Anthologies of Hope

Conversations Cafe: All In The Family

January 23rd, 2019  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 45 mins

anxiety, bonus, conversation-cafe, depression, family, hope-for-the-day, live, sip-of-hope, suicide

Direct from Sip of Hope in Chicago, IL - Conversation Cafe: All In The Family...

We had another fantastic episode of Conversations cafe! We kicked off the event by having Sherri Gross Community Outreach Coordinator of The Road Home Program. Share on being a caretaker and the types of impact that can exasperate among all parties in a household from the perspective of caring and supporting a veteran. Our tremendous panel shared from their experience and background. Vikki Webster founder of the Reginald and Paul Sewell Foundation touched on the impact of losing her brothers to suicide and how that impacted herself and her brothers network of friends that were a form of family, along with touching on her ongoing journey to make peace with her brothers passing. Amanda Vitrano founder of Learn For Lauren approached the topic from the loss of her sister Lauren who died by suicide and shared insights into how her sister’s challenges could be hidden from the family. She also shared how her family and herself have coped and found paths to healing and finding a positive forward path. John Jonak a principal at Westmont JH in DuPage county, and military veteran. He shared lessons learned on confronting silences, stigma, and challenges as a veteran and with the unfortunate loss of his 9 year old daughter Katie, and his family found to find strength and healing. We had another phenomenal round of participation from our engaged audience who asked great questions and provided for further discussion and understanding! What a great night!

Candice Carpenter

January 16th, 2019  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 24 mins

anxiety, depression, heart-camp, season-one, self-care, suicide, therapy

Saving the best for last in Season 1, we have Candice Carpenter joining us this week to discuss some of her journey to find “what works for her” with regard to her mental health, her perspective on approaching life as a series of integrative practices and really striving to be your whole holistic self. Similar to many of our other guests this season, Candice is a very prolific and talented writer. She blogs on all things geek, comics, movies, and pop culture at wegeekgirls.com, as well as a personal lifestyle, travel, and awesome looseleaf tea blog at onwanderwoodlane.com. I hope you enjoy listening to this conversation as much as I did recording it!

Katie Mumper

January 9th, 2019  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 1 min

addiction, enneagram, heart-camp, season-one, therapy, writing

Katie Mumper joins us this week for another exciting conversation around mental health, writing, and overcoming addiction. Katie is a Whovian, a Penn State superfan, a 4 on the Ennegram, and currently in charge of Social Media for TWLOHA. So we have some back to back continuity with folks doing grass roots, hands-on work with one of our favorite mental health organizations!

I had a blast talking with Katie as she’s another one of our guests that has a great grasp of her story, where it was most difficult, where she fought for the light, where she needed the help, and how she got through all of it… while also still acknowledging the power of everything she gained through all of her previous struggles, including an addiction that she talks (and has previously written) openly about.

Kenneth Westphal

January 2nd, 2019  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 8 mins

heart-camp, imposter-syndrome, photography, season-one, self-care, twloha-intern

Kenneth Westphal joins us this week on Anthologies of Hope! A former To Write Love On Her Arms intern and an amazing photographer, we dive into what makes photography so special for Kenneth, the difference between sunrises and sunsets, and why camp is such an important part of Kenneth's story. We also discuss the tools that Kenneth has picked up along the way to help with conversations of hope and how the timing of the first Heart Camp session in January 2018 could not have come at a more perfect time for him!

Erin Hird

December 26th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  52 mins 56 secs

divorce, enneagram, heart-camp, heros-journey, season-one, self-care, therapy

Erin Hird, co-host of the Blackbird Podcast (https://www.instagram.com/blackbirdpod), joins Anthologies of Hope this week for plenty of laughs, dishing on the “checklist of life”, the Hero's Journey, and making it through to the other side of a divorce, as well as a little of the Zen of Dawson's Creek. Be sure to check out Blackbird, a podcast for young widows & divorcees (& those that love them) to find themselves, and happiness again.

Sarah Messali

December 19th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  46 mins 52 secs

brca, breast-cancer, heart-camp, season-one, self-care, womens-health, writing

If there’s one word that I would use to describe our guest this week, Sarah Messali, it would be WARRIOR. Once you hear her story, you’ll understand why. I’m so grateful I got to sit down with Sarah in LA at Heart Camp and then again sightseeing & having the hard conversations at the same time over the summer when Sarah visited Chicago. From being a Breast Cancer & BRCA Previvor to a weightlifting badass to an unstoppable writer/blogger/author, Sarah’s story and voice is one you’ll definitely want to follow along with.

Teri Valente

December 12th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 2 mins

enneagram, heart-camp, season-one, self-care, youth-ministry

Our guest this week is with Teri Valente, Summer Camp Director for Camp Arrowhead in Lewes, Delaware. While planning to record, Teri mentioned that she didn’t know how interesting her story would be or how much she would have to share. Despite that initial modesty and deference, we found way more than enough to talk about in this episode ranging from the mental health impact at youth summer camps, a “never expected to go on” trip to Africa, and hanging out with Bob Goff - as one does. So as you can tell, it’s quite the conversation.

Jennie Gillies

December 5th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 9 mins

anxiety, depression, heart-camp, season-one, suicide, therapy

Jennie Gillies, the proud Canadian from the first Heart Camp, joins us this week. There are a few stories that you will hear over the course of on Anthologies of Hope that were key to the genesis of the podcast actually coming together. Jennie’s story is one of those stories.

Jennie has an amazing grasp of her story and tells it with wisdom far beyond her years. She has one of the biggest & fiercest hearts I’ve ever known & there's no one else you'd want on your team fighting for you. We touch on Jennie’s struggles with depression, coming to terms with her physical disability, anxiety, suicidal ideations, and being an only child attempting to overcome imposter syndrome.

Jen John

November 28th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 9 mins

heart-camp, ptsd, season-one, self-care, sobriety, suicide, therapy

This weeks episode isn’t so much of an interview or conversation. More like putting our guest, Jen John, in the spotlight and letting her run with it. We were constantly amazed by Jen’s resilience to keep coming back and fighting throughout all the curveballs thrown her way, along with her desire to truly own her story. We touch on topics including the impact of suicide attempts by loved ones, being part of an active shooter situation first-hand, post-traumatic stress disorder due to that encounter, as well as the need for and new found sobriety.

Brit Barkholtz

November 21st, 2018  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 6 mins

enneagram, heart-camp, season-one, self-care, therapy

From the moment I read Brit’s Twitter profile full of shared interests, I knew this conversation was going to be a great one. We touch on some powerful tools and perspectives for those in our audience that may be questioning the value of therapy in their own mental health journey, as well as the validity of a current therapist relationship. As you’ll hear, Brit is a licensed therapist and gives some great insight onto overcoming the… awkwardness of those first therapy visits.

Anna Johnson

November 21st, 2018  |  Season 1  |  47 mins 36 secs

heart-camp, season-one, therapy

Welcome to the first episode of Anthologies of Hope! Anna joins us this week to share her mental health journey, why community is so important to her, and how working on her mental health has made her a better friend, a better daughter, and a better nurse.

Anthologies of Hope Trailer

November 6th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  3 mins 4 secs

trailer

Everyone has a story.
How they got here.
Who they met along the way.
The choices they made.
The dreams they are chasing.

These are just some of the topics we’ll cover in Anthologies Of Hope, a new podcast on journeys taken, battles won, and pain endured. But ultimately, why we are still here. We'll dive deep into why we’re all still fighting for our better tomorrows and why we believe they exist.