Today for the finale to our series, Lighten Up about Illness, I'm talking with Alia Joy. You may remember her from episode 99, and now I'm happy to share that her new book, Glorious Weakness: Discovering God in All We Lack, is available now. Today we talk about her bipolar disorder, how it's impacted her life and her kids, and the unpredictability that comes with illness. She says, "I have to be okay with undone things." We talk about what she's learned from bipolar disorder, and Alia says, "Everybody goes through seasons. Mine are just more noticeable...Bipolar is like you're making sandcastles and they're just constantly being swept away." She shares about looking for beauty and wonder in places you'd never expect to find it, and the way she lightens up in the middle of everything is by raising funny kids. We talk about the amazing comedic timing of her kids and the blessings of having a funny family. Through her book and our conversation, Alia is teaching me so much, so grab a fuzzy blanket, get comfy, listen in, and lighten up.
We are in the middle of our series "Lighten Up about Illness" and today I'm talking with Lauren Gaskill, author of Into the Deep: Diving into a Life of Courageous Faith, and host of the podcast She Found Joy. Lauren has hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), which affects her collagen, joints, and muscles. We chat about her road to finding a diagnosis, her treatments for EDS, and how she is lightening up and finding joy while managing her symptoms. Lauren shares how keeping an eternal perspective helps her lighten up about her circumstances, how she figures out the safe people to talk with about her disorder, and her advice for developing a supportive community. I'm so glad you're with us, so pull up a chair, listen in, and lighten up.
We're in the middle of our series, lighten up about illness, and today I'm talking with my friend Lesley Miller. Lesley and I met through Coffee+Crumbs, she's an incredible writer, and she's currently going through what she calls her second cancer year. Her husband Jonathan had cancer, and now her son Owen was diagnosed last October and has been going through treatment. We chat about the differences and similarities between adult cancer and childhood cancer, and how it's impacted her life and her other kids. Lesley shares what cancer has taught her, how they're coping and lightening up in the middle of this, and how she deals with the emotional burden of caring for her family. She says that the biggest gift people can give to people going through illness is seeing them. She shares how can we support our friends with kids dealing with life-threatening illnesses and advises us to let the parents take the lead. And maybe my favorite part of the interview is her insight into lightening up, how she sees two parts to lightening up - the soul work part and the everyday fun stuff. You have to do the first one in order to have the second. Lesley is incredibly helpful and insightful so if you have people in your life currently walking through childhood cancer and you're wondering how to support them, this is the perfect conversation for you, so listen in and lighten up.
Today I'm talking with Niki Hardy, author of the new book Breathe Again: How to Live Well When Life Falls Apart. Niki is a cancer survivor and she shares how her diagnosis affected her, how she handled telling her kids, parenting with cancer, and how humor helped her and her kids get through her cancer treatments. Also, uh, Niki had rectal cancer, so yeah, heck yeah, we talk about poop. She says, "You're never too young to love your bum." I know this is a conversation about cancer, but it's uplifting and hopeful and will help you reevaluate how you approach life...and also nudge you to get regular checkups and listen to your body. As Niki wisely shares, "Life doesn't have to be pain-free to be full," so listen in and lighten up.
Preorder Niki's book, Breathe Again: How to Live Well When Life Falls Apart
Connect with Niki:
The Queen of Hearts by Kimmery Martin
Small Great Things and A Spark of Light by Jodi Piccoult
The Next Right Thing by Emily P. Freeman (Emily was on episode #29 of Lighten Up Podcast!)