When a study showed that only 3.4% of children’s books feature a disabled protagonist, psychiatric nurse and educator T.L. McCoy realized the story her granddaughter needed didn’t exist—and decided to write it. Her middle-grade fantasy, Delilah vs. the Ghastly Grim, follows a 12-year-old with a life-threatening seizure disorder who’s pulled through an “indigo door” into a parallel world mid-seizure—then trapped there when doctors induce a coma back on Earth. The quest isn’t to “fix” her; it’s to live, choose, and become.

We unpack why inclusion (not just representation) matters, how to tell the truth about disability without preaching, and what it takes to bring an indie book to market at a professional level (30 self-edits, two pro editors—including The Hunger Games editor—and award-winning cover art). Teal shares the early reception from schools, Boston Children’s Hospital’s epilepsy unit, neurodivergent readers—and adults who see themselves in the story’s themes of belonging. If you’ve ever been told “stay in your lane,” this is a blueprint for building your own road.

• [00:00] “Sometimes we need to make people uncomfortable” — why discomfort drives change.

• [01:00] Dravet syndrome explained; why Delilah needed a mirror in fiction.

• [04:00] The 3.4% stat and the decision to write the book herself.

• [06:30] Don’t let others decide your life: the counselor, nursing, and coming back stronger.

• [11:00] Building an imprint: why she self-published and how she kept the bar high (pro edits, cover).

• [14:00] Plot mechanics: the indigo door, Othersphere, and the medically induced coma.

• [17:00] Reception: schools, hospital units, neurodivergent readers—and adults who relate.

• [20:00] Who it’s for: middle grade sweet spot, “goosebumps”-level scary, Easter eggs (3-6-9, Daredevil).

• [26:00] Inviting other authors; what Blue Round is looking for.

• [27:00] Progress over perfection: what better inclusion would look like.

• [31:00] Delilah’s real-life progress; spectrum realities; therapy cadence.

• [40:00] Craft advice: collaborate with lived experience; research for authenticity.

• [49:00] Indie realities: POD, marketing grind, timelines, and professionalizing your draft.

• Book: Delilah vs. the Ghastly Grim — T.L. McCoy

• Imprint / Contact: Elevate Your Story with Blue Round Book Group, LLC | Blue Round Book Group, LLC (submissions, services, updates)

At 17, Susan Snow’s father—a Los Angeles robbery–homicide detective—was assassinated while picking up her younger brother from school. Overnight, her life became sirens, cameras, and a brave face that hid years of panic and hyper-vigilance. The first therapist told her she was “fine.” She wasn’t. A decade later, the Columbine shooting triggered flashbacks and a spiral that finally led to a trauma-informed clinician who named it: PTSD—not a moral failing, not something you “get over,” something you learn to manage.

In this episode, Susan shares the long arc from shock to strength: choosing safe providers, setting boundaries with media and people, regulating a fried nervous system, and repairing relationships through honest conversation and accountability. Writing her memoir, The Other Side of the Gun, became both a reckoning and a roadmap—for her family and for anyone living in trauma’s wake. This one is practical, steady, and fiercely hopeful: you can’t change what happened, but you can change how you live with it.

• [00:00] Cold open: “Taking your power back” — why naming trauma matters

• [02:00] 1985: the call, the school lot, and the moment everything changed

• [06:30] Media glare, armed guards, and the mask of strength

• [10:30] “You’re fine”: when therapy misses trauma

• [15:30] Denver & Columbine: flashbacks, panic, and the wake-up call

• [19:30] “This is PTSD”: validation, vocabulary, and first tools

• [24:00] Boundaries that heal: news limits, safe people, body-based regulation

• [30:00] Repairing at home: hard conversations, apologies, accountability

• [36:00] Writing the book: timelines, memory, and telling the whole story

• [42:00] Purpose & service: coaching, speaking, and modeling mental health

• [46:00] Closing: it’s a marathon—how to keep going without burning out

• Book: The Other Side of the Gun: My Journey from Trauma to Resiliency (print, Kindle, audiobook)

• Site: Susan Snow Speaks — speaking, coaching, contact & discovery call

What if the voice that saves your life is your own? In this deeply human conversation, writer and coach David Alan Brown traces the slow erosion of self that came from always being “the good one”—the supportive partner, the present dad, the dependable friend—until one pandemic night he drove in circles, ideating, and realized he needed help. Therapy, awareness, and a surprising validation—“anger is the appropriate reaction here”—reopened his emotional life. From there, David rebuilt with a simple framework: cultivate awareness, honor emotion (without judgment), and take aligned action.

That framework became Convergence, his program for weaving three voices—instinct/emotion, active intellect, and a higher-power “I got you” presence—into one integrated way of living. We dig into functional depression, the gifts inside every feeling (“the gift of anger is motivation”), and how to move from autopilot to authorship—on purpose, one step at a time. If you’ve been drifting through your own story, this episode hands the pen back to you.

• [00:00] Cold open + premise: “Find the simple thing that helps you remember you are worthy…”

• [02:30] Author your life: handing the pen to others vs. taking it back (James & David)

• [05:00] Backstory → “good guy” identity; slow self-erasure by helpfulness and humility

• [10:00] Functional depression as numbness; the lyric that revealed “I haven’t felt anything”

• [11:30] Pandemic triggers; late-night drive and suicidal ideation; choosing to tell the truth in therapy

• [20:00] Relearning feelings without judgment; “anger is appropriate” + the gifts inside emotion

• [29:30] The return of the third voice: “I got you” (story of his son + the inner voice)

• [31:00] Convergence framework: emotion ↔ action ↔ higher-power integration (Venn lens)

• [39:00] Building the program with community conversations; who it helps most

• [43:30] What it’s like to work the program: tools, community, authenticity, love in action

• [48:00] Writing the memoir as unflinching self-inventory; why he knows what he knows

• [51:30] Big life bet: moving to NYC with faith and practices intact

• [53:30] Close: worthiness, simple mantras, one step at a time

• Website: home

• Program: Convergence (details via website/contact)

In middle school, Laura Bratton looked up at the blackboard and the words had disappeared. A rare retinal disease began taking her sight piece by piece—with no timeline, no roadmap, and no way to “prepare.” What followed was denial, panic attacks, and a daily apprenticeship in grit. With parents who refused to lower the bar (see the now-famous dishwasher story), Laura learned to take life inch by inch: get up, get dressed, get to school—win the day. Later, a guide dog in San Francisco became her first big “I can” moment.

In this conversation, Laura reframes two ideas most people get wrong: grief and gratitude. Grief isn’t failure; it’s fuel for grit. And gratitude isn’t loving your trauma—it’s appreciating what helps you navigate it (hello, guide dogs, Siri, and Alexa). Laura shares practical coaching cues for agency (“What’s one step today—one call, one email?”) and leaves listeners with a simple charge for any identity shift: give yourself compassion, then take the first step forward.

• [00:00] Gratitude clarified: not for trauma, but for what helps you navigate it (yes, Siri/Alexa).

• [01:00] The geography-class moment: the blackboard goes blurry; life tilts.

• [05:00] Denial → “I can’t do this” → anxiety and depression.

• [08:30] “Inch by inch”: parents’ day-by-day mantra.

• [10:00] The dishwasher story: standards stay high; victim identity denied.

• [14:00] First guide dog in San Francisco: choosing to embody grit.

• [16:30] Identity + grief: permission to grieve and move forward at once.

• [21:00] Coaching others: acknowledge loss, then ask for one step today.

• [31:00] “Grief fuels grit”: holding both at the same time.

• [32:00] Gratitude practice: three specifics per day, no repeats; the mindset shift.

• [36:00] Myths: gratitude ≠ forced happiness; keep it embodied, not rote.

• [38:00] Agency: you can’t control circumstances, but you can control response.

• [40:00] Core message: “You are still enough” through any identity change.

• [41:00] Where to find Laura & her work: Laura Bratton | Keynote Speaker .

• [43:00] Final charge: self-compassion first, then one courageous step.

• Book: Harnessing Courage: Overcoming Adversity with Grit and Gratitude — Laura Bratton.

• Speaking/Coaching: Laura Bratton | Keynote Speaker (contact, programs, book info).

What if the feeling you can’t explain is actually the clearest voice you have? In this episode of A Joyful Rebellion, intuition coach and speaker Anna Quigley breaks down how to recognize, trust, and train your inner guidance—especially in midlife. Anna shares the surprising “shopping test” that convinced her intuition was real (complete with a last-minute nudge to “just ask”), the freeway vs. back-road detour that saved her 30 minutes, and why she believes midlife isn’t a crisis—it’s a calling.

We dig into the difference between intuition and emotion, why the rational mind can act like a “bully,” and practical ways to create the calm your intuition needs to be heard: two quiet minutes in the car, time in nature, water, yoga, meditation, even a simple tracking sheet to gather “evidence” you can trust. You’ll also learn how intuition shows up—gut feelings, a quiet inner voice, “thin slicing” certainty, and repeating cues—plus questions to rediscover what you loved before life got noisy. This is a gentle, actionable roadmap from distraction to discernment.

• [00:00] Opening: “Have you ever had a hunch so strong it felt like more than a feeling?”

• [02:00] Why intuition (not “woo-woo”)—Anna’s origin story and early seeking

• [04:00] The “shopping test” & the inner nudge to “just ask” (it worked)

• [06:00] Leaving a beloved but toxic job; realizing “it’s my time”

• [07:00] Midlife crisis as calling; what second-act purpose looks like

• [12:00] The practice of calm: meditation, yoga, nature, water; turning down the rational mind

• [13:00] The rational mind as “bully”; emotion vs. intuition (discernment)

• [16:00] Ideas in motion: a scientist’s best insights while running at Torrey Pines

• [18:00] The freeway/back-road story: ignoring guidance = 30 minutes of construction

• [20:00] Client win: “dig a little deeper”—the job that became five times bigger

• [22:00] How to build trust: use a tracking sheet; notice patterns & results

• [24:00] How intuition shows up: gut, chills, inner voice, “thin slicing,” repeating cues

• [31:00] Finding direction: what you loved as a kid; ask friends “what am I really good at?”

• [33:00] A personal example: importing what she loved (accessories) after feedback clicked

• [35:00] Tiny practices: two quiet minutes in the car; water as a shortcut to calm

• [37:00] “Go sit on the mountain”: traveling to an ashram and learning next-step faith

• [40:00] Closing challenge: review your life’s turning points—where was intuition already guiding?

• Coaching & speaking with Anna Quigley (San Diego-based; virtual groups and talks)

• Intuition practice ideas: meditation, yoga, nature/water time, personal tracking sheet

What happens when the identity you built your life around falls apart overnight? In this raw interview, Dean Patrick—Stanford dropout, former crypto fund manager, and now author of God Money: Lost and Found in the Crypto Wilderness—traces the arc from early “prodigy” ambition to addiction, collapse, and a near-suicide on a 30th-floor balcony in Manhattan. Family pulled him into recovery in 2018. The years that followed weren’t linear: relapses, resets, and finally a shift from status to substance—trading a high-profile accelerator role for a humble job that protects the two practices that rebuilt him: writing and Zen meditation.

Dean shares how week-long silent retreats and six months living at a Zen monastery gave him a new center, why success without values is a dead-end, and how “boring, systematic” routines actually fuel creative work. If you’ve ever asked, Is this really the life I want?—this conversation is your permission slip to choose differently, start smaller, and build a life that can actually hold you.

• [00:00] Opening: identity, ambition, and the prodigy trap

• [03:00] Homeschooled faith → atheism → “my new god became money”

• [05:30] Stanford insecurity, stimulants for confidence, and the crypto fund

• [07:30] Tripling the fund… then the crash, panic attacks, and the balcony

• [10:00] The phone call that pulled him back; rehab and the non-linear climb

• [12:30] Two steps forward, almost two back: relapse, lessons, and four years sober

• [13:30] Choosing a smaller life to save the bigger dream (service job → space to write)

• [15:00] COVID as a reset; five years to write God Money

• [18:30] Thoreau experiments: raw land, a DIY cabin, and what didn’t work

• [19:30] Zen practice begins: Rochester Zen Center, retreats, and rigor

• [21:00] Zazen: posture, pain, and why stillness hurts before it heals

• [26:00] The field beyond thought: “no problems” and taking the edge off life

• [28:30] Stoicism parallels; spiritual materialism and the ego in robes

• [33:00] Monastery life: 4:00 a.m. bells, choreographed breakfasts, work as practice

• [35:00] Designing a “boring, systematic” routine to protect creativity

• [41:30] Publishing God Money, reader response, and the next (auto)fiction project

• [43:00] Closing: being as an end in itself

• Book: God Money: Lost and Found in the Crypto Wilderness — Dean Patrick

• Audiobook: narrated by the author

• Website: http://DeanPatrickAuthor.com

• Community/Practice: Rochester Zen Center (mentioned)

Former Marine officer and bestselling author David Richards shares how a life built on momentum—and other people’s expectations—finally hit a wall. From a childhood head injury and constant relocation to 15 years in the Marines, two divorces, and a pandemic-era low point, David explains how he began taking radical accountability and rebuilt his life from the inside out. The shift started with a simple but potent reframing: awareness creates reality—direct it, or life defaults to autopilot.

We trace the “judgment day” meditation that forced a life review, the mysterious “you’ve got a year” nudge from Jack Canfield, and the journaling marathon that became his books—including Love Letters to the Virgin Mary: The Resurrection of King David and Becoming One with Christ. David breaks down his three levels of mastery—intellectual, emotional, physical—and how daily incantations rewired his faith into lived experience.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re working hard but drifting, this episode is a compass: awareness, honesty, and everyday practices that create the life you actually want.

• [00:00] “Your mind is an ocean… your awareness is the lighthouse” — the premise of directed attention

• [03:00] Military childhood, constant moves, and an early head injury that changed everything

• [11:00] ROTC to Marine officer; 4 years becomes 15; realizing he’d followed his father’s model

• [18:00] Marriage, divorce, and the cost of living in two-to-three-year cycles

• [23:00] Choosing radical accountability; journaling to “reconcile with God”

• [25:00] The Santa Barbara mastermind; Jack Canfield’s “You’ve got a year” and the emptiness that followed

• [35:00] A “judgment day” meditation and a life review focused on love and relationships

• [41:00] From films to faith: patterns, King David, and a turning point toward Christ

• [44:00] A thousand pages of journaling; the title Love Letters to the Virgin Mary lands

• [46:00] “Tony wants to read your book” — grace and momentum, then a crash and reset

• [48:00] Subtitle inspiration and finishing the manuscript; launching Becoming One with Christ

• [56:00] Three levels of mastery & the power of incantations (from belief to embodiment)

• [61:00] Who the work is for: the religious, the spiritual, and the curious

• [64:00] Final note: “Life happens for you, not to you.”

• Website: http://DavidRichardsAuthor.com

• Instagram: @‌DavidRichardsAuthor

• Books:

  • Whiskey and Yoga

  • The Lighthouse Keeper

  • Love Letters to the Virgin Mary: The Resurrection of King David

  • Becoming One with Christ: The Lessons of King David

What if talk therapy isn’t enough—because your trauma lives in your body? In this episode of A Joyful Rebellion, world-record tap dancer turned trauma recovery coach Heather-Ann Ferri shares the raw story behind her work: childhood abuse, brain-level injury, and the long road from “performer with a mask” to a woman who uses her voice without apology. Heather-Ann explains why many survivors don’t remember early trauma, how perfectionism and people-pleasing take root, and the practical protocols that helped her heal when life fell apart: involuntary shaking, breath patterns rooted in Sanskrit, “medical-grade” hydration, and neurologically informed routines designed to calm a dysregulated system.

We also dig into shadow work, boundaries with family, and the difference between forgiving too soon and actually becoming whole. If you’ve ever felt stuck repeating patterns—or you’ve tried everything and nothing seemed to stick—this conversation offers a grounded way forward: simple tools, consistent practice, and the courage to tell the truth.

• [00:00] Becoming “spiritual people in physical bodies”; why language and behavior matter

• [03:00] Early home life, generational trauma, and the first cracks in the system

• [08:00] Abuse, dissociation, and how the body keeps score

• [12:30] Tap as first voice; when performance becomes protection

• [15:00] Why talk isn’t enough: shaking, breath, hydration, neurological protocols

• [19:00] Shadow work, ego death, and rebuilding discipline

• [22:00] Culture, religion, and the limits of “forgive and forget”

• [24:30] Addiction as unaddressed trauma; pioneers and influences

• [28:30] Kids, play, and screens: what the next generation needs

• [33:00] Past lives, programming, and widening the healing lens

• [40:00] PTSD in the body: feet, calves, and designing better protocols

• [42:00] The Guinness record—and when the healing made things look worse

• [47:00] No guru phase: listening within, then coaching others

• [49:00] Who shows up: common ages, patterns, and readiness

• [51:00] Boundaries vs. early forgiveness; becoming your own mother/father

• [58:00] Where to start: first-chapter download and next steps

• Website: Home - Heather Ann Ferri (first chapter download available)

• Books (upcoming): Three-part series on trauma healing with guided practices

• Influences mentioned: Alice Miller; Gabor Maté; body-based trauma modalities