Latest / The Starfish Storytellers / Season 5, Episode 1: Finding Perspective - Resilience Stories from Around the World with Heidi Siefkas

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Season 5, Episode 1: Finding Perspective - Resilience Stories from Around the World with Heidi Siefkas · The Starfish Storytellers

0:00
Welcome to the Starfish Storytellers, the podcast
0:03
that makes a difference one story at a time by
0:05
bringing storytelling to life. If you were to
0:10
ask me as a child growing up in rural Wisconsin,
0:15
what my life would look like as an adult, I would
0:19
have answered the sum of my decisions. Go to
0:24
college, get a job. Find love, marry, et cetera,
0:32
et cetera. Now, I know that child to be very
0:38
smart. She was spot on, but she did not know
0:43
that it was all of the decisions that we make.
0:47
Those in our plan and also the way we choose
0:51
to handle the hard things and... Life curve balls
0:57
come to all of us. And I speak of experience
1:00
because I've chosen to continue on one step,
1:08
one thought, one decision at a time from several.
1:13
So by my early 30s, I had made a lot of decisions.
1:17
I had went to college. I obtained two degrees.
1:22
I found many jobs. fell in love, married, even
1:26
purchased a home in South Florida. But things
1:31
can change in an instant, and life served me
1:35
a curveball while I was taking out the trash.
1:40
On a normal fall day, a massive tree limb, weighing
1:45
1 ,000 pounds from 30 feet in the air, out of
1:50
nowhere, struck me. The next thing I remember
1:54
is waking up in the ICU five days later. The
2:01
doctors put the pieces of the puzzle together
2:03
for me that a Good Samaritan had found me laying
2:08
there unconscious in the driveway with the tree
2:12
limb and they called the paramedics. So I thank
2:16
that Good Samaritan for the reason why I'm here
2:19
as well as a very skilled neurosurgeon. So I
2:24
was in the hospital with a broken neck in an
2:27
immobilization brace after neurosurgery and I
2:31
had a lot of time to think. The prognosis, it
2:34
would be one year with the outcome uncertain.
2:39
And with time on my hands, I looked at all of
2:43
my life underneath the lens of a microscope and
2:46
I uncovered a trail of lies that my husband had
2:51
not been faithful. And that high -powered career
2:54
that I'd worked so hard to create forced me to
2:58
resign. So in one fell swoop, that tree limb
3:03
had a ripple effect and touched everything I
3:07
held dear. My health, my marriage, and career.
3:12
But I didn't know it at the time that it was
3:15
an invitation. It was an invitation to make another
3:19
decision, whether to rebuild the former life
3:23
or to architect a new one. And I decided on the
3:29
latter. And what that tree limb did for me was
3:35
one of my life's greatest lessons. It reinforced
3:39
that we only have control over two things, and
3:44
that is to be in the moment and find the upside
3:47
in any situation. So I... took that ritual of
3:53
whether it's looking up at the sky and seeing
3:55
a beautiful cloud or a brilliant blue or noticing
4:01
a fall color change or a spring blossom blooming
4:05
into this next chapter of life. I started traveling
4:11
the world. I penned three books at that time
4:15
and I found love again and this time The love
4:20
was very different. The love was full of truth,
4:27
connection, adventure, truly my other half. Brian
4:33
Treptow and I moved to Hawaii together and life
4:42
was perfect. We envisioned adventuring owning
4:50
a tree camp, treehouse camp together, and leaving
4:56
no stone unturned. And this is when life served
5:02
my most recent curveball as Brian and I were
5:07
living on the island of Maui. And life was seemingly
5:11
perfect until it wasn't. He was a medipack pilot.
5:19
and in saving or trying to save someone else's
5:22
life, the plane that he was piloting crashed
5:26
into the Pacific Ocean and tragically died in
5:33
December of 2022. Unlike the tree, Brian's passing
5:44
was not physical hurt but a complete body mind
5:52
and spirit dropped to the ground to my knees
5:56
and forced my life to stop not only my at that
6:01
time life but the life that we had planned together
6:04
and that's when I asked the world really again
6:13
but although difficult, I leaned into that same
6:20
lesson from the tree. And it reminded me that
6:25
without that tree, I may not have been able to
6:29
start to crawl, stand up again, and take one
6:35
step in front of another after losing my life
6:37
partner of 12 years. So I leaned into that simple
6:41
lesson and I have named it the look -up mantra.
6:49
And as I said before, it reminds us of the things
6:54
that we have control when everything else is
6:56
spinning out of control, that we can be in the
6:59
moment, look up from our technology device, look
7:02
up from our situation and appreciate the beauty
7:04
around us, take a breath, and then maybe it doesn't
7:08
happen immediately, but find the upside in your
7:12
situation. It could be that you're just getting
7:15
up from the ground from your last impossible
7:17
hurdle. Or it could be something as wise as the
7:22
lesson I learned from the tree. The tree taught
7:25
me resilience. Being in love taught me possibility.
7:32
And loss reminded me how powerful that love was.
7:38
So in showing you not the polished version of
7:45
the end of my story. I'm showing you still some
7:49
of the messy mill because it's been only a little
7:56
under three years since his passing. But I have
7:59
since moved to Nashville. I have completed my
8:03
fourth book and I found this creative Mecca to
8:08
be the best place for me to continue to be inspired
8:13
by other storytellers and also inspire others
8:17
by the stories that I'm telling. Hello, my name
8:28
is Liana Henry and welcome to the Starfish Storytellers.
8:31
I'm the CEO of the Black Dog Group and your host.
8:35
I'm passionate about storytelling and on a mission
8:37
to raise up the next generation of storytellers.
8:40
We're called the starfish storytellers after
8:43
the moral of the starfish story, which centers
8:45
on the power of one. Because no matter how big
8:48
the challenge, every action matters. One step,
8:51
one starfish, and one story at a time. Every
8:55
episode will welcome a new storyteller who will
8:57
inspire and connect with you. So thanks for tuning
9:00
in. Now let's get started. Today's episode is
9:04
Finding Perspective. Resilient stories from around
9:07
the world. And with me today, is Heidi Siefkis.
9:14
Heidi, I got that right? You got it right. Great.
9:19
So Heidi Siefkis is with us today. Heidi is an
9:24
author, a storyteller, and a speaker. And she
9:27
has the Look Up mantra, which began as a deeply
9:30
personal promise to herself after a traumatic
9:33
accident and has grown into a global movement,
9:36
reminding people everywhere to pause, breathe,
9:40
and reconnect with what matters most. Today's
9:44
conversation is going to explore how perspective
9:46
becomes a survival tool and how one shift in
9:50
how we see the world can open the door to healing,
9:53
reinvention, and resilience. Heidi's latest book,
9:58
Look Up! Global Stories of Resilience, brings
10:01
together powerful narratives from people across
10:03
cultures, continents, and experiences. These
10:07
stories are the ones that remind us to keep perspective,
10:11
that a perspective can change a life and that
10:13
resilience begins with a single moment of looking
10:16
up. So Heidi, it's just such an honor to have
10:19
you here. I just thank you so much for being
10:21
our guest. You're so welcome. I'm thrilled to
10:25
be here and I brought some starfish. I love starfish.
10:32
They're my favorite. You can't see if I have
10:34
my microphone, but I have my little starfish
10:36
on. I was always ready. Um, so I know that you
10:44
just, you know, you just shared your story with
10:46
us, but was there anything else you would like
10:48
to share it, you know, to introduce yourself
10:49
to our listeners? I think you covered it. I'm
10:54
a four time author, a speaker. I love adventure
10:58
and, um, I'm the creator of the lookup mantra
11:02
and we'll get more into that as we. discuss.
11:07
So thank you for telling us your story. I mean,
11:10
I, you know, we had had some time to meet and
11:13
connect and I had some chances to read some of
11:15
your stories in your book and, um, it's just,
11:19
you know, it's the powerful, you know, you know,
11:23
your story is just a powerful reminder about
11:25
the power of perspective. Um, you know, perspective
11:29
is something that we don't just find once it's
11:32
something we return to again and again, and it
11:34
can change. Um, and what I love about resilience
11:38
stories is that, you know, they don't necessarily
11:40
are going to erase your hardship, but they can
11:43
help you make meaning from it. Uh, they can show
11:46
us, you know, the, the cracks and the light.
11:50
So a good resilience story maybe doesn't say
11:52
I overcame this as much as it might say, here's
11:56
how I kept moving one moment at a time, one step
11:58
at a time. And you know, that honesty when you
12:02
share those types of stories, it helps other
12:04
people see themselves in the journey. It helps
12:07
people not feel alone. So, you know, you, you
12:13
know, you have written other books as well. And
12:16
I know that some of your other books have really
12:17
been a focus on, on your story, but was there
12:21
a specific moment where you felt that it was
12:24
time? you know, you realize that, you know, you
12:27
were going to share your story with other people.
12:30
Like I, I know that you, um, I've seen your,
12:34
I like, I've seen your Ted talk. I've seen your,
12:36
you know, telling your story. Um, was there a
12:40
point where you were ready? It was almost two
12:45
years after the tree had struck me and my doctors,
12:49
family, friends, everybody said you're a hundred
12:51
percent healed. And I said, Hmm. I'm going to
12:56
prove that to myself before I trust your judgment.
13:00
So I said, I'm going to do it the best way I
13:03
know how, and that's to challenge myself physically,
13:07
emotionally, and mentally. And I said, I've got
13:09
to go for a solo walkabout. So I was living in
13:13
South Florida at the time. I said, I'm going
13:15
to go to Southern Chile, to Patagonia, and hike
13:20
in Torres de Paine, the W Trek. And it was while
13:25
I was on that adventure, we were in a group of
13:29
hikers and two people from California. An older
13:33
couple probably approaching retirement age. They
13:36
were wondering why I was solo hiking, you know,
13:40
what was my story? So I told them about my upbringing,
13:43
kind of what I did professionally. And then the
13:47
longer you walk with somebody, the more you can
13:49
tell. And I told them about the last two years.
13:53
and how trying they had been. They basically
13:56
were so shocked and they said your story sounds
14:02
like a book and they seconded that because they're
14:07
from California they said you could probably
14:09
also do a film. So it was on that hike that the
14:12
seed was planted for my first book and that was
14:17
in 2011. I published that book in 2014. And what
14:22
I found from publishing that book and sharing
14:25
my story and becoming vulnerable with the world
14:27
and then doing speaking on this similar topic,
14:31
it gives permission for others to share with
14:34
you their authentic selves. And so although there
14:43
may be some listeners that want to share their
14:45
story, but are fuel for all of it. do it in a
14:51
safe space, but it will pay off in the reciprocal
14:59
effect, whether it's twofold, threefold or fourfold.
15:02
I have found just greatness in sharing these
15:09
stories of resilience. An aside, I think our
15:15
listeners probably don't know this because I
15:17
I think I saw that you had been a travel agent
15:20
or you had worked for helping people with tours
15:23
or something. Yeah, for a time period, I was
15:26
a tour guide for tours, primarily going to Cuba,
15:30
but I also had done some in Peru, Hawaii, Italy,
15:35
Spain, the Camino de Santiago. So, yes, it has
15:40
been the most challenging profession ever chosen.
15:44
because you are not just the tour guide, you're
15:47
also the therapist, the paramedic, the chief
15:53
cat wrangler, DJ, entertainment, basically currency
16:02
converter, translator, you name it. But you had
16:07
so much knowledge about really good places to
16:11
have some solo adventures. to kind of and I'm
16:14
guessing I'm just making an assumption here when
16:17
you went on that solo journey, I bet it was sort
16:19
of so often I envision people taking solo journeys
16:22
and it's to find themselves or to kind of make
16:25
peace with something. You know, there's so much
16:28
power in nature and I love hiking, too. So I
16:32
I would absolutely a hike would be a place where,
16:35
you know, I could, you know, come to peace with
16:37
something. So. So you didn't really, you weren't
16:47
thinking about telling your story in a book.
16:51
It took that sharing of your story with another
16:55
person and having them kind of echo back or give
16:59
you feedback for you to feel like, you know what?
17:03
I can do this. Did you find it very cathartic?
17:06
I mean, did you find it something where it just,
17:08
once you were putting your story down on paper,
17:12
You know, was that even like a deeper level of
17:16
peace around that? So when people asked me was
17:21
writing the dark bit I'm like Writing in a journal
17:26
when it's happening is therapeutic Then once
17:30
I made the decision to convert my journal entries
17:33
into my book I was reliving the experience and
17:38
you reopen wounds that you think are almost completely
17:43
start over. And you no longer have necessarily
17:48
that immediate team around you that helps you
17:52
emotionally process that, whether that's physicians,
17:55
therapists, and when you're in the thick of it,
17:58
you probably also have some medications that
18:00
are helping you with the pain and anxiety. So
18:04
when you're writing this, you relive it in a
18:07
way. Yes, you're capable of of processing it
18:14
a little bit differently, but I felt I needed
18:17
to step away and not subject it in large chunks
18:25
because there were multiple traumas in that tree
18:30
and the ripple effect of loss. And each time
18:34
that you're writing about things, it stirs up
18:38
those emotions. So I did need to take a step
18:43
back and I will tell everyone about writing your
18:49
own story that you should honor your emotions
18:53
and I write nonfiction because Hollywood really
19:03
can't make stuff up as good as real life, but
19:06
that doesn't mean that it isn't painful to Retell
19:11
it mm -hmm, and I will share with you when I
19:15
did the audio version I Even got closer to my
19:19
story now. I was narrating my own words of my
19:22
own Story and hearing it through my voice so
19:29
Yeah, therapeutic in journal entries writing
19:35
the book not necessarily therapeutic But, um,
19:39
definitely worth stepping into the fear. Just
19:43
take it in small steps. Yeah. I mean, you know,
19:47
writing about trauma, like you said, I mean,
19:51
it can be healing, but it can be emotionally
19:53
taxing and, you know, like you're saying, listen
19:57
to your, listen to your body, listen to your,
20:00
your thoughts and, you know, find that balance.
20:04
And if you have to step away, to protect your
20:06
emotional wellbeing, then that's what you do,
20:09
right? Um, in the moments when you maybe like,
20:16
maybe did it and when you were doing the writing,
20:17
like doing it in chunks or whatever, when you
20:23
would come back to it, did you feel like your,
20:27
your storytelling voice just kind of came back
20:30
like, right? Like picked up where you left off
20:32
or was this something that um you needed to kind
20:37
of get you know you had to i know when i write
20:40
it's like sometimes it has to be the the muse
20:42
has to move me right it's like i have to be in
20:44
the right mindset um was it harder because it
20:48
was this type of a story a resilient story i
20:52
guess i didn't write it completely chronological
20:55
and so i basically jumped around so what story
21:02
or what journal entry am i going to write about
21:04
today And I said, this one feels right today.
21:09
And so that's one of the recommendations I would
21:12
tell any storyteller. If you're putting pen to
21:15
paper, don't worry about the order. Just get
21:17
the story down. You can always shuffle things
21:20
around. And it may be a technique of yours to
21:26
drop them in somewhere in the middle of the story,
21:29
then go back and then tell it chronologically.
21:32
But you have to get it out of your head. or either
21:39
dictated or written into sub format. Yeah, I
21:43
have. I teach guided autobiography to seniors
21:48
and, you know, as they get older and older, the
21:53
typing is harder and harder. And so we sort of
21:56
and it's hard because they're old school, they're
21:58
pen to paper folks, you know, but we've but a
22:02
lot of the ones that are in my class are they
22:04
have some tech savvy about them. And, you know,
22:07
we've sort of resorted to trying the dictation,
22:09
you know, because you could do it right in Word.
22:11
It's really easy. So they could dictate, you
22:14
know, and they could do text to I mean, voice
22:16
to text. And it's definitely saving some some
22:20
tired, tired hands. And it gets the story out.
22:25
So, yeah, that's a lot of tools out there we
22:28
can use. So let's talk about the newest book.
22:32
Um, you know, it, it definitely is expanding
22:36
beyond your personal experience at this point.
22:39
So, um, yeah, you're going from telling your
22:43
own resilience story to other resilience stories.
22:47
Um, like what, what sort of was it, cause I think
22:51
the book had started prior to Brian's passing,
22:54
right? Um, so what inspired you to start gathering
23:00
those stories? from other people. And I would
23:05
say there, you got, I mean, you have stories
23:07
from all over, you have them from all over. They're
23:10
all all over the planet from all walks of life.
23:14
These are showcasing real life heroes and heroes
23:17
that have overcome obstacles of of every assortment
23:23
from hurricanes, fires, immigration, escaping
23:28
war. three generations of breast cancer, losing
23:33
a spouse. And I started it because in sharing
23:37
my story, people would come back with their own
23:42
amazing, resilient stories. But they didn't necessarily
23:47
want to write a memoir. Maybe they didn't have
23:52
the time, maybe they didn't have the skill set.
23:54
And I was seeing a common theme in everyone that
23:57
would share their story. as well as in my own
24:01
library, in reading memoirs and self -help books,
24:04
that on the other side of this challenge, there
24:06
is always this silver lining, you know, seeing
24:11
the light through the cracks, turning lemons
24:13
into lemonade. And I was thinking, there's strength
24:21
in numbers. And if we are all, if all of us have...
24:25
done this incredible stuff, like ordinary people
24:28
doing extraordinary things, and that we all come
24:32
to a similar conclusion. Well, that's better
24:35
than me going to the top of the mountain and
24:37
screaming, look up! It communicates beyond me
24:46
singing that if two dozen people from all corners
24:53
of the planet, ages ethnicities, languages, religions
24:57
are saying the same thing. And I had participated
25:00
in a compilation book called Tell Her She Can't
25:05
in 2021. And that showcased how I could stop
25:11
writing my story and level up and interview others
25:16
about theirs and then be the pen to write that.
25:21
I'm so grateful for those that had shared their
25:24
story with me to make this a possibility. And
25:27
after publishing Look Up Global Stories of Resilience,
25:32
I've once again participated in another anthology.
25:35
This one is about, it's called Unmapped and it's
25:39
about solo women travel. And I pen a little bit
25:42
about that walkabout in Patagonia. Nice. So let
25:47
me ask you this. So the people that are in the
25:51
book, in the look up global stories of resilience.
25:54
Were they the people like how did you source
25:57
the source, the folks, the stories for that book?
26:00
Were they the people that came to you after reading
26:02
your other books? And you said, Oh, let me tap
26:05
them and see if they want to be in my book. Or
26:08
was it just like a friend of a friend of a friend?
26:12
It was very organic. It was very much friends
26:16
first, then a friend of a friend, then me asking
26:21
those that had already shared their story do
26:24
you know somebody and typically someone has a
26:27
next -door neighbor or a aunt or a colleague
26:32
that has done something inspirational and just
26:35
you know doesn't wear it you know on their forehead
26:38
I'm a shero and every story in the book was came
26:45
authentically to me Yes, I did some social media
26:50
outreach, but it was always them coming to me.
26:54
And I kind of think of it like the Kevin Bacon
26:57
effect. It was like this book was made by connections.
27:03
How wonderful that you have that many connections
27:06
or that you even built up even more connections
27:10
as a result. Even more connections. Yes. Define
27:14
stories. from other countries, I needed to leverage
27:18
some of my writing circles that were international.
27:21
And then also being in the travel industry, that
27:24
gave me another few tentacles to shout out, hey,
27:28
do you know anybody that perhaps has an interesting
27:33
story about solo sailing to Polynesia and is
27:37
doing it to overcome PTSD? And they said, we
27:41
know such a girl. so wow well i mean i think
27:46
you're proof that like everybody's out like they're
27:49
out there right you know these these heroes and
27:52
sheroes they're out there and how unique everyone's
27:55
stories are um so would there so let me ask you
28:03
this so were there any common threads or surprising
28:08
patterns um that you noticed among people who've
28:12
been facing these profound adverse. I mean, you
28:15
had some pretty strong stories in that book.
28:20
What was what was that? What was that common
28:22
thread? Were there? And, you know, you know what
28:26
your resilience has become? Was there moments
28:31
when somebody else's resilience shifted your
28:35
perspective even more? Each and every story hit
28:39
me hard. because every one of the people in this
28:44
book are true superheroes. I mean, I think everybody
28:54
reads something that is just miraculous that
28:59
someone has overcome and they think that they
29:01
can't do it. And there's some of the stories
29:04
in the book that I'm like, nope, I'm out. there
29:13
was a commonality in each and every story and
29:18
it was two things that Connected them all one
29:23
was they leaned into the power of perspective
29:27
and each person said it differently they Maybe
29:32
some saw a sliver of hope or light At their darkest
29:37
moment or they found there was no place else
29:41
to go but up Some resorted to prayer, meditation.
29:49
Others said, yeah, I looked up. And the second
29:54
thing that they all said was that they found
29:58
their community. They couldn't have done it alone.
30:02
And so those two elements are what I think is
30:09
the secret sauce to overcoming just about Anything.
30:16
Yeah. There's a lot of power in prayer and meditation.
30:22
And there's a lot of power in community. I think
30:26
that there's a lot of people who isolate themselves.
30:31
And it's a loss for them. It's at their detriment.
30:36
And there's always sort of that warm feeling
30:39
when you feel like I'm not the only one. um and
30:43
sometimes when you see and i think just hearing
30:45
your story i think there might be people that
30:47
are listening and hear your story and read your
30:51
book and think if she can if she can survive
30:54
all that i i can do this i can do this too you
31:00
know and i think we're talking about the hope
31:02
i think that's huge yeah that's what i do hope
31:05
for my books my story as well as the compilation
31:12
of stories of others is to give that hope. So
31:16
someone can take that next breath, next step,
31:20
progress, not necessarily getting over, but progressing
31:25
or evolving to what that next self is. Yeah.
31:29
In one of the classes that I teach that we talk
31:32
about people's experiences with death and dying
31:35
and So a lot of great YouTube videos of, of Ted
31:39
talks of people kind of talking resilient stories
31:42
overcoming. And so often in those situations,
31:46
people say, you know, I don't, I don't get over
31:49
it. I just move forward with it. You know, um,
31:55
you know, so, um, so here you are and you've
32:00
got people's stories and you're talking to people
32:03
and you're going to craft their resilience stories.
32:06
Um, you know, it's, it's, you're, you know, you're,
32:11
you're holding this very precious story, you
32:14
know, and I think even when we were prepping,
32:16
you had told me a story of like, someone came
32:19
to you and felt like, you know, they wanted to
32:21
tell you their story. And then when they saw
32:23
it in print, that was, they were like, wow, I
32:25
didn't know that, you know, it hit them a little
32:28
harder. Um, you know, how do you ensure authenticity?
32:33
when you're entrusted with somebody else's lived
32:36
experiences? Your gestures were exactly what
32:40
I wanted to say, which is I cradled their stories.
32:45
So I found kind of the sweet spot of most of
32:50
these stories. They needed to be in the past
32:53
by at least two years for it to be a safe enough
32:59
space for the wounds to have scarred over. for
33:03
them to be able to share the story. And we did
33:07
it via Zoom. So I thank the pandemic that it
33:13
made people comfortable sharing such emotional
33:16
things via video because I still have about a
33:21
third of the contributors that I have not met
33:23
in person. That's one of the goals that I have
33:25
is to meet everyone in person over the next year.
33:29
But to share the most emotionally pivotal moment
33:33
in your life with a somewhat stranger and with
33:37
hopes of that being published you have to be
33:45
emotionally healed enough and it didn't mean
33:48
that people did not break down because almost
33:51
in each and every story even if it was in 30
33:54
years in the past sometimes they would cry up
33:57
a little bit because it triggered what they felt
34:00
when they were escaping at midnight from Laos
34:04
to Thailand during the war. I mean, you can't
34:12
when you are trying to get the stories out of
34:18
people. There is no timeline. You need to let
34:21
it come out naturally and be very patient. And
34:25
I let them talk. for as long as they needed to,
34:31
then I would go over the transcript in the video
34:33
and create something that I thought did their
34:38
story justice. But I wasn't the last judge, because
34:44
my goal was for the book to inspire, but also
34:47
for each of the contributors to feel proud about
34:52
their story and how they were portrayed and the
34:54
people in the story. So I would always after
34:59
doing the first draft, send it to the contributor.
35:03
And that was the scariest moment for me was when
35:10
I press send and I sent them their story. Are
35:15
they going to hate it? Are they going to love
35:16
it? Are they going to edit it to death? And it's
35:20
no longer, you know, my my version of their story.
35:25
But what was surprising is that they came back
35:28
with very few edits. They just had some subtle
35:32
changes if I had something inaccurate and they
35:35
said I couldn't have really done it better myself.
35:40
With that being said, after everybody approved
35:44
their story, I had that year -long gap after
35:47
Brian passed. I couldn't write a book. I decided
35:52
to restart life, move off Maui. head to Nashville
35:56
with my 90 -year -old father in tow and getting
35:59
us both settled in a new place. So time had passed
36:04
since half of the book was approved and by the
36:07
time I restarted the book I now dove deeper into
36:14
different stories and those were written in 2024
36:17
but those that had been written in 2022 I needed
36:22
to go back to them and say, you know, has anything
36:24
changed? You know, are you still comfortable
36:26
with this? And some of them needed to be amended.
36:33
There were some cancer survivors that were in
36:36
remission then and now are not in remission any
36:40
longer. So we amended the stories to be accurate
36:44
as a publishing. And even though there was approval
36:49
prior to sending to the printer, just like when
36:54
I did my first memoir, I kind of panicked the
36:58
night before it went live because it was getting
37:01
real. This could be with a book club in Juneau,
37:05
Alaska, or Paris, France tomorrow. And a couple
37:10
of the contributors asked me last minute, did
37:13
you use my real name or did we use a fake name?
37:17
And we had to kind of go back and forth. Why
37:20
did you share your story? What were you looking
37:23
to gain? What's your biggest fear? You know,
37:27
we needed to talk through it. And the contributor
37:31
that kind of had a small panic attack before
37:34
publishing, she's now the biggest cheerleader
37:39
of the book. She actually was in a panel discussion
37:43
at a keynote that I did recently, and she shared
37:46
her story. for basically the first time in front
37:50
of a public audience. And it was amazing to see
37:55
such authenticity. It was raw, unedited, but
38:00
it is so needed these days. So. Well, I think,
38:05
yeah, I mean, people people know. People know
38:10
if you're not authentic and you're not genuine
38:13
and and that's really. when you know what comes
38:17
from the heart reaches the heart. You know, so
38:20
I think that's, you know, and I think thank you
38:23
for walking like us through sort of your techniques
38:28
and like how you handled everything. I mean,
38:31
you definitely handled, you definitely cradled
38:33
every single person and their story. But you
38:38
had a book to write and and. You know, I think
38:42
remind, like you said, you. Sometimes it's just
38:45
kind of bringing people back to the purpose,
38:47
right? Right. Yeah. Yeah. So you've talked about
38:55
people reading your book. I'm sure your book
38:58
has been in that Juneau book club in Paris book
39:01
club and your books have a ripple effect, right?
39:08
So when somebody is going to finish this book
39:10
or any of your books, what do you want them to
39:13
carry with them? You know what is there a shift
39:16
in perspective you want them to experience? the
39:20
through line in all four books is the lookup
39:22
mantra and That tool that you can pull out of
39:26
your back pocket. It's basically a mindfulness
39:29
practice and I Think we're hearing it more and
39:33
more these days that There's a benchmark that
39:38
you have to have in your in your week of mindfulness
39:41
practice to keep you at your best mental health
39:44
and look up as one of those things that you can
39:47
do not effortlessly because you have to consciously
39:51
to choose to do it but it's attainable. I would
39:55
like that to be one of the takeaways and then
39:58
they're meant to inspire hope and positive change
40:05
and even to emphasize the choice you have to
40:10
live your life boldly and to evolve, continue
40:17
to evolve. And in essence, you've created a community,
40:24
I think. Absolutely. And it's sort of that domino
40:28
effect, right? It's like one person's looking
40:31
up and then two people are looking up and then
40:33
four people are looking up and then eight people
40:35
are looking up. And then people aren't alone.
40:40
So we live in a world that needs help right now.
40:45
The timing of this book couldn't have been more
40:47
perfect, although it is an evergreen topic. You
40:52
know, you're going to run into life hurdles and
40:57
hiccups next year, too. But right now, I think
41:02
we're in a time of uncertainty and people are
41:05
kind of grasping for, you know, How can I deal
41:08
with job loss in the new AI dominated workforce
41:16
or the economy? There's wars going on and that
41:22
doesn't stop the things that are still big, divorce,
41:27
health, love, those things. So if we have a listener
41:35
right now and they're sort of in the middle of
41:38
their before and after moment, what would you
41:43
tell them? Like, what's that first small step
41:47
towards finding that perspective again? Breathe,
41:54
even though you may feel like you're breathless,
41:57
that life has sucked you and you lost your wind,
42:02
you know? Breathe. Pause. Look up and find anything
42:08
that can show you beauty. Whether that is turning
42:12
on your favorite song, looking up at nature.
42:18
Looking at pictures. And it may not come today
42:24
or tomorrow, but there is wisdom and an upside
42:30
to every. hurdle, hiccup, and wound. It doesn't
42:35
manifest itself immediately because you're probably
42:40
laying on the ground or you're having an adult
42:43
temper tantrum or you're in full -blown catastrophe
42:49
mode, but it will come. Just remember, breathe,
42:53
look up. pray and meditate in the morning. And
43:01
I find that when you sit up and put your arms
43:07
back, you're opening up your chest cavity so
43:11
that you can take a deeper breath. When you're
43:15
looking down, you're closing up that and it makes
43:18
it harder to breathe. And you can't take as deep
43:22
a breath. And so when you were just talking about
43:25
that looking up and take a breath, it's like,
43:27
yeah, it's so much easier to breathe. Get that
43:32
deep breath calming pause breath in there when
43:35
you look up. So in talking about the resilience
43:42
stories, these global resilience stories, but
43:44
what's next for you, Heidi? Like what, do you
43:47
have any other projects? Are you on a book tour
43:50
right now? Like what, you know, what's, what's
43:52
your next great adventure? Well, as soon as I
43:56
published this book, someone else submitted their
43:59
story via my Google form. And I'm like, Oh, this
44:03
is a great, this would have been a great addition.
44:07
And then more and more stories are coming at
44:10
me and I'm like, is it going to be a second book?
44:13
And so I've been toying with it over the last
44:15
six months. since it was released and I've decided
44:20
to dive into the podcast world. So coming next
44:25
year, I'm going to start with the contributors
44:29
and interview them on a live podcast and then
44:33
open it up to stories I've never penned in hopes
44:38
of continuing this lookup movement and building
44:41
the community. There may be a second book, but
44:46
it will be first told in podcast form and then
44:50
converted into something written or audio in
44:54
the future. So almost reverse engineering a book.
44:59
We're huge podcast fans here. So, you know, podcast
45:03
is a great way to you. It's one thing like you
45:06
talked about the power of your voice, right?
45:08
Like being a writer, putting pen to paper is
45:11
one thing, but being able to actually have a
45:14
voice. is powerful. And with podcasts, you do
45:18
have even more reach and that your podcasts will
45:23
be able to be shared in ways that your guests
45:27
will be able to open it up to their communities
45:31
and their followers. So it's a great idea. It's
45:35
a great idea. I'm excited. And so I am going
45:41
on various podcasts to kind of learn this side
45:45
of things. And I'm always on the hunt for my
45:51
next great story. I haven't stopped freelance
45:55
writing about travel destinations. So the next
45:59
one that I'm writing about, I think, is the Grand
46:01
Canyon because I'm doing a hike this coming fall
46:07
from rim to rim, I think, is what we're doing.
46:12
So We had to postpone it because of the fire
46:14
last year. That's exciting. How many times have
46:21
you been to the Grand Canyon? This will be my
46:25
third time, but I've never done really any in
46:29
-depth hiking there. I just feel it's just a
46:34
majestic place to be where every moment you get
46:38
different shadows, colors. And although Brian
46:45
was well traveled, he never made it to the Grand
46:47
Canyon. So I'm going to take him with me. You're
46:49
going. You're going for both of you. Yes. Nice.
46:53
Nice. Well, enjoy. Sounds wonderful. Yeah. So,
46:58
well, that is all the time we have for today.
47:02
Heidi, thank you so much for sharing your story
47:05
and about your journey with the stories of resilience
47:09
with the folks that you've been writing about.
47:12
You know, you've reminding us that perspective
47:14
isn't passive. It's something we choose. It's
47:16
something we practice. It's something that can
47:20
change our lives in one minute, in one breath
47:23
and in one story at a time, right? Pleasure to
47:26
be with you. And thank you for bringing your
47:31
starfish. We appreciate it. And to our listeners.
47:38
Whether you've first heard us locally through
47:40
BTV studios in Bedford, Massachusetts, or you're
47:44
tuning in from across the globe on Spotify, Apple
47:46
podcasts or Amazon podcasts. Thank you for listening.
47:51
We hope you enjoyed this episode and we'll see
47:53
you next time. Happy storytelling.