🚨 If You’re Struggling
If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, please don’t wait. Help is available.

In the U.S., dial 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Visit 988lifeline.org for more resources.

You are not alone.

🧩 Season Theme: Hungry
The season theme Hungry explores the cravings that shape our lives not just for food, but for healing, hope, and meaning. “Bitter herbs” remind us of the hard and painful parts of life that we must sometimes taste in order to fully appreciate sweetness and renewal.

👣 Guest Introduction:
This week, we step into the shoes of Zach Tidwell a Marine Corps veteran whose journey is both heartbreaking and deeply inspiring. On his second deployment, Zach received devastating news: his wife was having an affair. The marriage ended in 2018, and just months later, he was in a motorcycle accident that left him with a severe traumatic brain injury. As he battled impulsivity, agitation, and alcohol abuse, he was honorably discharged and tried to start fresh in Colorado, pursuing a nursing degree. On the outside, life looked steady. Inside, he was spiraling.

By spring of 2019, Zach reached his breaking point. On March 31st, he attempted to take his life with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the face. Against all odds, he survived but awoke to a new reality: completely blind and deaf in one ear.

What could have been the end of Zach’s story became the beginning of something remarkable. He relearned how to eat, brush his teeth, and walk. Within eight months, he was back on a snowboard in the Rocky Mountains. Soon after, he returned to college, where he began to pursue accessibility solutions after facing new challenges as a blind student.

Today, Zach is not just a survivor he’s a force. He skis, rock climbs, whitewater kayaks, skydives, and even competes in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. His story of resilience, innovation, and perseverance offers hope for anyone tasting the bitter herbs of life, especially during Suicide Prevention Week.

💡 Episode Highlights:

The painful unraveling that began with betrayal and a traumatic brain injury.

The moment Zach attempted to end his life and why survival changed everything.

His courageous journey of learning to live blind, and choosing to thrive.

Why his message matters so deeply in the conversation around suicide prevention.

🔗 Connect with Zach Tidwell:
Website: zachtidwell.net
X (Twitter): @ZachCTidwell

🎧 Listen & Follow Other People’s Shoes:

👟 Website

🩵 Instagram

👍 Facebook

🐦 X (Twitter)

📺 YouTube

📣 Leave Us a Review:
If this episode moved you, challenged you, or gave you something to think about don’t keep it to yourself! Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and let us know how stepping into Zach’s shoes impacted you.

🎙 Saying Grace

🧩 Season Theme: Hungry
This season, we explore what it means to be hungry, in all its forms. Hungry for food, for meaning, and for connection. Together, we’ll pull up a chair, break bread, and discover what truly nourishes us.

👣 Guest Introduction:
Does prayer really do any good or are we just talking to the ceiling? In this opening episode of Season 21 Hungry, we step into the shoes of Rachel Wojo, affectionately known as the “Prayer Girl.” Rachel has inspired thousands with her writings, speaking, and authentic faith. Her latest book, Desperate Prayers: Embracing God in Life’s Darkest Moments, invites readers into raw, honest conversations with God when life feels darkest. In our conversation, Rachel opens up about the power of prayer, the struggles that shaped her journey, and even the hardest person she’s ever had to pray for.

💡 Episode Highlights:

Why Rachel became known as the “Prayer Girl”.

The story behind Desperate Prayers and how it was born out of life’s hardest seasons.

Who Rachel finds hardest to pray for and why.

How prayer feeds the deeper hunger for peace, purpose, and connection.

🔗 Connect with Rachel Wojo:
🌐 Website
📘 Facebook Author Page
📖 Her Book – Desperate Prayers

🎧 Listen & Follow Other People’s Shoes:

👟 Website

🩵 Instagram

👍 Facebook

🐦 X (Twitter)

📺 YouTube

📣 Leave Us a Review:
If this episode moved you, challenged you, or gave you something to think about don’t keep it to yourself! Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and let us know how stepping into Rachel’s shoes impacted you.

⚠️ Content Warning:In this episode, Joshua Daniel shares about his time as an Army Ranger and Green Beret, including a mission involving a suicide bomber. Listener discretion is advised.⚠️

🎙 De Oppresso Liber

🧩 Season Theme: Unmade
The season theme 'Unmade' refers to the concept of an 'unmade bed' raw, honest, and messy moments in life when things fall apart, identities unravel, and people are confronted with the truth of who they really are.

👣 Guest Introduction:
From a high school student enlisting at 17 to serving over 20 years in Special Operations, Joshua Daniel’s journey is one of resilience, sacrifice, and conviction. By 18, he had made it into the Special Operations community, and at 19, he deployed to combat for the first time. His path wasn’t smooth setbacks, challenges, and moments that could have derailed him were real but quitting was never an option.

Joshua retired as a Master Sergeant, not because he was the most gifted, but because he was relentlessly committed: to the mission, to the men beside him, and to the ideal embodied in the Green Beret motto: De Oppresso Liber To free the oppressed.

After his sixth deployment, Joshua founded Hero Games Charity, honoring fallen warriors and supporting their families through a grueling 6–8 hour crucible event built on sweat, grit, and legacy. Later, he launched Counter Culture Solutions, equipping people with mindset, resilience, and leadership skills forged in the Special Operations community. Today, Joshua’s call to serve looks different but the heart behind it remains the same.

💡 Episode Highlights:

Joshua’s journey from enlisting at 17 to becoming a Green Beret

A powerful story from a mission involving a suicide bomber

Why De Oppresso Liber is more than a motto it’s a way of life

How setbacks shaped Joshua’s resilience and leadership

The creation of Hero Games Charity and its mission to honor fallen warriors

What it means to carry a legacy forward into civilian life

🔗 Connect with Joshua Daniel:
🌐 Hero Games Charity
🌐 Counter Culture Solutions

🎧 Listen & Follow Other People’s Shoes:

👟 Website

🩵 Instagram

👍 Facebook

🐦 X (Twitter)

📺 YouTube

📣 Leave Us a Review:
If this episode moved you, challenged you, or gave you something to think about don’t keep it to yourself! Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and let us know how stepping into the guest’s shoes impacted you.