Myndtalk With Dr. Pamela Brewer

Blended Families : Samantha Waltz 95 million adults have a step relationship according to a 2011 report... Blended explores stepfamilies from the inside out through the perspectives of thirty writers who know what it's like first hand. Sometimes funny, often poignant, and always deeply personal, the stories in Blended capture the essence of stepfamilies in all of their weird and wonderful varieties. The journeys range from the first encounters between new step-relatives, to marriages, honeymoons, daily experiences, and divorces." All of these stories are woven together by editor, Samantha Waltz - who also shares her  personal blended experiences with Dr. Brewer - today on MyNDTALK!  

Bullied to Death : Michael Volpe On December 29, 2013, Chris Mackney sat in his parked car, put a rifle underneath his chin, and blew his head off. It was the end of a long and tortuous process where he was legally bullied to death by the divorce and criminal court system. His story didn't start or end there. It started in Texas when a man named Sam Degelia, Jr. was murdered. It ended when his ex-wife attempted to copyright and remove  all his writings after his death from the internet." Now, the story behind the suicide note read by millions will finally be told by author, Michael Volpe

Sober Mom & Staying On The Path to Recovery - Rosemary O'Connor Recovering from an addiction is tough enough, but when you throw in the tremendous responsibilities of motherhood, resisting cravings and remaining abstinent--much less enjoying the rewards of sobriety--canseem like an impossible challenge. Rosemary O'Connor brings her many years of experience working with women in recovery to addressing thekey life issues mothers face at all stages of their  c path including stress, relapse, relationships, sex and intimacy, spirituality, shame, gratitude, dating, and, parenting.

Her New Life's Calling: Dr. Angela L. Walker Franklin Angela L. Walker Franklin, a native of McCormick, South Carolina, received her undergraduate degree in psychology from Furman University and her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Emory University. Angela discusses her experiences growing up in a segregated south, her early education and professional goals and then...the opportunity of a lifetime. One she never expected - and completely enjoys. Angela currently serves as president and chief executive officer of Des Moines University (DMU) in Des Moines, Iowa. In September 2013 Dr. Franklin was honored by the African American Museum of Iowa in Cedar Rapids as an African American History Maker, received the Inspire Award from Dress for Success Des Moines in May 2014 and was also honored as a Woman of Influence by the Business Record in August 2014.

Easing Re-Entry For Returning Citizens: Sheila Ford Murphy Sheila Ford Murphy is the CEO of Mission to Mobilization LLC - Transforming individuals and communities by facilitating returning citizen re-entry, community integration and leadership development.  Sheila authored The MTM Experience; simulating the life of a returning citizen and Resourced & Released; resourcing men & women released from incarceration. Meet this caring, compassionate CEO and learn about the path she took to do the work she felt called to do. With a background in planning, fundraising and organizational development, she has leveraged her expertise both locally and in service in India, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Mexico, helping individuals, communities and organizations develop the means for transformation. Some of Sheila's domestic efforts include working with the White House Faith-based Office of Community Service and several Minnesota-based community development projects.

Calling On His Inner Power – Jeff Jay Transitions Tuesday brings you a visit from Jeff Jay author of Navigating Grace. "Jeff Jay's life was full of tragedy: his Marriage had ended, his father had passed away, his brother had committed suicide, and Jeff's own alcoholism had taken him to the edge of death. In his desire for a fresh start, Jeff set out on a solo adventure by sea on an old sloop named Lifeboat. It ultimately became a journey of personal transformation. He cast off in Annapolis, Maryland with an eye toward the Caribbean. Finally able to breathe, Jeff relaxed int his first day sailing the Atlantic when a dark winter storm descended, tossing him into a week-long fight for survival on the open sea. As he faced the realization that only divine intervention could deliver him from certain death, Jeff desperately called on the deity that had intervened in the darkest hours of his addiction years earlier. An intensely personal testimony to calling on the power of grace in our darkest hours, Jeff's tell

Say It Out Loud Roberta Dolan courageously attacks the major obstacles to preventing sexual assault--secrecy and silence. Fearless and determined, Dolan holds nothing back as she charges full force—revealing personal experience through raw and powerful journal entries, and exposing and coping with the psychological damage caused by sexual assault. As victim, teacher, counselor, wife and mother, Dolan presents insight to all sides of the healing journey.

Co-Parenting With A Toxic Ex : What To Do  When Your Ex-Spouse Tries To Turn the Kids Against You:  Dr. Amy J.L. Baker In Co-parenting with a Toxic Ex, Dr. Amy J. L. Baker, a nationally recognized parenting expert discusses positive parenting approach to dealing with a hostile ex-spouse. You'll hear how to avoid the most common mistakes of co-parenting, how to avoid "parental alienation syndrome," and effective techniques for talking to your children in a way that fosters open and honest response. In addition, you'll hear how to protect your children from painful loyalty conflicts between you and your ex-spouse.

My Five Sisters - Pam Franklin My Five Sisters is a story of sibling abuse, child neglect and multiple personalities (now called Dissociative Disorder).  How long can a child be tortured mentally and physically by a sibling and still not suffer permanent psychological damage? Today's guest will tell you an entire childhood. "By the age of six, she realized there was something drastically wrong with her sister, Angela. Angela, not knowingly, could switch from one personality to another in a matter of seconds. Not only was there a mental change, but there was also a physical change. Each of the five personalities had their own voice and facial expressions. They dressed differently and reacted to Patra differently. Two of them loved her, Kind and Hero, two of them tolerated her, Normal and Sad, and one of them hated her and wanted her dead, Angry." This is a conversation you do not want to miss.

Compassionate Friends - Beverly Hill & Kelvin Wanzer The loss of a child is something no one should ever have to bear...and yet so many do.  This conversation with two who have will inspire you and reassure you - that even in the darkest of days... there exists compassionate friends.

Where The Wind Leads: Dr. Vinh Chung   Vinh Chung was born in South Vietnam, just eight months after it fell to the communists in 1975. His family was wealthy, controlling a rice-milling empire worth millions; but within months of the communist takeover, the Chungs lost everything and were reduced to abject poverty. Knowing that their children would have no future under the new government, the Chungs decided to flee the country. In 1979, they joined the legendary "boat people" and sailed into the South China Sea, despite knowing that an estimated two hundred thousand of their countrymen had already perished at the hands of brutal pirates and violent seas. Where the Wind Leads follows Vinh Chung and his family on their desperate journey from pre-war Vietnam, through pirate attacks on a lawless sea, to a miraculous rescue and a new home in the unlikely town of Fort Smith, Arkansas and in many ways - that is just the beginning of Dr. Chung's story!

Academia Meets Activism Dr. Brewer is joined by Professor Kalfani Ture, an anthropologist and criminologist who shares his research, his wisdom and his passion about the history and the state of African-Americans in  America.  Professor Ture asks and answers a critical question: ... How do we reverse our splintered nation - one black, one white, separate, hostile and unequal?

Conquer Chronic Pain Dr. Peter Prezekop The incidence of chronic pain has taken on epidemic proportions. The common response of traditional medicine has been to prescribe opioid painkillers, which can lead to overdose and addiction.   Over the past ten years, Dr. Peter Przekop has developed a revolutionary alternative program to manage pain that goes well beyond the short-term relief of prescription painkillers. Przekop discovered that pain can become chronic, not just because of the trauma that caused it, but because the brain becomes programmed to recreate the experience of pain as a coping mechanism. Conquer Chronic Pain will help you return to pain-free functioning. Gain the same insights Dr. Przekop has brought to hundreds of chronic pain sufferers by learning how the brain can be reprogrammed to alleviate pain. You'll also learn how chronic stress, adversity, and negative emotions influence how we experience and interpret pain and what to do to reverse the pattern.

All The Things We Never Knew: Chasing the Chaos of Mental Illness   Sheila Hamilton is a reporter who lived the biggest story of herlife--her husband's descent into mental illness.  Sheila Hamilton missed the signs as her husband David's mental illness unfolded before her. By the timeshe had pieced together the puzzle, it was too late. ... Now, a decade after David's death, Sheila and her daughter have learned the power of choosing life over retreat; let themselves love and trust again; and understand the importance of forgiveness. Their story will resonate with all those who have loved someone who suffers from mental illness.

Life Reentry: Christina Rasmussen Using the knowledge she gained while wading through her own grief and reading hundreds of neuroscience books, Rasmussen began to look at experiences in a new way. She realized that grief plunges you into a gap between worlds--the world before loss and the world after loss. She also realized how easy it is to become lost in this gap. Rasmussen walks you through her Life Reentry process to help you break grief's spiral of pain, so you can stop simply surviving and begin to live again. She shows you that loss can actually be a powerful catalyst to creating a life that is in alignment with your true passions and values. The resilience, strength, and determination that have gotten you through this difficult time are the same characteristics that will help you craft your wonderful new life.

Guardian of The Golden Gate:Protecting The Line Between Hope and Despair - Kevin Briggs "The wind was gusting around the Golden Gate Bridge when a 22-year-old man climbed the railing, convinced he and this world would be better without each other. He put himself on a thin beam 220 feet above the Pacific Ocean. He wanted to die, and he had come to the world's most effective suicide destination to make that happen. That's when he met a highway patrolman, a former Army soldier and San Quentin State Prison guard named Kevin Briggs."

In Your Own Hands If you are among the millions of Americans living with a serious chronic illness, you know how challenging it can be. While you may do your best to manage your condition, you still must live with it every day, and it can be all too easy to succumb to feelings of helplessness and hopelessness-especially if medical science has not yet found a safe and effective treatment for your illness, and a cure is nowhere in sight. But you don't have to live this way. Using the road map Dr. Larry Berkelhammer offers in In Your Own Hands.

Addicted Kids-Our Lost Generation: Understanding and Treating Teens with Addiction In Teen Addiction, husband-and-wife team Dr. Ronald P. Santasiero and Dr. Cherie Santasiero share their personal and professional insights from years of treating young drug addicts, using traditional and holistic medicine. According to the Santasiero's "too often we look at teen addicts as bad kids whose lack of motivation gets them into their predicament--and keeps them there. But research shows that addiction is more like a disease, not a lack of willpower. What can we do to prevent teen addiction, and how can we help young adults already suffering from substance abuse. If our society doesn't start addressing this epidemic of teen addiction soon, we will lose a significant portion of our next generation.

Phoenix Rising: Toni Hickman Toni Hickman was growing her career as a Hip-Hop artist until the unthinkable occurred.  This young, healthy woman had a brain aneurysm in 2004. She fought back and came back to her art, her music, her life.  Until 2007 - and another brain aneurysm and a stroke. Listen to Toni's story of recovery, inspiration and power!

Moving Through & Moving On: Tracey Cleantis After multiple fertility treatments and years of hardship in her pursuit to have a child, Tracey Cleantis was forced to face this reality head-on. Yet, through this process and her work counseling hundreds of clients through the loss of their goals and aspirations, she discovered one simple truth: Sometimes there comes a time when the smartest, healthiest, and sanest thing to do is to let go of The original plan in order to find a new way forward toward happiness. And with this critical shift, a world of possibilities opens up to us. New,tangible dreams take shape.