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We sit with creator Deborah Weed to explore how love, loss, and art can coexist, and why self-worth must be defined from within. Her stories of hospice dignity, cross-country wandering, and the evolution of Paisley the Musical point to a courageous path back to voice and purpose.

• holding grief and joy in the same body
• caregiving as dignity and soul polishing
• the year of firsts and self-permission to feel
• self-worth versus self-esteem and why it matters
• fear as information, not a prophecy
• Paisley the porcupine and the cost of self-erasure
• reclaiming power when only one quill remains
• parenting, special needs, and a different kind of proud
• real connection beyond social media

“Thank you for listening and watching as we're uh we're on YouTube and a bunch of radio stations and TV stations out there too. So uh thank you for being a part of Real Talk with Tina and Ann. And as always, there is purpose in the pain and there is hope in the journey, and we will see you next time.”

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Tina and Ann explore gratitude that tells the truth in crisis: not a list, but a lifeline beside cancer, caregiving, and long grief. Kara Lockwood’s story and Robert Emmons’ research anchor practical ways to find small joys that help us keep showing up.

• Cara Lockwood’s remission story and irreverent wisdom
• Robert Emmons’ research on gratitude and resilience
• Fake gratitude versus honest, wound-aware gratitude
• Tiny joys during treatments, caregiving and daily stress
• Holidays, nostalgia and shifting traditions after loss
• Building a psychological immune system with habits
• Boundaries, clarity and stepping away from toxicity
• Practical toolkit: one-line journal, gratitude texts, asking for help
• Agency and taking back ownership during hard seasons
• Grounding practice and closing words for weary hearts

You can reach Cara and her books at Tanamachi: Rom-Com Author & Your Next Great Read!

Robert Emmerson's website and books: Gratitude Works – Robert Emmons, Ph.D., Director

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Fear is not the enemy, until it starts running the show. In this episode, we sit down with USA Today bestselling author Cara Lockwood (aka Cara Tanamachi) to discuss her book, There Is No Good Book for This But I Wrote One Anyway: An Irreverent and Brutally Honest Guide to Crushing Breast Cancer, a refreshingly honest and laugh-out-loud take on navigating cancer.

A mom of five in a blended family and a survivor of stage 1 HER2+ invasive breast cancer, to unpack how medicine, humor, and unapologetic self-advocacy helped her get through sixteen months of treatment.

Cara Lockwood brings the same sharp wit and tender honesty from her book into this conversation as we talk double mastectomy decisions, reconstruction realities, naming the fear, picking out new boobs with her husband, and why laughter can steady your hands without ever replacing chemo.

This is not a story about pretending cancer is funny. It is about refusing to let fear have the final word. Cara shares what it looks like to sit with terror, tell the truth about your body, advocate fiercely in exam rooms, and still find moments of levity that make the unbearable survivable.

We talk about the emotional whiplash of diagnosis, the pressure to “stay positive,” the exhaustion of being brave, and the power of saying what you actually feel instead of what makes other people comfortable. This conversation is for anyone walking through cancer, caregiving, chronic illness, or any season where survival feels heavy and laughter feels risky but necessary.

If you have ever needed permission to laugh through tears, to ask better questions, to trust your instincts, or to take up space in your own healing, this episode will meet you right where you are.

Subscribe, share with someone who needs it, and leave a review to help more listeners find honest conversations like this. What question about cancer, fear, or healing do you want us to tackle next?

If you are a survivor or knows someone who is or if you just know someone who is going through a very difficult time, this episode will lighten your load and help you to find a smile.

You can reach Cara and her books at Tanamachi: Rom-Com Author & Your Next Great Read!

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