Other People's Shoes

⚠️ CONTENT WARNING This episode contains discussions surrounding suicide, trauma, grief, and emotional loss that may be difficult for some listeners. Listener discretion is advised. If you or someone you know is struggling, please know you are not alone. In the United States and Canada, help is available by calling or texting 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. There is hope. There is help. And your story is not over. 🎙 STAIRCASE THE LIST We all wish forgiveness happened in a moment. One apology. One prayer. One decision… and suddenly the pain disappears. But forgiveness usually doesn’t work like that. It’s more like climbing a staircase. One step forward. One hard conversation. One choice to let go… even when part of you still wants to hold on. Some days you feel like you’re making progress. Other days you feel stuck on the same step you’ve been standing on for years. Because forgiveness isn’t easy. Especially when the wounds run deep. Sometimes the wounds come from betrayal. Sometimes from loss. Sometimes from tragedy so heavy it changes everything that comes after it. This season, we’re stepping into stories about the list the people, the moments, and the pain we carry and what it really looks like to begin crossing names off one step at a time. 👣 GUEST INTRODUCTION Heather Mylan-Mains knows forgiveness is not a straight line. It’s a climb. A process built one painful, intentional step at a time. Heather often says she has a “PhD in life,” because she’s survived more hard days than she can count. Through family fractures, heartbreak, loss, and unimaginable tragedy, she discovered something life-changing: We are not defined by what happens to us… but by how we choose to respond. In this deeply honest conversation, Heather shares about surviving the trauma of her ex-husband taking his own life by shooting himself in the head a moment that forever altered the course of her story and forced her to wrestle with grief, pain, anger, questions, and ultimately forgiveness. Rather than allowing bitterness to define her, Heather chose to begin the difficult climb toward healing. Her journey eventually led her to create a seven-step forgiveness framework rooted in faith, healing, mercy, and grace through Jesus Christ’s atonement. In this episode, Heather shares how forgiveness transformed her relationships, her outlook, and even the way she sees suffering itself. She’s the author of Unwrapping Forgiveness: The Gift of Mercy and Grace, where she openly shares her story and the lessons she learned while learning to forgive. Professionally, Heather helps organizations and teams solve complex problems with a background in accounting and an MBA but her deepest work may be helping people untangle the weight unforgiveness leaves behind. From Des Moines, Heather lives with contagious gratitude, unwavering optimism, and a belief that even the hardest moments can still become opportunities for healing. 💭 INSIGHT TO TAKE AWAY How tightly are you still holding onto unforgiveness? Is there someone whose name still lives on your list? What if forgiveness isn’t about giving control back to the person who hurt you… but finally releasing their control over you? Are you willing to make amends if the opportunity came? And what role does grace play in learning to let go? Sometimes healing doesn’t happen all at once. Sometimes it looks like a staircase. One step at a time. 🌐 CONNECT  Website: Heather Mylan-Mains Official Website Instagram: @mylanmains Book: Unwrapping Forgiveness: The Gift of Mercy and Grace 👟 OTHER PEOPLE’S SHOES Instagram 👟 Facebook 👟 X (Twitter) 👟 YouTube 👟 Website 👟 ⭐ LEAVE US A REVIEW If this episode challenged you, encouraged you, or helped you rethink forgiveness… don’t keep it to yourself. Leave a Review 👟

    🎙 THE MOMENT We all have one. A list we don’t write down. A list we don’t talk about. A list of people we just can’t seem to forgive. Maybe it’s what they said. Maybe it’s what they did. Maybe it’s what they took. And if we’re being honest… sometimes the hardest name on that list… is our own. This season, we’re stepping into stories shaped by who made the list and what it really takes to start crossing names off. 👣 GUEST INTRODUCTION Joe Chris Rodriguez knows what it feels like to have life split into two parts: Before… and after the moment. While serving in the United States Air Force, Joe Chris experienced a tragic encounter that didn’t just alter his path, it completely rewrote it. In an instant, everything changed. The future he had imagined was gone. The life he knew was no longer possible. And what followed wasn’t just physical recovery, it was a fight in the dark. A fight with pain. A fight with questions. A fight with thoughts he never thought he’d have. Joe Chris opens up about suicidal ideation… about the weight of hopelessness… and about wondering if life would ever feel worth living again. But somewhere in that darkness, something began to shift. Forgiveness isn’t always about someone else. Sometimes… It’s about learning how to live with what happened. Sometimes… It’s about facing the version of yourself you don’t recognize anymore. And today, Joe Chris is doing more than surviving; he’s helping others find their way forward. Through his nonprofit, he’s providing wheelchairs so people can compete, belong, and experience life again, not watching from the sidelines, but back in the game. One chair at a time. One life at a time. 💡 EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS The moment that changed everything, and how fast life can shift Walking through darkness and facing suicidal thoughts honestly When forgiveness feels impossible, where do you even begin? The importance of having “your person” (your 911 call) Finding hope when life no longer looks the way you planned 🔗 CONNECT WITH ONE CHAIR AT A TIME 🌐 Website 📘 Facebook 📸 Instagram 🎧 LISTEN & FOLLOW OTHER PEOPLE’S SHOES 🩵 Instagram 👍 Facebook 🐦 X (Twitter) 📺 YouTube 👟 Website 📣 LEAVE US A REVIEW If this episode made you think about your list—the names you carry, the weight you’ve been holding, or the one person you might need to forgive don’t keep it to yourself. Leave a review and let us know how this story impacted you.

  🎙 BAG OF COAL 🚪 All season long, we’ve been standing at the door. Hearing the knock.Asking the question.Wondering who or what is waiting on the other side. Sometimes it’s opportunity.Sometimes it’s pain.Sometimes it’s a story you never saw coming. And sometimes… it’s a place you’ve never been before. This is the season finale of the Who’s There season. The final knock. The final door. 👣 GUEST INTRODUCTION For the first time in the history of Other People’s Shoes, we’re opening the door to West Virginia. When I first started this podcast, I had a goal: sit down with someone from every state in the United States. One story at a time. One pair of shoes at a time. Now, after years of conversations… we’re down to just one state left. But before we get there… this door had to open. And behind it is Vanessa Hankins. Vanessa is the host of Tri-State Time Machine, a storytelling podcast that uncovers the history, mystery, and unforgettable people of West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky one era at a time. But this conversation isn’t just about where she’s from……it’s about what she’s walked through. This episode is called A Bag of Coal. Because coal, under pressure, doesn’t stay coal. It becomes something entirely different. And Vanessa’s story is full of those moments the kind that feel heavy, overlooked, maybe even discarded at first… but over time, turn into something strong, something valuable… something that shines. As we close this season, maybe the question isn’t just who’s there? Maybe it’s… what has been there all along… waiting to be transformed? 💡 EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS Opening with a familiar song that feels like coming home The first-ever visit to West Virginia in show history The original 50-state goal and being just one story away What pressure reveals about who we really are Why some of life’s heaviest moments carry hidden value The power of storytelling to connect past, present, and purpose Seeing your own “bag of coal” in a new way 🔗 CONNECT WITH VANESSA HANKINS 🎧 Podcast: Tri-State Time Machinehttps://feeds.captivate.fm/ts-time-machine/?fbclid=IwY2xjawRcxXZleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFhV0NCR204SWJvaDBMT3Nyc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHn72b6hRBQ55OTDW1S4Xg-xjt3Bk45iU8oru5j0hERrOHwN4B4JfEDfZAtzh_aem_CKR18phH8kzat9JLcoseLA 📸 Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/tristatetimemachine/ 🎧 LISTEN & FOLLOW OTHER PEOPLE’S SHOES 🩵 Instagram 👍 Facebook 🐦 X (Twitter) 📺 YouTube 👟 Website 📣 LEAVE US A REVIEW If this season finale made you stop, reflect, or see your own story a little differently don’t keep that to yourself. 👉 Leave a review and let us know…