Laura Mak Quist is a former professional athlete turned certified lifestyle fitness and yoga coach. She eats healthy, exercises, and gets the right amount of sleep at night. So when her doctor told her that she and her husband may need to think about using in vitro fertilization to start their family, she was puzzled. She thought, “I’m doing all th…

whatsoundsawesome.com Today we are introducing you to all of the great podcasts from The Sounds Awesome Network. You are listening to this because you are a fan of one of our shows and we think you should be a fan of all of these shows. Great people make great podcasts, so we would like to introduce you to a few… The Be Brave Podcast w/Cara & Patty…

Paige Tucker has been a super high achiever her entire life. Being forced to grow up fast, allowed her to find her true voice at the young age of 7. At 9 years old she was caring for 3 children under the age of 5. In her late teens and early 20’s, as a single young woman, she worked 2-3 jobs. Her friends would tell her, “Girl, you are working like …

Stacy grew up with death all around her. Her father owned a funeral home. Death was really just a part of life and as a child, she didn’t really think about it. Of course, her dad would warn her about the young person who died from making a bad choice to try and help her not do the same, trying to protect her, like most parents. It wasn’t until she…

At the young age of 4 years old, Amber Weir was told she would be blind by the time she was 13. Her family seemed to have some kind of secondary gain to Amber’s disability. Unable to ask questions or get the help she would need to be prepared for this horrible fate, Amber was left to advocate for herself at a very young age. When she reached the dr…

Paul Williams was raised in a very devoted evangelical home. At the age of 4, he knew he was born in a body that was not the correct gender, a condition called gender dysphoria. Paul devoted his career and life to evangelical Christianity and by 1977 reached a high level with Orchard Group, where he raised funds and started new churches. Eventually…

“Work Hard, Learn and Progress” are the words Jovana lives by! You will enjoy her spunky energy and the lessons she shares. Be sure to listen all the way to the end to hear Jovana’s best advice. And then share it with someone struggling! We are excited to have Jovana Fernandez de Castro, share her story of how she overcame growing up in Communism a…

Sabita is a Holistic Health Counselor with a passion to bring integrative health in a friendly, nurturing and private atmosphere that allow people to feel good and get better fast. As a young woman, she suffered from endometriosis and struggled to get answers from her doctors about her health. Since then, she has been diagnosed with 3 different typ…

Dr. Gayle’s journey has been anything but a straight line. She was a young, divorced single mom at 25. Then, at age 26, she was diagnosed with cancer. She was determined to be healthy, independent and free. She had major surgery, and began her healing journey. Taking care of her children, working and paying the bills was what she did. On food stamp…

This Be Brave Podcast episode is an interview with Emily Liu, an expert in Internal Family Systems (IFS). IFS teaches us how to navigate relationships by rediscovering your true essence of Self. This is a second interview with Emily. In her first episode, she shared the emotional cost of childhood anger. She is back to share and teach us how to mak…

We're excited to introduce our 28th podcast with Emily. Listen Here In this episode Emily Liu will share how she overcame childhood wounds and anger and later became a healer to help others heal their wounds as a relationship coach. Emily believes these childhood wounds are the root cause of adult relationship challenges. She is on a mission to hel…

In this episode we have Elena Marrero. Owner of one of the best gift shops you will ever find, The Great Giftsby, in Dunedin, FL. She is affectionately known as the Singing Shop Keeper. At the age of 39, Elena was arrested for Driving under the influence for a second time and used that event as a turning point to change her life for the better. Ele…

The reversal of Roe v. Wade is a hot topic among women, so we decided to host a panel discussion about reproductive choice. On our panel we have two women who found themselves with an unplanned pregnancy and another whose planned pregnancy was risking her health, and possibly her life. There are many stories of women who have had to make a choice a…

By the time Victoria was seven years old, her parents had divorced, and her mother was remarried. It was then that she became subjected to physical and emotional abuse. She was repeatedly told she would never amount to anything and that she would “eat shit” for the rest of her life. Because this behavior was the norm in her household, Victoria didn…

Melissa lost her father at age 7 and her mother at age 21. She has battled anxiety and panic attacks since childhood. In this episode, Melissa talks about loss, but also how she is able to maintain a positive attitude. She is comfortable spending time with herself and cherishes the time she gets to spend with the people she loves.…

Kathy Perry lost her husband suddenly after 39 years of marriage. Following the initial shock of the tragedy, one of the things that became apparent was her new identity. She could no longer think in terms of “we” (her and her husband). She was now “me”. Kathy shares her story about that transformation. She used many tools that helped her heal and …

This week we have Dr. Alyse Kelly-Jones joining us. She's an OB/Gyn, a TedX Speaker, and self described "Sexpert" in women's health and sexual shame. Alyse works with women dealing with sexual dysfunction such as low libido and painful sex. We had some fun with Alyse chatting about faking orgasms (that she didn't realize was "a thing"), how healthy…

In this episode Pam shares with us two very different life-changing events. One is a separation from, and subsequent reconciliation with, her husband of 30+ years that included a new step-daughter. The second is surviving a brain tumor that left her temporarily unable to walk, eat or even see straight. Pam cites her positive outlook and capacity fo…

Two years ago, Sandra lost her husband to a drug overdose. In this episode, she walks us through watching Danny, the love of her life, slip farther and farther away while attempting to get help and not being able to maintain his sobriety. Sandra speaks candidly about how Danny's addiction affected her and their children, which led her to have to ma…

Maytte lost her husband suddenly while on vacation, and when their son was just five months old. In this episode, she shares with us the shock of her loss, learning to ask for help since she would now be raising their son alone, and discovering a few secrets her husband never shared. Maytte is a believer in the Law of Attraction and has since built…

When she was 23, Christine called off her wedding to her boyfriend of four years just a few months before the big day. Within the next six months, she came out as gay to her family and friends. That was back in 1993, right around the time the movie "Philadelphia" was released and HIV/AIDS was still considered a "gay disease". Christine shares what …

At 24 years old, Audrey's daughter, Elizabeth, was murdered by her ex-boyfriend and her family's life was forever changed. In the midst of her grief, anger, and loss, Audrey felt Elizabeth's presence on one day in particular and knew she had to make a pact with her husband and surviving daughter. She said, "I don't know how we're going to get throu…

Patty grew up feeling pressure to be thin and was bullied for being overweight. "Fatty Patty" was the nickname given to her by the kids in school who bullied her. She struggled with depression, loneliness, and addiction while striving unsuccessfully for perfection. Patty walks us through the dark times and how they led to a suicide attempt. In her …

In this podcast, co-host Cara tells her story of being bullied in grammar school and how it led to people pleasing, loneliness, and thoughts of suicide. She talks about seeing a therapist and finally learning how to put herself and her needs first.By PattyandCara

At age 18, Eileen started her career by making a conscious decision to drop out of college when she became pregnant with her daughter. She tells us the story of how she navigated being a single mom while climbing the corporate ladder without a degree. Eileen talks about feeling "less than", but also finding advocates who pushed her outside her comf…

Dr. Rebecca Heiss is back to teach us how to retrain our brains to think more positively. We have too many ANTS crawling around in our heads (Automatic Negative ThoughtS). No wonder we get down on ourselves so quickly! Rebecca walks us through several exercises to show us how easy it is to trick our brains into being more positive. With a little pr…

When Dr. Rebecca Heiss was just 8 years old, her house burned to the ground one week before Christmas. At 11, she battled anorexia. In this episode, Rebecca shares with us feelings of unworthiness and how the love of her family helped save her. Rebecca is a scientist who studies the evolutionary limitations of humans. She shares with us a significa…

In the early and mid-2010s, Maria was actively supporting an orphanage in Argentina. She worked several jobs and gave a lot of her own money to the orphanage to purchase personal items, books, vehicles, computers, and other things needed by the children and the staff to run the facility and the programs they offered. She also gave a lot of her time…

At age 13, when all the other girls were talking about starting to menstruate, Madison was wondering why she wasn't having the same experience. A visit to her doctor would reveal that she was born without a uterus, with a condition known as MRKH. Madison takes us through her initial devastation, feeling she was "robbed of her birthright to have chi…

Taelor's active teenage years playing volleyball came to a sudden end when she was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis at age 16. For the first few months, she saw significant changes in her body and was scared that she would never be the same. However, with her parents' support, a strong belief in herself, a lot of research with traditional medici…

Sarah was born and raised in Iraq. In the early 2000s, she and her husband saw their country change. After multiple bombings in and around their home, they decided to flee the war-torn country to keep their family safe. Unfortunately Sarah's husband was killed before they could leave. In time, Sarah's persistence got her and her two children out of…

Kelly is a 46 year old mother of four. In 2018, she lost her oldest, Cameron, to a motorcycle accident. He was only 18. Kelly talks about her heartbreak and grief, and her initial thought of "how much longer do I have to live until I can see him again?" She also talks about her choice to move forward. For her that means being present and loving for…

At the age of 11, Christy was told two incredible things: 1. she had hearing loss (probably since birth) and 2. she’d taught herself to read lips without even knowing it. Christy shares her story of embarrassment, in how she found out about her hearing loss; strength, as she learned to manage that loss without any auditory assistance for another 11…

Vicky grew up in a household that was unpredictable. She learned to cope with the instability by using drugs and alcohol. And it worked... until the day she decided to drive to "one last bar" and ended up taking someone's life in the process. Vicky is now 28 years sober and shares her experience of how she hit rock bottom, went to jail, and ultimat…

Trish grew up in a home with a father who struggled with his sexual identity and later became transgender. Her mother used alcohol as a coping mechanism. This all took place in the 60s and 70s at a time when no one talked about either of these subjects. Trish walks us through the good times and the turbulence, and shares with us the love and compas…

Catherine left her marriage of 17 years after it became toxic and unhealthy for her family. She tells us about the moment she realized she wasn't happy and the denial that went along with that realization. "Look at where I live and what I have. How can I not be happy?" And when life at home was becoming unsafe for her kids, she knew she needed to l…

Kim lost her husband during the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. At the time, she had a two year old son and was five months pregnant with her second child. In this podcast, Kim bravely shares her story of loss and resilience.By PattyandCara

Meet the podcast co-hosts, Patty and Cara. This podcast highlights brave women who share their stories of sadness, insecurity, fear, anger, uncertainty and feelings of not being good enough nor loved. All stories end with a choice to be brave, move forward, and be positive, while working to create the best version of ourselves! Our guests talk abou…