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When a doctor's call on a lazy Sunday afternoon revealed that his wife Lynn had stage four lung cancer, Tony Stewart's world imploded. What followed was a six-year rollercoaster of clinical trials, spine surgeries, moments of hope and crushing setbacks as they navigated life with terminal illness.

Throughout Lynn's cancer journey, Tony took on the role of dedicated caregiver, tracking treatments and attending appointments while attempting to maintain his own career. But beneath his composed project manager exterior, he was crumbling. It wasn't until a series of personal accidents culminated in an emotional breakdown that Tony finally admitted the truth, he couldn't do it alone.

Tony speaks with remarkable candour about the reality of grief following Lynn's death. Despite their years of preparation and beautiful final conversations, the loss plunged him into an abyss of emotion that defied his expectations. "I will grieve Lynn for my entire life," he reflects. "The challenge is finding a way to live your new life even while you are still grieving."

The most controversial chapter of Tony's story emerged just months after Lynn's passing, when an unexpected connection with a woman named Cordelia blossomed into romance. Their relationship, founded on a shared understanding of loss, brought both healing and intense guilt. Tony describes the complex emotions of finding joy amid grief, and the judgment he faced from some friends who felt he had moved on "too soon."

What makes this conversation truly exceptional is Tony's willingness to reveal the messiness of the human experience. His journey challenges our cultural assumptions about grief timelines and reminds us that healing rarely follows a predictable path. Through his book "Carrying the Tiger" and conversations like this one, Tony offers a lifeline to others navigating similar terrain, particularly men, who often lack models for expressing grief openly.

Have you experienced grief that didn't follow the "expected" timeline? Share your story or grab a copy of "Carrying the Tiger" to continue this important conversation about love, loss, and finding your way forward.

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Music Credit: Cody Martin - Sunrise (first 26 episodes) then custom made for me.

Disclaimer: The views, opinions, and stories shared on this podcast are personal to the host and guests and are not intended to serve as professional advice or guidance. They reflect individual experiences and perspectives. While we strive to provide valuable insights and support, listeners are encouraged to seek professional advice for their specific situations. The host and production team are not responsible for any actions taken based on the content of this podcast.

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What if the most powerful healing tool was already at your fingertips? In this profound conversation with holistic counsellor Jo, we explore how the simple act of journaling became her lifeline while raising a son with cerebral palsy who required round-the-clock care.

Jo shares her deeply moving journey from overwhelm to acceptance, revealing how writing helped her process the "cluster emotions" that arose from being thrust into roles she never expected, nurse, therapist and full-time carer. More surprisingly, journaling helped her recognise and heal from childhood emotional neglect that had caused her to disconnect from her body decades earlier.

"I was feeling disconnected from my body, as though I was living on my shoulder but not in my body," Jo explains. "For years I never told anyone about that because I thought I was the only one." Today, we understand this dissociation as a classic trauma response, but Jo discovered her path back to embodiment through putting pen to paper.

The beauty of journal therapy lies in its accessibility, it's free, doesn't require appointments and can take whatever form works for you. Whether through traditional writing, artistic expression like mandalas, or even voice memos captured while driving, the goal is creating space to process emotions that might otherwise remain stuck in our bodies.

Most touchingly, Jo reveals how her son now 40, became her greatest teacher by challenging everything she'd been taught about having to "be, do, or become" to have value. Through journaling, she worked through her fears and eventually reached profound acceptance and unconditional love.

Whether you're navigating caregiver stress, processing past trauma, or simply feeling disconnected from yourself, this episode offers practical wisdom about how meeting your pain on paper can transform your relationship with yourself. As Jo reminds us, what we do to heal ourselves today ripples forward to impact future generations.

Connect with Jo on Facebook here

Support the show

Thanks for listening in!

Contact me directly at https://everydaywarriorspodcast.com.au or head to
Instagram https://www.instagram.com.au/_trudie_marie or
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/trudie.dwyer

Support the Podcast - Buy me a Coffee

Buy my Book here

Apply to be a guest here

Music Credit: Cody Martin - Sunrise (first 26 episodes) then custom made for me.

Disclaimer: The views, opinions, and stories shared on this podcast are personal to the host and guests and are not intended to serve as professional advice or guidance. They reflect individual experiences and perspectives. While we strive to provide valuable insights and support, listeners are encouraged to seek professional advice for their specific situations. The host and production team are not responsible for any actions taken based on the content of this podcast.

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From the moment Paul begins sharing his story, you can feel the weight of his journey and the lightness that comes from true transformation. Born in North London to a hardworking taxi driver father and stay-at-home mother, Paul recalls a relatively happy childhood despite modest means. Everything shifted when his parents separated when he was 11. In an unusual arrangement for the time, his mother moved out while his father retained custody with help from Paul's grandmother.

This thrust young Paul into a protective role for his younger siblings, especially when facing bullies on the way home from school. But the defining tragedy struck at 19, when Paul and his brother returned home one day to discover their father had taken his own life. The devastating impact cannot be overstated. Suddenly responsible for his family, managing legal matters, and processing overwhelming grief, Paul transformed into someone unrecognizable even to himself.

Anger became his constant companion and trust evaporated. For 13 years, he cut off all communication with his mother and he followed in his father's footsteps as a London taxi driver, poignantly describing his cab as "my black coffin, with my back to the world", a physical manifestation of his emotional isolation.

Transformation arrived unexpectedly through a personal development program that created space for Paul to articulate his pain for the first time. In that vulnerable environment, he challenged his self-blame and reconnected with his mother after those 13 silent years. The impact was so profound that Paul dedicated the next 25 years to leading similar transformational experiences for others, working with approximately 100,000 people worldwide.

Today, Paul coaches business owners who find themselves trapped working in their businesses rather than on them. Drawing from his extraordinary life journey, he helps them improve not just productivity but overall wellbeing, understanding that workplace satisfaction directly impacts relationships, family life and personal fulfillment.

Paul's story powerfully reminds us that while past traumas shape us, they need not define us. As he says, "We don't have to get stuck with what's actually happened in the past. We can have a completely different way of relating to it and be free to be ourselves." Ready to transform your relationship with your past? This episode offers both inspiration and practical wisdom for your journey.

You can connect with Paul on

Support the show

Thanks for listening in!

Contact me directly at https://everydaywarriorspodcast.com.au or head to
Instagram https://www.instagram.com.au/_trudie_marie or
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/trudie.dwyer

Support the Podcast - Buy me a Coffee

Buy my Book here

Apply to be a guest here

Music Credit: Cody Martin - Sunrise (first 26 episodes) then custom made for me.

Disclaimer: The views, opinions, and stories shared on this podcast are personal to the host and guests and are not intended to serve as professional advice or guidance. They reflect individual experiences and perspectives. While we strive to provide valuable insights and support, listeners are encouraged to seek professional advice for their specific situations. The host and production team are not responsible for any actions taken based on the content of this podcast.