Mike and Karen Valentine had a great life. They called them their “salad” years. Their life dramatically changed when their second son was born with the cord around his neck and an Apgar score of 0. After a miraculous resuscitation in the hospital, they went home with a baby who doctors said was normal. When their son wasn't quite 2, he had a seizure. Doctors couldn't figure out what was going on. A diagnosis was finally given months later, after a grand mal seizure. Suddenly their life was filled with fear and a hyper awareness to mundane things like eating and pooping.
In this episode, Mike, Karen, and Mark talk about teaching an older sibling to deal with the same thing adults can’t even deal with. They chat about using Facebook as a highlight reel (Just because I have a happy face doesn’t mean it’s gone), and they dig deep into the effect epilepsy has had on their relationship.
Ernie Svenson grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. His parents divorced when he was young, and he quickly found himself a pawn in his parents' custody battle. His dad was a psychoanalyst who manipulated Ernie to achieve selfish desires. Ernie knew he was being manipulated, but had little wiggle room to react due to his age.
In this episode, Mark and Ernie talk about the challenges of being a litigation attorney, the importance of having a good relationship with your therapist, and how the thing that makes us as humans really happy is helping other people.
Mary Hyatt is a life coach and entrepreneur who struggled with many trials in her 20s. She was married at age 20 and, a few short years later, found herself completely disconnected from life. Battling depression and anxiety, Mary found solace in food. She was overweight and unhappy and realized something needed to change. She took herself to "self-discovery school" - a personal journey of transformation and healing. She read book after book, attended workshops, went through therapy and coaching, all to discover who she really was on the inside. In this episode, Mark and Mary talk about the danger of trepidation and the power of facing the fear of trying something new.
Cara Brookins has led an interesting life. She was married to her high school sweetheart right out of high school, but the marriage didn’t last long. She and her first husband divorced after 3 kids. Cara remarried at age 24. Her husband descended into full blown schizophrenia and became a danger to her and her children. They divorced, but he still came around and terrorized her and children. Her third husband was very strong, which seemed like the right answer at the time. However, he became abusive and Cara found herself the victim of domestic violence. They also divorced.
After all the trauma, she decided she and her kids needed something huge to swing their life in a different direction. So they decided the only logical thing to do was build a house. It was the first time they had physical control over anything in their lives. They learned everything they needed to know from YouTube, inspectors, and employees at the local Lowes and Home Depot.
In this episode, Mark and Cara unpack the intense few years that led up to such a revolutionary life change. Cara reminds listeners that you can choose how to use the awful things that happen to you. She reminds us to take the hard path if it will lead you somewhere great.