On this episode of Badass Dr. Myers speaks with Marabai about her new book, The Vice President's Black Wife: The Untold Life of Julia Chinn. We also dive into why the historical context is SO IMPORTANT when we are talking about racism, making policies, and trying to be decent humans. It was an honor to talk with Dr. Myers. I hope you will listen. Remember to like and follow us on the socials, and also subscribe to the podcast. You can find Badass: Tales of Resilience at marabairose.com wherever you get your podcasts. Info and links for The Vice President's Black Wife are on my website.

On this episode of Badass Marabai speaks with Dr. Jennifer Mullan about her new book, Decolonizing Therapy: Oppression, Historical Trauma, and Politicizing Your Practice. Decolonizing Therapy puts forth a powerful argument for confronting the harm done by racism, sexism, and ableism in the world of mental health, and humanizing the mental health field. It provides a road map for the long work of beginning to heal a broken system. We hope you enjoy about the book, as well as the insights Dr. Mullan shares on how to embrace and express rage in a healthy way, and how to explore trauma through a dynamic lens. Please listen, subscribe, and like us on the socials. We are always down to hear what you think, so pop onto our Insta or FB pages @badass_tales_of_resilience and leave a comment.

On the episode of Badass we are talking to Kel McBride about how her own brush with death set her on her path, and how for Kel, resilience came in the form of taking what she had learned from a difficult experience, and sharing it with others. We will also be talking about death. Fun topic, right? Well, you might be surprised, Kel is known as the Lively Death Lady.

On this episode of Badass we explore what it is to be with others in their pain, while we dance with our own, and the healing that can be born of that alchemy. Heather Maritano, a gifted therapist, educator, and activist, describes her path to thriving in adulthood after a childhood that held some very difficult moments. This is a sweet, intimate interview, with moments of delight and joy, as well as sorrow. I hope you enjoy it. Please like, follow, and share on your socials, and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Google, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Black and brown women experience significantly higher rates of violence than do white women, and while all violence against women is important to acknowledge and take action on, many black and brown women have had the experience of being dismissed, having their pain go unrecognized, or being blithely told that they are strong, and can handle it. On this episode of Badass, we are sharing with you an essay that lays bare the pain and the consequences of such violence, and we are exploring how this violence has threaded its way through generations, and how we can better respond. Please share this episode, like, and follow us on FB, Instagram, and Tik Tok.

Today on Badass we are pulling out of the shadows just one of the 2,755 people who died of a drug overdose in Indiana in 2021. We are giving him a name, we are sharing his story, and the story of those who were left behind. His name is Joshua Cole, people who knew him called him Josh, and when he died in February of 2021, he left behind 3 young children, and a wife who was 7 months pregnant, her name is Lindsey Maxwell. We hope you will listen, so that you better understand what so many families are coping with in the wake of the opioid epidemic.

You may have heard the world renowned neuroscientist, Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, talk about the intricacies of the brain, but you haven't heard her talk about her brother's schizophrenia. Today on Badass we have an intimate conversation with Dr. Taylor about growing up with a schizophrenic brother, the impact on her family, and the direction it sent her, and her father in. We shine a light on the dysfunction of the mental health system, and the experience of caring for someone in the face of these obstacles. The Taylors are a remarkable family. True Badasses for the way they have advocated and educated on behalf of those with mental illness. Please share, like, subscribe, and comment on our instagram or FB pages, @badass_tales_of_resilience.

On this episode of Badass we are talking with Lindsay Bradley, a nurse practitioner who worked on a midwestern ICU unit when Covid-19 hit. Lindsay allows us to take an intimate look at what it was like to provide care to the sickest of the sick during the first two and a half years of the pandemic. To live in the trenches during the worst moments. To witness death over and over again, helpless to halt it.  The waves kept coming, and Lindsay and her colleagues kept showing up, despite their exhaustion, to save as many lives as they could. This episode honors the courage of healthcare workers, and asks us all to remember what they did in service to others, and how they are still carrying the weight of these experiences.

On this episode of Badass we are talking with Mary Sexson about her upcoming book of poetry, Her Addiction, An Empty Place at the Table. The poems contained within it provide an unflinchingly honest look at addiction, the impact it has on families, and the endless orbit between fear, despair, and hope that parents find themselves in when their child struggles with chaotic drug and alcohol use. Purchase Mary Sexson's Book-Click Here  To learn more about Mary, Marabai, and all things Badass, click Badass Podcast. Follow us on the socials, subscribe, and keep listening!

Badass is back!!! Check out our season preview for info on all the cool, smart people we are featuring this season. Our season 2 line-up includes a world renown neuroscientist, poets and writers who will move you to tears, scholars who will teach you about the badassery of black and brown women throughout history, medical professionals who were in the trenches at the height of the pandemic, and so much more! The really fun part is that I get to break it all down with my bestie, Clare Wildhack-Nolan, an equity educator, mom, and all around great human. I am so excited about season 2. It is intensely amazing!!!

On this episode of Badass, Jennifer Crossley shares the story of losing her 23 year old brother, Leroy, to gun violence when Jennifer was just 20. We explore the impact this had on Jennifer’s family, and also how it has spurred Jennifer to speak out for gun control on behalf of families like hers. We also discuss the harmful racial dynamics in the gun debate, and how those dynamics continue to affect black and brown communities.

In this episode we turn the tables on Marabai. Laura Gordon interviews her about her new book, Holding Hope: One Family's Odyssey through Lyme Disease and Psychosis. Marabai reads excerpts from the book, and shares with Laura what living through a life changing illness, and her husband's psychosis was like.

In this episode of Badass we return to April Hennessy's story of surviving her time at a Christian "reform" program, and her challenging childhood. April tells us about the vulnerable and liberating period of her life when she walked away from a culture that had been so harmful to her, yet had to brave being totally alone in the world to do so. We explore the idea of found family, and the beautiful relationship between two young women that put April on her path toward healing. We also explore the tendrils of shame that reach deep within us, and touch so many of our experiences when we have endured trauma. April's honest discussion of the reverberations of trauma is deeply moving. If you listen to this and would like to start or join a conversation, check out our FB page @badassbloomington. I would love to start building community around these stories.

On this episode of Badass, April Hennessy shares her experience of being sent to Camp Tracey, in Jacksonville, Florida, at age 15. After April began running away from home to escape abuse, she was labeled a “troubled teen”, and ultimately forced to go to a Christian based residential program to “reform” her. The program was actually a forced labor camp, where teens worked 12 hour days doing grueling agricultural labor, and violent corporal punishment was levied for the smallest of infractions. April spent 16 months there, until she was finally released.

In this episode of Badass, Kate shares the story of her son Keenan’s birth, and the terrifying period of time shortly thereafter, when Keenan hovered between life and death. His tiny body was wracked with seizures that were damaging his brain, and at first Kate struggled to get help for him, all the while knowing something was terribly wrong. Finally, Kate was able to get a Dr.’s attention, and at that point it became clear that baby Keenan’s life was in danger. Kate and Kailas then became acquainted with a life they never imagined for themselves, one lived largely inside of a children’s hospital, for the first two years of Keenan’s life. Luckily, Keenan survived those years. Today, he is a beautiful 12 year old boy, with a smile that goes straight to your heart, and he is profoundly affected by all that his body went through at the beginning of his life.

On this episode of Badass, Anna Miller allows us into a very difficult period of her life. At 14 Anna was raped by her boyfriend, who was 16 at the time. It was an experience that derailed her for three years. She withdrew into herself, and tried to make sense of what had happened to her. Just after emerging from that experience, and finding herself again, Anna was raped by a stranger in a parking lot at knife point. This second experience plunged Anna into PTSD and terror. She had to grapple with that terror every day for years as she healed her spirit, and her body. There are graphic descriptions of sexual assault in this episode, however we do give you a warning when those details are about to be shared so that you may choose to listen to Anna's story, without listening to those descriptions.

In 2019 Cathleen Weber's whole life changed in an instant, when she sustained a traumatic brain injury in a car accident. On this episode of Badass, Cathleen shares with us the experience of suddenly losing so many of her abilities, and her tenacious walk towards wellness.

On this episode of Badass Dana Malan shares the story of her son Victor’s Leukemia diagnosis at age 5. We explore her family’s sudden entrance into the world of childhood cancer, which involved painful, and sometimes traumatic treatments for Victor. Dana was called on to be an advocate for her son, a task that is not easy in a world that often labels women who speak up as "extra". Dana found herself navigating this while working full time, and with another child who was just a year old when Victor was diagnosed. Thankfully, Victor survived childhood Leukemia and is doing well today. We are also sharing a Fire Side Chat with Marabai, where she addresses sexism in medicine, and reads an excerpt of her upcoming memoir, Holding Hope.

On this episode of Badass, Emily Reynolds shares with us her experience of being a survivor of domestic violence, or as she likes to call it, a victor. In March of 2022 Emily’s abuser was convicted of Felony Domestic Battery. It is rare for a survivor of domestic violence to see this kind of justice. Emily shows us the tenacity required on the part of the survivor to see a domestic violence case all the way through. She also illuminates the ways in which domestic violence can look very different from the Lifetime movies we grew up with, just how easy it is for a woman to find herself in a violent relationship, and how hard it can be to get out. We close out the episode with a Fire Side Chat on abortion rights.

On this episode of Badass, Laura shares with us the story of being ushered into the wilderness by a nameless illness that took hold of her while she was pregnant with her second child. An illness that robbed her of her most basic abilities, and changed every aspect of her life.