feel overwhelming, isolating, and rarely spoken aloud* Postpartum mental health and the identity shift that can catch parents off guard* What it means to grieve who you were while learning who you’re becoming* How small moments, community, and movement can help you reconnect with yourself* Why reclaiming your sense of self isn’t selfish — it’s essentialThis conversation isn’t about offering perfect solutions or tidy endings.It’s about telling the truth. About naming the hard parts. And about reminding anyone in the messy middle that feeling lost doesn’t mean you’ve failed — it means you’re human.Next up is Ellen Scherr, Wednesday 2/18 at 5:30pm pst This will complete our 4-part Motherhood Series. Ellen’s story is heavy, reflective, grounding and her truth. It’s phone call at 2:47am that changed everything. Thank you Chris B. Writes, Marlana, Lynn J. Broderick, and many others for tuning into my live video with Erin Gregory! Get full access to Let’s Get UnStuck at traciedwards1.substack.com/subscribe

Some love stories don’t begin with certainty.They begin with waiting. With fear. With the quiet understanding that everything could still fall apart.Tonight we went live with writer Lynn J. Broderick to talk about A Story that Could Have Gone Either Way — a deeply honest adoption story that explores infertility, choice, grief, hope, and the love that almost wasn’t hers to keep.Lynn shares what it means to hold joy and loss at the same time, to love a child before knowing if that love will be returned, and to live with gratitude for a story that could have ended differently.This is a conversation about motherhood in its many forms, the emotional weight of adoption, and the moments that change everything — even when nothing feels certain.* Loving a child before knowing if that love will be yours to keep* The emotional complexity of adoption — beyond the paperwork and happy endings* Infertility, waiting, and the moments where hope and fear coexist* Honoring birth parents, choice, and the grief that lives alongside gratitude* How one story unfolds across a lifetime, long after the decision is madeThank you John Rinaldo , Chris B. Writes, KaZ In The World, Marlana and many others for tuning into my live video with Lynn J. Broderick! Join me for my next lives on the Motherhood Series 2/11 Erin Gregory 2/18 Ellen Scherr Get full access to Let’s Get UnStuck at traciedwards1.substack.com/subscribe

We grow up thinking motherhood has a clear outline. The one with neat edges, one version, one path.Then real life steps in and redraws everything.Not with illness or trauma or choice alone, but with the things we witnessed, the moments that marked us, and the parts of life we had to make sense of on our own.It’s not the picture-perfect version we grew up imagining.It’s the one we lived our way into.Motherhood doesn’t have one story!This 4 part series tells the ones we don’t hear enough of.Motherhood isn’t one path, it’s a spectrum of experiences that rarely look like the stories we were handed growing up.Some women become mothers through birth.Some through adoption.Some through healing the wounds they once carried into their parenting.And some find motherhood in the unexpected ways we show up in the lives of others.This four-part series brings together four women whose journeys could not be more different, yet each one reveals a truth so many of us feel but rarely say out loud:There is no single way to be a mother. And there is no wrong way to be one, either.If you’ve ever questioned your own path…If you’ve ever felt unseen or “outside the lines”…If you’ve ever wondered whether your version of motherhood counts, this is the series you tune into.These are the stories that stop you, hold you, and remind you that motherhood is not a mold; it’s a becoming.Meet the Four Stories Coming Your Way1. Why I Thought Motherhood Wasn’t Meant for MeTraci Edwards, Let’s Get Unstuck - the fear of losing myself, my marriage, my body, my freedom… and the version of motherhood that found me anyway.2. A Love Story That Could Have Gone Either WayLynn J. Broderick - A fragile road to adoption. The waiting, the fear, and the baby she loved long before she knew he’d ever be hers. Going Live 2/43. How I Lost Myself in Motherhood and Found Myself AgainErin Gregory, Erin Gregory Creative - Postpartum depression. A sick baby. A marriage stretched thin. A career sacrificed. Erin’s story is what happens when motherhood asks more than anyone can prepare for. Going Live 2/114. I Almost Lost My Daughter Before I Realized I Was the ProblemEllen Scherr, Life BranchesWhy We’re Doing This — TogetherMotherhood is often sold as one tidy story.Before You Go…If motherhood, in ANY form, has ever felt complicated for you, you’re in the right place.Join us Live Schedule: 5:30pm pst* 1/28 - Traci Edwards, Let’s Get Unstuck* 2/4 - Lynn J Broderick, Lynn J Broderick* 2/11 - Erin Gregory, Erin Gregory Creative* 2/18 - Ellen Scherr, Life Branches Get full access to Let’s Get UnStuck at traciedwards1.substack.com/subscribe

Last Night on Let’s Get Unstuck Live, I sat down with The Therapist Who Came Undone for a conversation about grief, friendship, and what it means to show up when nothing can be fixed.She read her story F**k It Bucket It — a reflection on profound loss, a milestone birthday reshaped by grief, and the friends who arrived not with answers, but with presence.This is a story about:* grief that changes the shape of everything* friendship in the aftermath of loss* showing up without trying to fix* love without instructions* letting meaning unfold instead of forcing itWhat makes this story land isn’t just what happened — it’s the honesty in how it’s held. There’s no rush to resolve the pain. No tidy bow. Just truth, connection, and the quiet power of staying.And the bucket?It’s unexpected. Irreverent. Exactly right.This conversation is for:* anyone grieving a loss that still feels close* anyone who’s been held up by friends when they couldn’t stand* anyone learning that presence matters more than answers* anyone navigating the tension between meaning and messBe sure to support and subscriber to The Therapist Who Came Undone & Let’s Get Unstuck Live, Get full access to Let’s Get UnStuck at traciedwards1.substack.com/subscribe

Last night on Let’s Get Unstuck Live, I sat down with Anna of Tender & True for a conversation about motherhood when life doesn’t follow the plan you imagined.Anna reads her story titled So, the Anatomy Brought Hard News- You’re Not Alone. It’s about learning her son would be born with a limb difference — a moment that stops time, rearranges expectations, and forces you to confront fear, grief, faith, and love all at once.This is a story about:* motherhood you don’t prepare for* receiving life-altering news during pregnancy* raising a child with a limb difference* holding fear and faith in the same breath* choosing love again and again, even when the future feels uncertainWhat makes Anna’s story so powerful isn’t just what happened — it’s how she met it. With honesty. With vulnerability. With a heart wide enough to hold both grief and deep devotion to her son.And the letter she writes at the end? OMG, be prepared to cry your eyes out!It will undo you.It’s raw. It’s faithful. It’s filled with the fierce, unconditional love only a mother can give — the kind that doesn’t need fixing or answers, just presence.This conversation is for:* mothers navigating unexpected diagnoses* parents raising children with disabilities or limb differences* anyone who’s had to let go of the life they imagined and learn how to love the one they were given* anyone who needs to be reminded that love doesn’t disappear when plans change — it deepensRemember to support by subscribing to Anna and Let’s Get Unstuck Get full access to Let’s Get UnStuck at traciedwards1.substack.com/subscribe

Read Jake’s Story - Authenticity & Anthony BourdainI held off on having Jake Summers on Let’s Get Unstuck Live until 2026 for a reason.His story felt like the right way to kick off this year — with honesty, risk, and the kind of truth that rattles something awake in you.Jake walked away from a six-figure finance career — the kind of life that checks all the boxes society tells you to want — and followed a pull that didn’t make sense on paper.That pull took him across the world to rural Cambodia.Sleeping in a shipping container.Showering with river water.Building a mango farm from the ground up.What struck me most while reading his story is why Anthony Bourdain mattered so much to him.They both lived corporate lives that looked impressive from the outside.And they both chose curiosity over comfort.Travel over performance.Authenticity over approval.Jake doesn’t glamorize that choice — he tells the truth about the fear, the uncertainty, the relapses, the rebuilding, and the constant work of choosing a life that actually feels like his.We lost Anthony Bourdain far too soon.But reading Jake’s story reminded me what it looks like to take chances while you’re still here — to give up what people think matters most: money, status, stability and build something meaningful anyway.This isn’t a story about quitting your job or moving to Cambodia.It’s a story about asking yourself one uncomfortable question:Am I building a life that looks good… or a life that feels true?🎙️ Let’s Get Unstuck Live with Jake SummersWe’ll have a conversation about authenticity, reinvention, choosing truth over applause and what happens when you stop performing and start living.If you’ve ever felt the pull to burn down a version of yourself that no longer fits — this conversation is for you.Read Jake’s Story - Authenticity & Anthony BourdainPlease subscribe to Let’s Get Unstuck’s Blog and Jake Summers Get full access to Let’s Get UnStuck at traciedwards1.substack.com/subscribe

Hannah’s story begins with a diagnosis — Stage III endometrial cancer at thirty-two — and a sentence no one is ever prepared to hear. But what unfolds isn’t just about illness or prognosis.It’s about what surfaces when time suddenly feels fragile. It’s about grief that never fully had space to breathe — especially the loss of her mother when Hannah was just nine years old —this followed her into adulthood, influencing how she learned to worry, to brace, and to survive.In her writing, Hannah doesn’t rush toward answers or silver linings.She allows us to sit inside the fear, the memories, the questions, and the weight of realizing how much has been carried for so long.This story is about reckoning. About how past loss collides with present reality. About what happens when the body forces us to listen to what the heart has been holding.Hannah writes her story with honesty that doesn’t ask for sympathy — it simply asks the reader to truly see her experience. Get full access to Let’s Get UnStuck at traciedwards1.substack.com/subscribe

Full Episode of today’s Live withGabrielle SojournerThis brave soul jumped on camera for the 1st time to tell her storyOne that stems from pain - living in a relationship ofIntimate Partner Rape & Psychological AbuseHere she tells us how she decided one day that enough is enoughHer strength to walk away.The deep depression that set in with an attempted suicide.Being misunderstood by her Dr. & speaking to authorities who never listened.To hours of therapy and finally reclaiming her life no longer as a victim, but a true “thriver”Please share your support and listen and comment with kindness. Thank you Get full access to Let’s Get UnStuck at traciedwards1.substack.com/subscribe

I’m joined by someone who blends science, emotional truth, and lived experience in a way that women in midlife desperately need to hear.Her story tonight has gone viral and I can’t wait to share it with you.Ellen Scherr is a licensed clinical therapist, a certified life and business coach, and a woman who has personally walked through the emotional turbulence of midlife. She has tackled divorce, career reinvention, identity shifts, menopause, and the mental load that women are expected to carry without collapsing.Her piece, ‘Aging Out of F***s: The Neuroscience of Why You Suddenly Can’t Pretend Anymore,’ has resonated deeply with thousands of women because it names something we all feel but rarely understand — that sudden moment when the performance stops, the filter breaks, and the truth comes out sharper and faster than you expected.What I love about Ellen is that she doesn’t just explain this scientifically — she normalizes it emotionally. She reminds women they’re not broken; they’re becoming clearer, braver, and more aligned with themselves than ever before. Get full access to Let’s Get UnStuck at traciedwards1.substack.com/subscribe

I’m joined by a writer whose work doesn’t just tell a story — it makes you feel your own.John also known as The Positive Pen on SS is an author, artist, and storyteller with a gift for noticing the quiet things most people rush past — the small gestures, the in-between moments, the conversations that happen without words.His chapter, ‘Postcards and Miles,’ is one of those rare pieces that reads like a film and feels like a confession — a story about fatherhood, heartbreak, mentorship, and the small rituals that become anchors when the rest of life is unsteady.It’s tender, cinematic, and deeply human.And what makes it even more powerful is knowing that this isn’t imagined — it’s lived. Get full access to Let’s Get UnStuck at traciedwards1.substack.com/subscribe

I’m joined by a man whose strength lives somewhere between exhaustion and grace.Chris B. is an award-winning poet, caregiver, dad and husband— and if you ask his son Brayden, he’s also a real-life superhero.Brayden, lovingly called Bray Bray, was born with a rare genetic disorder that causes seizures and developmental delays. But his light — and his laughter — became the center of Chris’s poetry, his purpose, and his faith. But let’s pause, that smile from Bray Bray… You think you are having a bad day.. Look at Bray Bray’s smile as that kid can turn a frown upside down in a heart beat!In his poem ‘The Believer,’ Chris takes us into the raw, unfiltered world of caregiving — where anger and gratitude often share the same heartbeat. He writes about the paperwork, the walls, the sleepless nights, and the love that still manages to shine through it all.Tonight, we’ll talk about what it means to be the strong one, what it means to break the cycle of frustration, and how a father and son remind each other what belief truly looks like. Get full access to Let’s Get UnStuck at traciedwards1.substack.com/subscribe

To all you gems that showed up to support, Thank you! You know it’s not easy to show up and be brave to tell our stories, but we do it anyway! Why, b/c we are here to help others! Thank you so much: Massive Shout out to Bear Sage 🐻Kaylie Klein, Hannah Brown, Psychic Medium, Donna Frasca, Rey Pacheco, Hari G. Darcy, Sage Taylor Kingsley and many others for tuning into my live video with Bear Sage! Also, can someone PLEASE teach me what the hell I am doing wrong with Substack Lives? 😆 My goodness! Technically challenged over here 🙋🏻‍♀️Join me next Wednesday at 5:30pm PST when I get the pleasure to hang out with one of my buddies Chris B. Writes Chris’s will be reading us all a gorgeous poem called The Believer and similar to this evening I will be asking Chris questions about what inspired his story. Get full access to Let’s Get UnStuck at traciedwards1.substack.com/subscribe

I’m joined by writer Kaylie Klein, aka The Space Between and she wrote a story called‘The Freedom I Was Chasing Wasn’t Freedom At All’ as this redefines what liberation really looks like. Kaylie opens up about the illusion of freedom that came with addictionhow she’s found a deeper kind of freedom through sobriety —one rooted in presence, motherhood, and purpose.Her story is raw, unfiltered,reflective.. Really just beautifully honestit’s a reminder that sometimes the real work begins once we stop running. Get full access to Let’s Get UnStuck at traciedwards1.substack.com/subscribe

I always have so much fun doing these Lives. My biggest fear is public speaking and even speaking on Live, but I do it! Practice will never make perfect but it will make greatness. Each time I feel better and better. Next Weds I go Live with interviews. I am excited and breaking down these walls shows growth and I am proud of myself! Thank you Mark Willis, Elijah Westin, Ellen Scherr, and many others for tuning into my live video! Get full access to Let’s Get UnStuck at traciedwards1.substack.com/subscribe

In this raw and honest episode, Traci shares the part of her story she once avoided — the years she carried shame, chased chaos, and stayed in toxic relationships because she believed she deserved the hurt. She opens up about the abusive partnerships, the self-betrayal, and the patterns that kept her stuck, and the moment she finally began to forgive herself.This conversation is about reclaiming self-worth, breaking cycles of pain, and learning that healing begins the moment you choose yourself.If you’ve ever felt trapped by your past or defined by your mistakes, this episode will remind you that you are not beyond repair — and that a different life is possible. Get full access to Let’s Get UnStuck at traciedwards1.substack.com/subscribe

Midlife hit me like a freight train — one day I was fine, and the next I was crying over dog commercials, spiraling in anxiety, watching my confidence disappear, and wondering why my face suddenly looked puffy. It wasn’t just hormones; it was the scary feeling that my purpose, joy, and spark had quietly slipped out the back door.And then I realized something that changed everything: my husband was going through his own midlife shift too — silently, invisibly, the way so many men do.This episode is an honest look at what happens when both partners unravel at the same time… and how midlife isn’t a crisis, but a wake-up call to rediscover who you’re becoming. Get full access to Let’s Get UnStuck at traciedwards1.substack.com/subscribe

The woman I considered the closest thing to blood — my mentor, my boss, my anchor — turned out to be the mastermind behind the largest female-led Ponzi scheme in America.When the truth broke, so did I: my job, my financial security, my identity, and ten years of loyalty collapsed in a single phone call. This episode explores the emotional abuse, manipulation, and gaslighting I endured, the trauma that stayed buried, and the moment I finally realized I hadn’t healed at all. It’s a story about betrayal, self-worth, and beginning again when everything familiar disappears.If you’ve ever felt destroyed by someone you trusted, this episode is a reminder that reclaiming yourself is still possible. Get full access to Let’s Get UnStuck at traciedwards1.substack.com/subscribe