Small & Gutsy
Being the mother of 5 children, my 5th one, adopted later in his life and mine, the thought of losing any one of them, is unimaginable. This episode is about the unimaginable - a mother, a family, who lost a beautiful, funny, feisty, smart, caring, courageous 7-year-old to cancer. As many of you know, I have had my personal battle with cancer and currently, my younger brother is facing his - unless you have been through your own, it is hard to imagine the havoc that chemotherapy, radiation, and medications wreak on your body, not to mention your spirit when you are feeling sick and definitely...
info_outline Small & Gutsy Features Onward IndustriesSmall & Gutsy
Armed with a 225,000 lb WWII- era wooden sailing craft, Greg Nichols, his wife, Nina and two kids, who actually live on this very unique and special vessel, serve as the catalyst in creating a learning environment that alters individuals’ mindsets forever by exposing them to the beauty and magic of learning through nature & community. This creates a lasting impression that being part of something bigger than oneself only aids in contributing to our shared legacy of caring for our world and our community. I cannot think of a more important lesson and one where our future, literally,...
info_outline Small & Gutsy Features SAILSSmall & Gutsy
If you’ve ever been pregnant or been in the process of adopting or engaging in a surrogacy, you know the milestones set for each month of that journey and the belief of trusting the process, medical and emotional, that everything will work out as it should, meaning you will have a beautiful little life to whom you will love, cherish, and tend forever; that amazing feeling of anticipation just before the arrival, making sure the nursery is set, all the loose ends are tied up…and that moment comes, and then, there is silence..utter silence. That is the experience of so many who have lost a...
info_outline Small & Gutsy Features Legendary LegaciesSmall & Gutsy
Did you know that Black Youth are Almost Five Times As Likely To Be Incarcerated As their White Peers? The following are some data points from the Sentencing Project, captured by Josh Rovner and Ashley Nellis For a decade, incarceration disparities between Black and white youth have remained stubbornly high. As of 2021, Black youth were 4.7 times as likely to be placed, meaning detained or committed to juvenile facilities as their white peers. Forty-two percent of youths in placement are Black, even though Black Americans comprise only 15% of all youth across the United States. Since, Black...
info_outline Small & Gutsy Celebrates 10 Years of Jazz Hands For AutismSmall & Gutsy
About a year ago, we had a fabulous Small & Gutsy episode that featured Jazz Hands For Autism, a nonprofit organization that provides wrap-around artist education, development, promotion, and placement for learners and aspiring artists on the autism spectrum enabling them to explore and express their talent. Services offered include The Jazz Hands Concert Series: a semi-annual concert series and performance platform for neurodivergent artists, The Jazz Hands Musicians Academy: an individualized post-secondary music education and vocational program that prepares aspiring musicians on the...
info_outline Small & Gutsy features J3 FoundationSmall & Gutsy
Reading skills unlock the world for us and unleash not just our curiosity, but grant us and gift us the power to often choose our paths. My two guests today know this all too well as their passion for helping kids learn to read began as a young married couple when they joined a USC alumni program reading with students every week at the USC “School of Five” inner-city elementary schools. They quickly became aware of the alarming number of students who were reading below grade level. It was then that the seeds of the positive impact on literacy were planted. Initially focusing on child...
info_outline Small & Gutsy features MLK50Small & Gutsy
Journalists and those who represent news platforms are generally trained to report on factual information; in a recent visit to the Shorenstein Institute, I was exposed to the incredible work they do to ensure that journalists have tools to accurately interpret the information that is coming at them so quickly - most journalists, I believe, care deeply about interpreting the facts correctly, however, some platforms purposely misconstrue or actually reconfigure facts to support their financial backer’s agenda - thus, creating a conflict of personal and professsional values. There is hope,...
info_outline Small & Gutsy features Mountain Hazelnuts, Part 2Small & Gutsy
Check out Part 1 of this amazing Social Enterprise and learn more about them at
info_outline Small & Gutsy Features Mountain HazelnutsSmall & Gutsy
Episode #80, Parts I & I When you think of sustainability what comes to mind? Is it protecting the environment, proactively and effectively managing the climate for future generations to enjoy vs. using up what we have and finding other planets in which to inhabit? - The old throw away concept and let someone else deal with it - those someone elses are our children and grandchildren. Maybe it’s sustainability through community health efforts or education so we leave the world a better place as more people have greater needs. Have you ever had the experience of seeing, observing...
info_outline Small & Gutsy Features Runway4RecoverySmall & Gutsy
Getting the news I have breast cancer was one of the most devastating messages I have ever received, not only for me but for my family - we are all affected by this disease in ways that many people don’t realize. I remember thinking, I am almost the same age as my grandmother when she died of breast cancer and I desperately wanted to have a different outcome - with all the progress made over the last 50 + years, will I have a different outcome? How long will I survive? What will my life be like forever after? Life will surely be different, a new normal. There certainly was also the...
info_outlineImagine hanging out on the beach with friends, the sun is beaming, the waves are crashing and totally perfect, you have a beer or maybe a margarita or maybe a vape or a joint in your hand and are ready to party…this may seem like a typical scene for a lot of folks and, yet, it can also be a trigger for those who are in recovery or who want to embark on their recovery journey. Replacing those same scenarios with new meaning is key to staying sober. The insight, strength, and fortitude that folks engaged in recovery strive for every day help guide them to recovery, and help them stay in recovery…what is so important is replacing those old trigger places with new, healthy experiences while still participating in the fun aspects of life.
Research suggests that exercising our bodies raises our endorphins and increases the serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine that are natural highs, enabling us to feel in general less depressed, happier, and less reliant on outside stimulants - we often become addicted because of our circumstances and the ease at which we can access drugs, alcohol, shopping, eating and other things that temporally ease our current uncomfortable state - and enable us to function or at least to appear as if we are functioning until we no longer can -
Our society is built upon the comparison factor which can lead to low self-esteem and at the extreme, even warfare - isn’t it the idea that someone has what we want that can lead to a battle, even it if ends up only being a perception? One of my sons recently shared that he cares very much about what society or his network thinks, but does not compare himself to anyone but himself - I thought how did I produce such a wise young man, where I am still struggling with this issue at a much more advanced age - These lessons need to be learned and repeated until they actually become integrated into our psyche and soul… when we spend time comparing, we lose sight of our own uniqueness, our own vulnerability and therefore, our ability to reflect upon what we need and want vs. what others might have. It becomes a distraction that can lead to feelings of inadequacy, and that leads to wanting to get rid of those feelings any way we can…
Addiction is a battle one wages internally, and recovery is the armor that guides folks to stay sober - that armor is often supported by communities of folks who have been there before - there are numerous methods and each individual needs to find what works for them. We know that getting support is significant in staying in recovery. Who would have guessed that surfing would be one such community?
Waves of Recovery was founded by two courageous individuals who wanted to share their experience, wisdom, and belief that recovery is not just possible, but a way forward celebrating life by remaking or reworking old triggers into new healthy experiences.