March is Women’s History Month. Let’s take a moment to acknowledge the forgotten heroes of the Vietnam War- the women veterans. Approximately 10,000 women served in Vietnam as nurses, medical personnel, and military intelligence in the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Award-winning author Kristin Hannah’s newest historical fiction, The Women, sheds light on the untold stories of these brave women.
What ingredients do you need? It really doesn’t take a lot for this particular recipe, the Recipe for a Good Life. Bestselling Canadian author Lesley Crewe is making her American debut and we could all use this recipe. This may be her 15th novel for her Canadian readers, but I can definately say, her new American readers will catch up.
For Lesley her writing started as an exercise for understanding her world and in doing so, we get an invitation to look into ours. How many of us think that only writers get writer’s block like the protagonist in her latest novel? And how many of us get into the weeds while trying to find that ‘grand, elusive goal? Lesley’s recipe is a simple one that comes with huge victories from within ourselves. In our conversation she lets us in to one of the most unthinkable time of her life. And shows us how even from our darkest moments, we can shine a light.
Lisa Bradshaw – author, storyteller, cancer survivor, TEDx speaker, mom and TV host. Lisa is the founder of The DON’T WAIT Project®, a nonprofit organization. Its purpose – raising community awareness about the impact of positive life choices. Lisa is all about empowering youth through positive media. She has built a career as a storyteller by searching for the balance between loss and trauma and what can be gained from the lessons learned before, during and after these experiences. She is the author of Big Shoes: A Young Widowed Mother’s Memoir.
Lisa hosts a television talk show and travels throughout the country meeting people who have their own Don’t Wait story. She’s been a guest on national television and radio. Lisa’s story has been featured in multiple print media outlets and online, including Oprah.com, The Rachael Ray Show, Oprah Radio, The Good Life, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Power Moms and more.
A Mother’s Day Special with Kate Swenson, a very special mom.
Kate dreamed of being a mother from a very young age. While other young girls dreamed of being a ballerina or president, being a mother was hers. And that dream came true 11 years ago with the birth of her son, Cooper. Kate and her husband now have two more sons and a daughter. Her dream though came with an unexpected path. At the age of three, Cooper was diagnosed with nonverbal autism.
Kate is the creator of the blog and Facebook page Finding Cooper’s Voice and the author of the newly released Forever Boy: A Mother’s Memoir of Autism and Finding Joy. Yes, the word is JOY. Listen to a woman who exceeds our expectations of what motherhood is. Cooper now has a vocabulary of 20 words.
Mary Barneby finds herself among very notable women, Juliette, and Clara. The Girl Scouts and the American Red Cross share some history. Both are over 100 years old, and both were started by women. Clara Barton was 60 when she founded the American Red Cross in 1881. Juliette Gordon Low was 52 when she founded the Girl Scouts of the United States of America in 1912. And back then, that was considered quite old. Did I mention…Mary is the Regional CEO of the American Red Cross, a journey she started in the mist of the pandemic, September 2020. For eight years prior to joining the Red Cross, Mary had been CEO for the Girl Scouts of Connecticut.
Our conversation covers so many areas – from disasters to mental health and healing, to helping find those who are missing. During the pandemic, it helped many stay up-to-date in their career by volunteering in a variety of different areas.
