What happens when life as you know it completely unravels after two decades? After 20 years of marriage, facing an empty nest, job loss, and parental grief, Nya Oak found herself packing up her family home and starting over alone in an unfamiliar city at age 46.

In this episode, Nya joins the host to celebrate the release of her debut memoir, Pockets of Joy: Growing Through Seasons of Life. Together, they dive into the messy, non-linear reality of growth, breaking the "hush culture" around divorce and personal hardship within immigrant communities, and why vulnerability—not stoic silence—is the true legacy we leave behind.

Key Takeaways & Highlights

• Holding Duality: True healing doesn't require a happy journey at every step. Nya discusses holding grief and joy in the very same moment and finding grounding anchors even in life's darkest chapters.
• Disrupting the Hush Culture: Navigating major transitions like divorce within South Asian American and immigrant spaces, where silence and shame often thrive.
• Vulnerability Over "Showing Up Strong": Why the intergenerational advice to simply "be strong" fails us, and how showing up raw and real models true resilience for our children.
• Humor in the Chaos: The funny, scrappy realities of starting over—including learning how to assemble flat-pack furniture solo for the first time in your mid-forties.
• Reclaiming Your Story: A message for anyone who has spent their life serving everyone else’s needs: it is never too late to reclaim your narrative and write your next chapter.

About the Author:

Nya Oak is a corporate leader, runway model, author, and proud mother based in the New York City metro area. Originally from Mumbai, she moved to Boston in her preteen years and later raised her family in New Jersey. After 20 years of marriage, navigating an empty nest, job loss, and parental grief, Nya started over on her own at age 46—discovering firsthand that growth is messy, non-linear, and built one day at a time.

Resources & Links Mentioned

• Order the Book: Pick up your copy of Pockets of Joy: Growing Through Seasons of Life today!
  • Amazon US - https://www.amazon.com/dp/1998721582
  • Amazon Canada - https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1998721582
• Connect with Nya Oak:
  • Instagram @n_y_a_21
  • Website https://www.fempower.pub/pockets-of-joy

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@fempower.pub

In this moving episode of the Rough Draft Podcast, host Sabrina sits down with ER physician, professor, author, and advocate Dr. Anne Aspler.

Dr. Aspler discusses her upcoming memoir, Rise After Silence: An ER Doctor and the Patients Who Healed Her. Moving past traditional, sterile bios, she opens up about the complex duality of balancing a high-stakes medical career with a life as an artist, writer, mother, and survivor of childhood family violence and sexual assault.

Together, Sabrina and Dr. Aspler explore the hidden realities of emergency medicine, the nuance of self-compassion, and why healing is an ongoing daily practice rather than a static destination.

Key Topics

• The Frontline Reality & Rise After Silence: Dr. Aspler outlines her book’s structure—interweaving 10 frontline emergency room cases of domestic violence, sexual assault, and trauma with her own personal history.
• The Secret Lives Behind the Curtain: A rare look into the late-night intimacy of the ER, where patients often mask severe trauma behind seemingly routine physical symptoms.
• "An ER Doctor and the Patients Who Healed Her": How treating patients helped Dr. Aspler extend compassion to herself, breaking down the artificial wall between caregiver and survivor.
• Redefining Silence and Courage: Dr. Aspler explains that "rising after silence" doesn't necessarily mean going public; it can mean holding space for your own truth in a journal or private setting.
• Nuance, Shame, and Internalized Blame: The hosts discuss the pervasive shame surrounding sexual violence, the myth of the "perfect victim," and navigating trauma as both teenagers and mothers.
• Rewriting the Rough Draft of Strength: Moving away from high-functioning overachievement, compartmentalization, and hypervigilance as substitutes for actual emotional processing.
• Holding Complex Family Realities: Navigating intergenerational trauma, accountability, and reconciliation—learning to acknowledge both the harm caused and the capacity for human change without surrendering one's narrative.

Resources & Links Mentioned

Book: Rise After Silence: An ER Doctor and the Patients Who Healed Her by Dr. Anne Aspler (Releases October 6th)

Amazon Canada -

Amazon USA -

Indigo Canada -

Website: riseaftersilence.com | anneaspler.com

Social Media & Substack: Search @DrAnneAspler or @AnneAspler on YouTube, Substack, and social platforms for brain health and healing content.

Organizations: End Violence Everywhere

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@thesabrinagreer
@fempower.pub

In this episode of the Rough Draft Podcast, Sabrina sits down with long-time friend, impact consultant, and author Dana Shalit to celebrate the release of her highly anticipated book, Pathways to Self: The Path to Purpose Through the Nine Steps of Self-Realization (available August 18th).

Dana demystifies hypnotherapy, explains how she went from being a rigid, logical thinker to embracing the power of the subconscious, and shares why reclaiming "selfishness" is actually the ultimate act of self-preservation. Whether you are feeling burnt out, disconnected from your intuition, or ready to step into your most authentic self, this conversation is a beautiful guide to coming home to who you truly are.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

• Demystifying Hypnotherapy: How accessing the theta brain wave allows us to bypass the conscious mind and rewrite limiting beliefs.
• The Spielberg Method for Creativity: Giving yourself full permission to "make it up" to unlock deep subconscious wisdom.
• The 9 Steps of Self-Realization: A look inside Dana’s framework, focusing heavily on self-awareness, building unbreakable self-trust, and consistency over intensity (self-discipline).
• The Case for Selfishness: Why women are conditioned to self-abandon, and how to start giving from your overflow instead of your empty cup.
• Navigating the Dark Night of the Soul: How solidifying these inner practices prepares you for when "life starts life-ing."

📚 About the Guest

Dana Shalit is an award-winning impact consultant, philanthropist, entrepreneur, and the author of Pathways to Self: The Path to Purpose Through the Nine Steps of Self-Realization. With a diverse career spanning international sales, leadership training, and over two decades at the forefront of the charitable sector, Dana has dedicated her life to helping others align who they are with how they give.

As the Chief Impact Officer at House of Impact, she partners with visionary leaders, family offices, and athletes to turn personal values into lasting global legacies. Dana is also a certified clinical hypnotherapist, Rapid Transformational Therapy practitioner, and host of international retreats in Costa Rica, where she guides people to move beyond limiting beliefs, regulate their nervous systems, and reconnect with their true purpose.

🛎️ Resources & Links

Buy the Book: Pathways to Self: The Path to Purpose Through the Nine Steps of Self-Realization (Available on Amazon and Audible)

Amazon Canada →

Amazon USA →

Dana’s Website: danashalit.com

Connect with Dana on Instagram: @danashalit

Connect with Dana on LinkedIn: Dana Shalit

Follow along on IG:
@thesabrinagreer
@fempower.pub