There’s a story you’ve been telling yourself.

It usually shows up quietly — in the middle of the night, or right before something big.
The one that says: This is just who I am. This is just how things go for me.

But what if that story isn’t the truth?

What if it’s just the version you inherited…
or the one you built to survive?

In this episode of Who We Become, I sat down with JD Mergolo, founder of Storyhouse — a space built at the intersection of storytelling and mental health. And this conversation? It didn’t stay on the surface.

Because neither of us are interested in surface-level.

The Part Most People Don't Know

Shannon Miller has seven Olympic medals, nine world championship medals, and fourteen halls of fame. In 2011, she was diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer. The medals are what most people know. This conversation is about everything that came after them.

In this episode of Who We Become — Life Beyond Change, Amanda sits down with Betsy Vereckey to explore reinvention, courage, and what it looks like to rebuild your life when nothing is working the way you planned.

Together, they talk about divorce, starting over, and the unexpected decision that changed everything — leaving New York City for a small town in New Hampshire she only knew as her dog’s hometown. Betsy shares how that leap created space for healing, creativity, and ultimately, a completely new life.

This conversation is for anyone who feels stuck, is navigating a major life transition, or is quietly wondering if it’s time to walk away from what no longer fits.

Together, they talk about navigating depression while parenting, breaking generational silence around mental health, and learning how to explain big emotions to a young child, how Kendall transformed her experience into a shared language of “clouds,” and what it looks like to keep becoming — even when life doesn’t go as planned.

This conversation is for anyone who is parenting while struggling, feels the weight of invisible expectations, or is learning how to live more openly with their mental health.

In this episode of Who We Become — Life Beyond Change, Amanda sits down with Hope Rose to explore trauma, survival, motherhood, and what it means to rebuild when life doesn’t just change—it completely unravels.

Together, they talk about the devastating reality of intimate partner violence, navigating the family court system, and the unimaginable experience Hope describes as the legal trafficking of her child. But beyond the pain, this conversation is about something deeper: self-trust, reclaiming power, and learning how to live forward when your life looks nothing like you planned.

Amanda sits down with Erin Snow to explore the often unspoken space of after—after loss, after trauma, after life has shifted in ways you can’t undo.

Together, they talk about what it means to stand in the wreckage when the world expects you to move on, how Erin transformed her own experiences of childhood trauma, divorce, and loss into something meaningful, and what it looks like to keep becoming—even when there’s no clear path forward.

This conversation is for anyone who feels stuck in the aftermath, carrying emotions they don’t have words for, or searching for a place to be fully seen and heard.

A conversation that explores intuition, identity, reinvention, and what it means to trust yourself when life asks you to take a leap that doesn’t make sense on paper.

Together, they talk about following an inner pull that defies logic — from building a business out of a garage to stepping into deeply unexpected work supporting law enforcement and grieving families. Kiersten shares how her journey has been shaped not by certainty, but by a quiet, persistent knowing.

This conversation is for anyone who feels called toward something they can’t fully explain — those standing at the edge of change, wondering if they can trust what they feel.

A physician who spent her career guiding women through pregnancy and birth, Dr. Buckheit suddenly found herself on the other side of care. A severe case of sepsis during pregnancy led to a life-threatening medical crisis and a preterm birth at 27 weeks, forcing her into a reality where expertise couldn’t protect her and control was no longer possible.

Together, they talk about the emotional and physical aftermath of trauma, the identity whiplash of going from doctor to patient, and the long, nonlinear process of learning to trust your body again.

Together, they talk about navigating pregnancy loss and the sudden passing of a sibling, how grief can feel isolating and disorienting, and what it looks like to slowly rebuild a life that no longer feels the same. Natasha shares how her faith, writing, and willingness to face her pain head-on became anchors in her healing.

At nine years old, Tiffany Yu lost her father and acquired a permanent disability in the same car accident. She has spent the decades since building one of the world's most prominent disability advocacy communities — and figuring out, layer by layer, who she actually is beyond everything that happened to her.