The Truth So Help Me Good

Hello Co-journeyers! Nancy Shear, author of I Knew a Man Who Knew Brahms, was only fifteen when she began sneaking into Philadelphia Orchestra concerts through the stage door, and seventeen when she was hired as a member of the orchestra’s library staff to help prepare the music; one year later, she became Leopold Stokowski’s musical assistant. Being young and female, she was a pioneer in both positions.It is a privilege to share with you my conversation with Nancy that is both inspiring and insightful. Where she takes us into rehearsals and concert halls, revealing the choices musicians must consider, and what conductors, players, and composers really do.Executive Producer Jake Landry

Hello Co-journeyers! Join me and my special guest, Mario Cartaya, author of Journey Back Into the Vault: In Search of My Faded Cuban Childhood Footprints, to hear the amazing story of his return to Cuba after 56 years to rediscover his childhood memories reconnect with unknown family members, and find inner peace through reconciliation with his past. Executive Producer: Jake Landry

Hello Co-journeyers! Join me for my discussion with Dr. Craig Yorke as we explore the meaning of success and failure, and how they both shape our life journey.

Hello Co-journeyers! Welcome to Season 3 of The Truth So Help Me Good! As we enter this New Year, and for reasons that require no explanation, it is incumbent upon us to take our exploration of the bigger questions about this journey we call life to a new level. Why? Because our hearts and minds demand it. As human beings, our longing for meaning and purpose are at the core of our very existence. Please join me together with my special guest, Jake Landry, and get into the weeds (light brush) about memoir in its most expansive form. Jake is an educator, anthropologist by education, and Executive Producer of The Truth So Help Me Good podcast. He is also my son. This is a conversation you will not want to miss, including questions about meaning, literacy, philosophy, and what is memoir anyway? You may even find yourself smiling, just like Sisyphus. Thank you for listening. Take care and be well!

My special guest is author Wendy B. Correa.  Wendy is a writer, hiker, as well as a licensed massage therapist she has worked in the film, television, multimedia, and music industries in Los Angeles and as a radio DJ in Aspen Colorado. Wendy holds bachelors degrees in psychology and theater arts and his contributed articles to Mothering magazine. She is a wife and mother and resides in Denver Colorado. She joins me on the pod to speak to us about her new memoir My Pretty Baby. Executive Producer: Jake Landry

My special guest, Dr. Carolyn Larkin Taylor is a board-certifiedneurologist with over 30 years of experience in generalneurology. In her poignant memoir Whispers of the Mind, Dr.Taylor shares a series of essays that trace her path frommedical school to private practice, revealing moments oftriumph, heartbreak, grief, and healing. Each story offers awindow into the complex interplay between the brain, heart,and soul – a connection that defines both the practice ofmedicine and the human experience. These essays are morethan reflections, they are testaments to the courage, strength,and profound lessons learned along the way. Executive Producer: Jake Landry

Amy Weinland Daughters is an author, key note speaker and humorist. In her book, You Cannot Mess This Up: A True Story That Never Happened, she gives us her memoir “wrapped in a tortilla of time travel.” In this brilliant and novel approach to memoir, Amy takes us on a journey filled with humor, nostalgia, and memories that reveal life’s challenges, and provides hope for forgiveness and healing. Thank you for listening! Executive Producer: Jake Landry

Hello Co-journeyers! Please join me and my special guest, Tony Stewart, as we discuss his new book, Carrying the Tiger. In his memoir Tony takes us on his late wife, Lynn Kotula’s, cancer journey. He shares with us what it looks like to die with grace, takes us deep into the darkness of grief to discover how it can lead us back to the experience of joy. Executive Producer: Jake Landry

Hello Co-journeyers! Please join me for this special episode where we have changed things up a bit!! Tim Shea, my personal co-journeyer of 25 years, and Special Guest Host, thought it might be fun to interview me to talk about some of the lessons I have learned on my journey! Thank you for listening! Executive Producer: Jake Landry

In her debut memoir Reaching for Beautiful, she shares her heart wrenching journey through the loss of her twenty-one-year-old son Christopher with courageous vulnerability.She takes us deep into the pain of grief, and in so doing, teaches us how love triumphs over pain, how love transcends fear, and how love never dies. Reaching for Beautiful is a must read for any parent who has lost a child, is raising a child from the edge of their seat, or whose family struggles with addiction. Executive Producer: Jake Landry

My special guest Rita Lussier is an award-winning journalist and writer whose column “For the Moment” was a popular feature of The Providence Journal for a dozen years. Her writing has also been featured on National Public Radio, in The Boston Globe, The New York Daily News, and many more. In this episode she speaks to us about her new memoir And Now, Back to Me, Stories from an Empty Nest, where she takes us deep into her experience of change and transformation when her children leave the nest, as well as other major life changes. Rita lives with her husband in Jamestown, Rhode Island where she enjoys running, walking and time with family and friends. Executive Producer: Jake Landry

Cynthia Moore is an award-winning playwright and performer who wrote and directed theater in the San Francisco Bay Area for over twenty years. A founding member of Otrabanda Company, she worked with the Blake Street Hawkeyes before leaving the theatre to earn a master’s degree in clinical psychology. She has worked as a mental health counselor for twenty-three years, with a particular focus on the connection between spirituality and trauma. She has taught numerous workshops in creativity, writing from the heart, and more. Executive Producer: Jake Landry

Hello Co-journeyers! I am excited to share my interview with author Virginia Deluca, talking about her recent memoir, If You Must Go, I Wish You Triplets. As a psychotherapist, she dedicated her life to helping her clients navigate unforeseen challenges and painful losses. When her sixty-year-old husband leaves saying he wanted babies, she struggles to deal with her loss and the life she’d once envisioned. Her book is a gripping meditation on love, grief, and community that follows Virginia on her journey of self discovery. Thank you for listening! Take care and be well! Executive Producer: Jake Landry

Rebecca (Becky) Faye Smith Galli is an author and columnist who writes about love, loss, and healing. Surviving significant losses has fostered an unexpected but prolific writing career. In 2000, The Baltimore Sun published her first column about playing soccer with her son – from the wheelchair that launched her From Where I Sit newspaper column. Her books, Rethinking Possible – a Memoir of Resilience was published in 2017, she joins me to talk to us about her new book, Morning Fuel – Daily Inspirations to Stretch Your Mind Before Starting your Day reflecting what she believes: “Life can be good – no matter what!” Executive Producer: Jake Landry

Sandra grew up in Barrington, Illinois. She and her husband settled in Singapore, then Australia — where their twins, Kyle and Alexis, were born. After moving back to the United States, Sandra took up the love of writing. A philosophy of curiosity and a promise led her to write her first Memoir, The Housekeeper’s Secret - a personal story to fulfill her family’s dying housekeeper’s wish. Executive Producer: Jake Landry

Hello Co-journeyers! If you are wondering how to be a force for good in this crazy world, please have a listen to my interview with Karen Olson, author of Meant for More. Karen provides us with a blueprint for how to cultivate our innate empathy, compassion and kindness through our own challenging experiences. Karen is the founder and CEO emeritus of Family Promise and has dedicated her life to transforming the present and futures of homeless and low-income families. She has rallied more than a million volunteers nationwide, fostering an extensive network of support for the vulnerable. Also, because of all the efforts of the volunteers, the organization has been able to assist over a million people experiencing homelessness.Thank you for listening! Available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Poscasts. Executive Producer: Jake Landry

Gail Lukasik is the author of the best-selling book White Like Her: My Family’s Story of Race and Racial Passing, which The Washington Post named “One of the most inspiring stories of 2017." She is also the author of five mystery novels. Her latest was a gothic historical mystery The Darkness Surrounds Us. Gail has appeared on PBS’s Genealogy Roadshow, BBC World News, and NBC’s TheToday Show. She is also a contributor at the Washington Post. Gail is here to talk with us today about her recent book, What They Never Told Us: True Stories of Family Secrets and Hidden Identities Revealed. Executive Producer: Jake Landry

Hello Co-journeyers! Please join me and my special guest, Judge Anthony  Mohr, as we discuss his memoire entitled  Every Other Weekend: Coming of Age with Two Different Dads where he describes living in the shadow of two larger-than-life men, his father and his stepfather, in an age where divorce and blended families weren’t the norm. Thank you for listening! Executive Producer: Jake Landry. Listed #22 on Feedspot 90 Best Memoir Podcasts, https://podcast.feedspot.com/memoir_podcasts/.

Hello Co-journeyers! In this Episode we explore what is possible when we eliminate the distractions of bias, judgment and assumptions. When we choose instead to see and hear through the eyes and ears of the heart, and use our curiosity to reach deeper levels of understanding and compassion. Executive Producer: Jake Landry.

Hello Co-journeyers! In this episode special guest, Rev.Dr. Stephanie Rutt, joins me to discuss her most recent book, a spiritual memoir entitled Dancing on the Moon, The Non-Ordinary Life I Never Saw Coming. She is an accomplished author, teacher, minister, visionary and activist. Please join me as she shares her personal story, her wisdom, her love and her humanity. Executive producer: Jake Landry.

Originally from Honduras, my special guest, Gustavo Guerrero Moradel, made the arduous journey to come to the United States at twelve years old. He is a talented singer and songwriter, activist, advocate, teacher and a voice for change and for hope. Please join me in listening to his story, and understanding what it means to be an immigrant in this country. Thank you for listening! Executive Producer: Jake Landry.Links to Gustavo’s music heard on the podcast in order of appearance: https://youtu.be/QcDoV7p9z4E, https://youtu.be/hjxh757mWvM, https://youtu.be/p9jhvXCoNgA, https://youtu.be/b_S09ytGU-4, https://youtu.be/rW6oOAsub2w.

Hello Co-Journeyers! I am so grateful to share with you the first episode of Season 2. Moving through the chaos of uncertainty that comes with change can be the most frightening, and yet the most rewarding undertaking we can do on our human journey. Let’s explore together how we can learn to face our fears, and create the change we all long for. Thank you so much listening! Executive Producer: Jake Landry

Hello Co-journeyers. Thank you for a wonderful Season 1, and your willingness to ask the hard questions, stay open, and grow! In this Season 1 Finale we explore the nature of change and our relationship to it. Looking forward to being with you again soon. Take care, and be well! 🥰. Executive Producer: Jake Landry

In this Episode we explore the meaning behind the iconic refrain that “you can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you might find you get what you need!”. Executive Producer: Jake Landry

In this Episode we explore the meaning of our longing. How sorrow can be transformed to beauty and meaning, and serve as a reminder of our shared human experience. Executive Producer: Jake Landry

In this Episode we explore the meaning of Passover for all people, and the power of fighting for what we want to create in the world. Executive Producer: Jake Landry

In this Episode we explore how our beliefs and thoughts shape our reality, and how we can choose to change them. Executive Producer: Jake Landry

In this Episode, my dear friend Michelle Chase and I explore the nature of friendships, and how people can cross our path in the most serendipitous way! Executive Producer: Jake Landry

In this Episode we explore the Spring Equinox, lessons learned from seed planting, and trusting our innate wisdom to become who we are meant to be. Executive Producer: Jake Landry

Carol LaChance is a published author who grew up in post WWII England. She came to the United States at the age of 20. In her Memoir she weaves a vibrant tapestry of both her inner and outer journeys, as influenced by her father, her husband, and her horse. All of which is steeped in spirituality and deep wisdom! Executive Producer: Jake Landry

In this Episode we explore the meaning of home, the danger of fear, and the power to choose Courage. Executive Producer: Jake Landry

In this Episode we explore the phenomenon of coincidence, and the possibility that our experiences may have more meaning than we may think. Executive Producer: Jake Landry

In this Episode, special guest, Penny Dickson, shares with us the story of her writing journey and the connection between putting our challenges on the page and transforming our pain into healing. Penny’s wisdom and inspiration from nature is a true gift you do not want to miss! Executive Producer: Jake Landry

In this Episode we explore how sorrow and longing unite us in compassion. Executive Producer: Jake Landry

Together we explore the wisdom of Nature, its cycles and seasons, and finding the light that comes out of the darkness.

In this Episode we explore the impact of shame, the promise of miracles, and the importance of connection.

In this Episode we explore what is perhaps one of the most challenging and misunderstood parts of the healing journey, Forgiveness. It is a gift we give to ourselves, and in return we receive inner peace and deepen our capacity to love and be loved.

In this Episode we explore the difference between being attached to the outcome of our actions and the freedom that comes from surrender.

In this Episode we explore the relationship between suffering and compassion. Through the understanding and transformation of our own suffering we learn compassion, for ourselves as well as others.

A look at Memoire, and what we can learn from our own experiences, as well as others.

Hello Co-Journeyers, welcome to The Truth So Help Me Good. A collaborative exploration of this journey we call Life. Please join me in this first episode, where we get back to basics, and discover that everything we need to know we DID learn in kindergarten!