What if healing doesn’t come from fighting your way through grief but from accepting what is, one honest step at a time?

In this powerful episode of Finding Your Fierce, host Carolyn Colleen sits down with John DeDakis: award-winning novelist, writing coach, and former Senior Copy Editor for CNN’s The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer to explore the quiet, courageous work of healing through loss.

John shares the pivotal moments that shaped his life: facing an existential crisis as a young man during the Vietnam War draft, choosing acceptance over resistance, and discovering only in hindsight that grief had been woven through his writing for decades. What began as storytelling became an unintentional path to healing, clarity, and purpose.

Together, Carolyn and John reflect on why healing is often gradual, why it’s only visible in the looking back, and how creative expression, whether through writing, art, or reflection, can help us process grief without forcing outcomes. This conversation reframes fierceness not as pushing harder, but as the strength to surrender, listen, and trust what’s unfolding.

If you’re navigating grief, transition, or a season of deep uncertainty, this episode offers a compassionate reminder: acceptance can be one of the fiercest acts of healing there is.

Links and Resources:

1. Dr. Carolyn Colleen Website
2. Join RESET: a free daily reset for clarity, calm, and intentional living.
3. John on LinkedIn
4. Upcoming Retreat with John DeDakis: Writing Through the Pain of Loss

Thanks so much for joining us this week. Want to subscribe to Finding Your Fierce? Have some feedback you’d like to share? Connect with us on iTunes and leave us a review!

What if chronic pain isn’t just physical? In this deeply personal and insightful episode, Brianna Greenspan—inspirational author, speaker, and CEO of Brianna Greenspan International (BGI)—shares her powerful journey of overcoming debilitating symptoms and unimaginable suffering to reclaim her life. As a global leader in educational training, tools, and support, Brianna reveals the unexpected truths about fostering a growth mindset and the catalyst moments that change everything. From navigating a lifetime of medical complications to discovering the transformative power of self-resourcing, she shares how she moved from a state of being "complete" to finding her fierce. If you've ever felt stuck in a cycle of pain and limiting beliefs, this episode will challenge what you think you know about healing and empower you to take control of your future.

Chapters:

1. 00:00:00 - Meet Brianna
2. 00:01:45 - Living in the Fire: Leading While Managing Complex Illness
3. 00:03:30 - Radical Authenticity: Choosing Visibility Over Hiding
4. 00:04:40 - Polished vs. Real: Letting Go of Perfection
5. 00:06:15 - A Critical Neurosurgery Appointment
6. 00:07:00 - Childhood in Crisis: Early Medical Trauma
7. 00:08:15 - Hitting the Breaking Point: Losing Basic Functions
8. 00:10:45 - A Call That Changed Everything: Losing Her Best Friend
9. 00:11:45 - From Despair to Curiosity: Asking What Else Is Possible
10. 00:12:45 - New Paths to Healing: Shortening Symptoms from Months to Minutes
11. 00:14:40 - Turning Pain into Purpose: A Global Impact

Links and Resources:

1. Dr. Carolyn Colleen Website
2. Join RESET — Private Community (Limited Spots)
3. Brianna Website
4. Brianna on Linkedin

Thanks so much for joining us this week. Want to subscribe to Finding Your Fierce? Have some feedback you’d like to share? Connect with us on iTunes and leave us a review!

What if chronic pain isn’t just physical? In this deeply personal and insightful episode, Patricia Nesler, a chronic pain specialist, shares her powerful journey of overcoming fear, trauma, and physical suffering to reclaim her life. From navigating a traumatic birth experience to discovering the mind-body connection in healing, Trish reveals the unexpected truths about pain, resilience, and the power of self-awareness. If you've ever felt stuck in a cycle of stress and symptoms, this episode will challenge what you think you know about healing and empower you to take control of your body and your future.

Chapters:

1. 00:00:00 - Pain Isn’t Your Enemy—It’s a Messenger
2. 00:00:45 - Welcome to Finding Your Fierce: Meet Trish Nesler
3. 00:02:22 - Trish’s Story: From Struggle to Strength
4. 00:03:36 - Healing Through Vulnerability: The Power of Alchemy
5. 00:04:10 - Breaking Free: How Trish Helps People Overcome Chronic Pain
6. 00:05:17 - Parenting, Trauma, and the Stress We Carry
7. 00:05:55 - A Birth Experience That Changed Everything
8. 00:07:13 - When the Body Breaks Down: Searching for Answers
9. 00:14:07 - Unlocking the Mind-Body Connection
10. 00:15:22 - How Repressed Emotions and Anger Manifest in Pain
11. 00:16:58 - The Hidden Impact of the Fawning Response
12. 00:18:46 - How to Recognize and Overcome Fawning
13. 00:19:54 - Why People-Pleasing Might Be Holding You Back
14. 00:21:04 - The Science of Pain: Amygdala, Fear, and Social Exclusion
15. 00:22:29 - How Your Brain Shapes Your Pain Experience
16. 00:26:07 - Somatic Healing: Moving Beyond the Pain Cycle
17. 00:35:20 - The BFF Framework: Breathe, Focus, Take Fierce Action
18. 00:40:55 - Healing, Connection, and Reclaiming Your Power

Links and Resources:

1. Join RESET — Private Community (Limited Spots)
2. Peaceful Warrior Website
3. Greenhouse Holistic Co-op Center
4. Trish on