There is something magical that happens when you sit with someone who has lived adventure as both an inner and outer journey. My conversation with Melissa Rodway brought me right back to why I love exploring the heart of travel. It is not only about the places we go. It is about the inner shifts, awakenings, and quiet truths that rise up when we let ourselves be present to what the road is teaching us.

Melissa is an author, journalist, and former host of Fly Travel Radio. In today’s preview, she shares how her relationship with travel has changed as she has grown and how purpose found her on a long eco luxury trip fifteen years ago. What began as simple emails eventually became the start of her book. We touched on travel fatigue, travel judgment, creativity, and the honest moments in between that shape who we become as travelers and as people.

This short preview is just a taste of what is coming later this week. We saved the deeper stories for Wednesday's full episode including an unforgettable encounter she had on the road and the new adventures she is dreaming into. If you love conversations that explore travel, humor, reinvention, and the paradox of finding yourself through movement, you will want to come back for the full interview.

A couple of reflections to carry with you

• Travel changes as we change and each season of life invites a new way of exploring
• Purpose often finds us in quiet moments when we least expect it

Where to find Melissa

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fly_travel_media
• Website: https://www.flyrodway.com
• Podcast Archive: https://on.soundcloud.com/bLhpxbhiQRk0J0mTWW
• The People You Meet book: https://a.co/d/6PCUKN4

Stay tuned for the full episode releasing this Wednesday. If this preview resonated with you, please share it with a friend and subscribe so you do not miss the full conversation.

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...

As the year comes to a close, I wanted to pause and say thank you.

This episode highlights the top ten conversations from our 2025 podcast year. These are the episodes that resonated most deeply with our listeners and stayed with me long after the mic was turned off. Each guest offered a reminder that the adventure is not something we arrive at later. It is happening now, in real life, in the middle of our days.

I am deeply grateful for these conversations and for the people behind them. They met us in the paradox of everyday life, holding responsibility and freedom, effort and surrender, caregiving, creativity, recovery, leadership, and our connection with animals and nature.

Below are the guests, their episodes, and the work they are sharing in the world.

Top 10 Guests of 2025

05:31 Arwen Becker
Episode link: https://rb.gy/0mm44s
She Handled It Book: https://a.co/d/2MZBPuH

13:16 Beth Mills and Robey NeJame
Episode link: https://shorturl.at/JpITJ

16:52 Cathy Heller
Episode link: https://shorturl.at/xfBkE
Abundant Ever After Book: https://a.co/d/7YU7fPU

23:13 Dana Hunter Fradella
Episode link: https://shorturl.at/FC23a
Girls Who Recover Podcast: https://shorturl.at/f6GVf

27:38 Heidi Johanningmeier
Episode link: https://bit.ly/48KcEgh
A Mother’s Mission Book: https://a.co/d/9xwIwNj

30:45 Kathy Pike
Episode link: https://bit.ly/4q8VC1c
Academy for Coaching with Horses: https://tr.ee/LIjVHKg4zq

37:41 Kim McElroy
Episode link: https://bit.ly/4s5qmSt

46:52 Natalie Tackett
Episode link: https://bit.ly/4aUxhYn

50:05 Sherle Stevens

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...

Spending time with Karen Wickerson feels like opening a quiet doorway into the wisdom of the animals who walk beside us. Karen is an animal telepath, a former clinical counselor, and the author of Listen to Your Animals: They Know More Than You Think. Her connection to animals began when she was three years old and realized she could communicate with them. As she grew older, she learned to silence that gift because the people around her didn’t understand it, until her soul eventually pulled her back toward the work she was meant to do.

Karen shares how she reached a point in her counseling career where she knew she was “about to hit the wall” and feared she might make a severe mistake with a family. That moment pushed her to plan her exit and step toward a life that aligned with her true calling. It led her to a trek to Mount Everest base camp with asthma and only 70 percent lung capacity, a journey that taught her the power of moving forward even half an inch at a time.

We explore how she connects with animals across distance, how she reads their unique energy signatures, and what she has learned about their emotional worlds. Karen describes what really happens when animals cross over and how they often explain it as simply taking off a coat they no longer need. She also shares stories about grief, soul agreements, and the ways animals guide their humans through important life decisions.

Karen’s work is a reminder that our animals are not just pets. They are teachers, companions, and wise, sentient beings who understand far more than we often realize.

Key Reflections

• Animals communicate through energy, emotion and intention.
• Our relationships with them are true partnerships that often stretch across lifetimes.
• When an animal passes, its essence remains connected to us.
• The choices we make at the end of their life are guided and never wrong.

Links and Resources

• Karen’s website: https://karenwickerson.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karenwickersonanimaltelepath/
• Karen's Book:

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...

Every conversation has a spark, and this one with Karen Wickerson invites you to lean in and notice the quiet wisdom that animals bring into our lives. Karen is an animal telepath and the author of Listen to Your Animals: They Know More Than You Think. In this short preview, she shares how her intuitive gifts appeared early, why she pushed them aside while working as a clinical counselor, and what finally led her to trust her calling.

Karen also talks about her unexpected journey to Mount Everest base camp and the small half-inch steps that helped her move through fear and into a new chapter. You will hear a sweet moment with my kids as they ask her about what animals experience when they cross over. Her story about the rainbow pasture is tender, surprising, and full of hope.

This is just a sneak peek of a rich and heartfelt conversation. The full episode arrives on Friday, December 19, with more about intuition, soul purpose, animal communication, and the adventure of saying yes to the life that is meant for you.

Reflections to carry with you

• The path forward can begin with the smallest possible step.
• Animals communicate through energy, emotion, and shared experience.
• Love continues beyond the physical world, and so does connection.

Links and Resources

• Karen’s website: https://karenwickerson.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karenwickersonanimaltelepath/
• Listen to Your Animals: They Know More Than You Think book: https://www.karenwickerson.com/buy-the-book

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...

There is a kind of soul adventure that opens when we sit with someone who carries the lived wisdom of animals and the stories that shaped us. My conversation with Mary Chris Foxworthy felt like stepping into a living archive of horse history, connection, and heart. She joins us from Metamora, Michigan, where her four horses, rich family roots, and deep love for storytelling all come together in the most beautiful way.

Mary Chris has spent years helping people remember our shared history with horses, from ancient chariots to the rise of carriage driving in America. We talk about her Briar model horse Hark, her treasured relationship with her mentor Gloria Austin, and how museum collections, rare books, and real horses help keep these stories alive. She explains where familiar idioms came from, why driving creates such a strong community, and why children instantly light up when they meet a horse for the first time.

What I love most is how she reminds us that horses invite us back into presence. They help us slow down, tune in, and reconnect with the part of ourselves that knows how to listen and belong.

Takeaways

• Horses help us reconnect with presence, history, and our own intuition
• Carriage driving offers a unique blend of community, trust, and skill
• Children understand horses naturally when given the chance to meet them
• Our past with horses can help guide us through rapid changes today

Let this be a gentle reminder to look up, breathe, and notice the adventure already unfolding around you.

Curious to learn more about Mary Chris? Go to: https://www.hoofbeatsthroughhistory.com/

Stay connected with Hark’s adventures on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HDHarkness.Hark/

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...

There is a quiet adventure that opens within us when we look to animals and nature for guidance. In this short preview, Mary Chris Foxworthy offers a warm glimpse into the world she shares with her horses in Metamora, Michigan. Her life as an author began through the wisdom of her horses and the influence of her mentor, Gloria Austin, whose museum and library helped preserve equestrian heritage. One of Mary Chris’s horses even became a Briar model, adding another beautiful chapter to her story.

Her love for history, community, and the next generation shines through as she talks about the camaraderie of carriage driving, the humor in horse idiom, and the magic that happens when a child meets a horse for the first time. She brings the past to life in a way that reminds us how animals can help us stay present, connected, and hopeful. The full interview airs on December 12.

Takeaways

• The deep camaraderie found in carriage driving
• How horse history opens our understanding of the present
• The joy children experience when they meet a horse

Let this preview remind you that adventure is already happening. It lives in the stories we carry, the animals who guide us, and the moments when we choose to slow down and truly see the world around us.

Discover more of Mary Chris’s work: https://www.hoofbeatsthroughhistory.com/

Want more horse wisdom and fun? Follow Hark on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HDHarkness.Hark/

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...

This is the full conversation I’ve been so excited to share with you. A few days ago you heard the preview, and today you get the complete story with Christopher Hill, founder of Hands Up Holidays and Impact Destinations. This conversation is a beautiful reminder that the adventure is already happening within us, inviting us to show up with more compassion, curiosity, and courage.

Christopher talks about how one trip to South Africa opened his heart to service, community, and deeper connection. He explains the difference between his two travel brands, why eco luxury is about honoring people and place, and how intentional travel can create lasting impact. We explore cultural immersion, breaking down othering, and how families grow in powerful ways when they serve together.

He also shares stories from travelers whose lives changed in unexpected ways, from families whose kids chose to give up Christmas gifts to support children they met abroad, to clients who found healing after deep loss, to a woman who returned home so inspired that she moved back to Kenya on her own.

Key Takeaways

• What philanthropic travel means
• How Hands Up Holidays and Impact Destinations differ
• What eco luxury really looks like
• How meaningful travel deepens connection and dissolves othering
• Why service based trips transform families and individuals
• Real stories of healing and confidence gained through travel

Let yourself consider how your own travels and choices could carry more meaning, and what might shift if you followed that feeling.

Learn More About His Work:

Hands Up Holidays

• https://handsupholidays.com/
• https://www.facebook.com/luxuryvoluntourism
• https://www.instagram.com/handsupholidays

Impact Destinations

• https://impactdestinations.com/
• https://www.facebook.com/impactdestinations

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...

Here is a little taste of a conversation that opened my heart. This is only a preview, and the full episode with Christopher Hill will be released on Friday, December 5, but I wanted you to hear a piece of what's to come. Christopher leads Hands Up Holidays and Impact Destinations, two eco luxury travel companies that bring purpose, service, and real humanity back into the way we explore the world.

He shares the story that started it all, when helping build a home in a South African township changed the way he saw connection, community, and adventure. We talk about how meaningful travel dissolves othering, how eco luxury honors people just as much as place, and how these experiences shape families in surprising ways. One family even returned home and chose to give away their holiday gifts after serving at a school library.

This short teaser is meant to stir your curiosity. If you love soulful adventure, nature, impact work, and experiences that wake you up to what really matters, you will want to come back for the full conversation on Friday.

Key Takeaways
• Why purpose-filled travel opens your heart
• Christopher’s personal origin story
• What makes travel truly eco luxury
• The difference between Hands Up Holidays and Impact Destinations

Learn More About Christopher's Work:

Hands Up Holidays

• Website: https://handsupholidays.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/luxuryvoluntourism
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/handsupholidays

Impact Destinations

• Website: https://impactdestinations.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/impactdestinations
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/impactdestinations

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...