Shows / Groove with Portia
Groove with Portia
Welcome, friend. I’m Portia Booker, storyteller, producer, and host of Groove with Portia.
Groove with Portia is a storytelling podcast centered on one powerful question: how did you find your groove through adversity?
If you’re here, chances are you’ve experienced grief. The loss of a loved one, a dream, or the version of yourself you once knew. Maybe you pivoted from corporate life into entrepreneurship, or maybe everything you worked for was suddenly stripped away.
Every Thursday, I sit down…
Episodes
- Groove with Portia
Why Doesn't Grief End When Everyone Expects You to Move On?
Why do we expect someone to return to normal after three or five days of bereavement leave? What happens to our minds, bodies, and identities when someone we…
- Groove with Portia
Can You Be Grateful for Your Life and Still Want More?
Can you be grateful for the life you've created and still want something more? What happens when the career, marriage, family, or future you once dreamed about…
- Groove with Portia
What Does It Mean to Have a Say in How Your Life Ends?
What if hospice care isn't what you've always imagined? What if the final months of someone's life could still include laughter, meaningful conversations…
- Groove with Portia
When Your Parents' Trauma Becomes Your Childhood
Can you grieve a childhood you never had? What happens when you realize your parents were carrying pain they never learned how to heal? In this episode of…
- Groove with Portia
What If Resilience Isn’t About Being Strong?
What if resilience isn't about staying strong, pushing through and pretending nothing hurts? Kat Konkoli once believed resilience meant developing a tough…
- Groove with Portia
What If Your Calling Doesn’t Look the Way You Expected?
What happens when the life you thought you were supposed to live no longer fits the person you're becoming? Kirsten Rudberg earned her Master of Divinity…
- Groove with Portia
Good Intentions Can Still Hurt at the End of Life
What if the things we do with the best intentions at the end of someone's life aren't actually what they want? Lisa Pahl has spent years working in hospice and…
- Groove with Portia
Grief Has No Timeline, So Why Do We Give It Three Days?
What happens when grief doesn't give you enough time to grieve? Kellye Thunder Davis spent decades teaching meditation, mindfulness and stress management. But…
- Groove with Portia
Why “Holding It Together” Can Feel Like Abandonment in Grief
What happens when everything you know professionally about grief suddenly becomes personal? Dr. Patricia Timerman had worked in suicide prevention…
- Groove with Portia
How Do You Forgive the Person You Used to Be?
What happens when you stop using drugs, but the pain that led you there is still waiting for you? On this episode of Groove with Portia, I sit down with Nikki…
- Groove with Portia
She Left Her Abuser, But the Trauma Followed Her
Leaving an abusive relationship doesn't always mean you immediately feel free. On this episode of Groove with Portia, I sit down with Lori Carter, domestic…
- Groove with Portia
What Families Need to Know Before a Long-Term Care Crisis
What happens when someone you love suddenly needs long-term care and you realize you weren't prepared for what comes next? On this special episode of Groove…
- Groove with Portia
What Cancer Took That No One Could See
What happens when the person who is used to fixing everything is suddenly faced with something she can't control? On this episode of Groove with Portia, I sit…
- Groove with Portia
Flowers Die. Grief Doesn't. So How Do We Show Up?
What if moving on was never the goal? On this episode of Groove with Portia, I sit down with Kelly Edmondson, founder of Timely Presence and mother of Darius…
- Groove with Portia
Why Some of Life's Biggest Detours Become New Beginnings
What happens when the life you built suddenly changes direction? On this episode of Groove with Portia, I sit down with entrepreneur and Podcast Connections…
- Groove with Portia
How to Find Yourself After a Toxic Relationship
Can you find gratitude for what an experience taught you without being grateful that it happened? On this episode of Groove with Portia, I sit down with author…
- Groove with Portia
Can Virtual Reality Teach Your Brain to Calm Down?
What happens when you're trained to tell everyone else's story but never given the space to process what those stories are doing to you? Before becoming the…
- Groove with Portia
What Would You Sacrifice to Save Your Child?
Imagine being told your child might not live past 18. For Richard Williams, that wasn't a hypothetical. After losing Trevor's twin brother, Nigel, before…
- Groove with Portia
When a Diagnosis Changes Your Life
In this powerful episode of Groove with Portia, host Portia Booker welcomes Ellen Lubensky, a patient advocate and founder of the Mental Health Choice Project…
- Groove with Portia
Who Do You Reach for When You're Not Okay?
We have more ways to communicate than ever before. We can text, chat, connect through social media and even turn to artificial intelligence when we need…
- Groove with Portia
Menopause, Identity and the Woman You’re Becoming
We’re finally talking about menopause. But are we really listening to what women are experiencing? On this episode of Groove with Portia, I welcome back my…
- Groove with Portia
A Promise Kept: Love, Alzheimer’s and Dying With Dignity
On this episode of Groove with Portia, I sit down with Erica Baccus, author of A Promise Kept, to talk about her love story with her husband, John, his…
- Groove with Portia
When High Achievers Hit an Invisible Wall
What happens when the life you envisioned for yourself doesn’t happen according to plan? On this live episode of Groove with Portia, I sit down with Dr…
- Groove with Portia
Why Domestic Violence Survivors Don't "Just Leave"
Leaving an abusive relationship is often described as the end of the story. For many survivors, it's only the beginning of another journey—healing from what…
- Groove with Portia
When the Rescuer Needs Saving: A First Responder's Story
Grief and healing don't discriminate. Even the people we call during our darkest moments experience heartbreaking loss, mental health struggles, and the…
- Groove with Portia
She Lost Her Daughter to Fentanyl. Then Found Her Voice
Grief and healing often begin with telling the story we've been afraid to share. In this heartfelt conversation about child loss, domestic violence, mental…
- Groove with Portia
The Emotional Prison So Many People Never Escape
Grief and healing don't always begin after the loss of a loved one. Sometimes they begin when we decide to let go of shame, forgive ourselves, and rewrite the…
- Groove with Portia
What My Daughter's Brain Surgery Taught Me About Gratitude
Grief and healing often begin with the smallest daily choices. In this heartfelt conversation about gratitude, mental wellness, resilience, and healing through…
- Groove with Portia
What Happened After Her Grandfather Said, "Nothing Is Impossible"
Healing through storytelling often begins with the people who leave an imprint on our lives. In this heartfelt conversation about grief, legacy, resilience…
- Groove with Portia
They Lost Their Daughter at Age 2. This Is How They Found Their Way Forward.
Grief and healing often change the direction of our lives in ways we never expected. In this conversation, we explore child loss, healing through storytelling…
- Groove with Portia
When Caregiving Becomes a Sacred Goodbye
Grief and healing often begin in the quiet moments we are never fully prepared for. In this conversation about end-of-life care, caregiving, anticipatory…
- Groove with Portia
The Power of Being Seen When the World Looks Away
Healing through storytelling begins when we take the time to truly see another human being. In this powerful conversation about mental health awareness…
- Groove with Portia
From Suicide Attempt Survivor to Chaplain: How Faith Helped Him Heal
Grief and healing often begin with telling the truth about what we've been carrying. In this conversation, we explore mental health awareness, PTSD recovery…
- Groove with Portia
Why Vulnerability Is a Strength for Men
Grief and healing often begin when we decide that our past does not have to define our future. In this conversation, we explore turning pain into purpose…
- Groove with Portia
A Mother's Fight for Child Safety After Unimaginable Loss
Grief and healing can take us down paths we never imagined. In this conversation, we explore healing through storytelling, child safety advocacy, mental health…
- Groove with Portia
Childhood Trauma Is Behind More Than You Think
Childhood trauma is deeply connected to mental health awareness, addiction recovery, and long-term healing—but most people never learn how it truly impacts…
- Groove with Portia
I Heard the Voice… And It Changed My Life
Grief and healing often come with moments we can’t fully explain—but we feel them deeply. In this episode, we explore mental health awareness, healing through…
- Groove with Portia
When Your Illness Doesn’t Fit the System
Grief and healing don’t always come from loss through death—sometimes they come from losing your health, identity, and the life you once knew. In this episode…
- Groove with Portia
Social Media Is Quietly Destroying Relationships
Mental health awareness starts with understanding how social media, overstimulation, and emotional disconnection are affecting our relationships. In this…
- Groove with Portia
When Life Doesn’t Go as Planned
Grief and healing often show up in ways we never expected, especially when life doesn’t follow the path we planned. In this episode, we explore mental health…
- Groove with Portia
Why Burnout Happens Even to High Achievers
Mental health awareness starts with recognizing when stress and overwhelm are taking over your life. In this episode, we explore grief and healing, burnout…
- Groove with Portia
She Lost the Life She Knew and Found Joy Again
Grief and healing after divorce can feel overwhelming, especially when life changes without warning. In this episode, we explore mental health awareness…
- Groove with Portia
His Son’s Struggle Became His Purpose
Grief and healing after losing a child to addiction and mental health struggles can feel impossible, but these conversations are necessary for awareness and…
- Groove with Portia
Grief Became the Reason She Lives With More Empathy
Grief and healing after loss, trauma, and addiction can feel overwhelming but they can also become a pathway to purpose. In this episode, we explore mental…
- Groove with Portia
Why My Story Convinced Others to Stay
Grief and healing after suicidal thoughts and mental health struggles can feel overwhelming, but there is always more to life than your current circumstance…
- Groove with Portia
He Stopped Asking “Why Me” and Started Living Differently
Healing from pain, grief, and life’s challenges isn’t about ignoring what hurts—it’s about learning how to move through it with intention. In this episode, we…
- Groove with Portia
The Internal Work You Need Before Transformation
What happens when you reach the point where you cannot pretend anymore? In this episode of Groove with Portia, I welcome Shannan Kym, TEDx speaker, life coach…
- Groove with Portia
When Your Gut Knows Something Is Wrong
Domestic violence does not have a look. It does not belong to one income bracket, one zip code, one race, or one level of education. In this episode of Groove…
- Groove with Portia
Begin Within: Healing the Wounds No One Sees
What if the healing you are searching for is not outside of you, but already within you? In this episode of Groove with Portia, I welcome Christianna Carr…
- Groove with Portia
The Stigma That Keeps People From Getting Help
During Women’s History Month, we cannot celebrate strength without acknowledging the silent battles many women carry. In this episode of Groove with Portia, I…
- Groove with Portia
When Private Pain Finds a Public Voice
In this episode of Groove with Portia, I welcome Cleveland artist, poet, and songwriter Vita Shields, known as Vitaologee, for a soulful conversation about…
- Groove with Portia
What Happens After an Accident? The Next of Kin Crisis No One Talks About
What happens between the moment of an accident and the moment a family is notified? In this powerful episode of Groove with Portia, I sit down with Christine…
- Groove with Portia
What Forgiveness Looks Like When Trust Is Broken
In this episode of Groove with Portia, I welcome Nicole for a deeply honest conversation about forgiveness, self-love, and healing after betrayal. Nicole…
- Groove with Portia
Can You Love Again Without Replacing Them?
In this heartfelt episode of Groove with Portia, I welcome my former mentor, Dr. Lisa McGuthry-Gore for a deeply personal conversation about grief, faith, and…
- Groove with Portia
When Memory Becomes a Place of Comfort
In this episode of Groove with Portia, I open a heartfelt conversation about grief, memory, and embracing the inner child. Inspired by my own memories of…
- Groove with Portia
The Signs We Missed: A Mother's Story of Her Daughter's Trafficking
In this powerful and necessary episode of Groove with Portia, I honor Human Trafficking Awareness Month with a conversation that many families live, but few…
- Groove with Portia
Choosing to Stay When Life Hurts
In this deeply moving episode of Groove with Portia, I welcome John Stewart Hill, founder of the Good Contractors List, for a raw conversation about grief…
- Groove with Portia
When Chronic Pain Has No Clear Diagnosis
Chronic pain affects millions of people, yet many are told their tests are normal and their symptoms cannot be explained. On this episode of Groove with…
- Groove with Portia
Pain and Gratitude Can Coexist: Here’s How I Write Them
In this deeply nourishing episode of Groove with Portia, I sit down with the amazing Cornelia—a personal energy strategist and the creator of The Abundance…
- Groove with Portia
When Silence Speaks Louder Than Success
On this episode of Groove with Portia, I welcome Becca Pierce, former CEO of the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange and author of a powerful new book centered on…