“The person who is supposed to love me most is saying I’m stupid. When you are told you're a bad person for a long time, it takes awhile to learn to love yourself again.” ~ Carol Beth Nelson, MD

Carol Beth Nelson, MD is a neurologist, a mother to four adult children and five adult step children, a life-long avid swimmer, and a lover of the small South Dakota town she grew up in. Since 2018, she’s done so many triathlons that she's lost count. Add to this her impressive list of completing 2 Ironmans and 4 marathons, and sum it up with Carol’s own words, “I have to use all my energy, I just don’t sit very well.”

And while Carol has had many enormous successes and victories, like all of us, she’s experienced life's immense challenges and complexities as well.

Carol was a freshman in med school when she married her first husband, Shon. They shared the kind of love one only dreams about, the kind of love that lasts forever, but life at times can be so cruel. Nine and a half months into their blissful marriage, Shon was tragically killed in a car accident just a mile from their home.

Navigating such profound loss at such a young age can leave even the strongest person vulnerable. Carol missed what she had. She wanted to move forward. She says, “Shon showed me how to love and be loved and I wanted that back.” Carol remarried four years later and though the marriage would ultimately last for 24 years, it was not the stuff of storybooks.

For many years, it was challenging for Carol to even wrap her head around what was going on. For eleven years of her marriage, she was the only one working and bringing in an income, yet she was always in charge of doing most everything from raising their kids to doing the housework. The only things her husband reliably managed were the lawn and the finances. Unfortunately, his managing of the finances led to significant financial abuse. Slowly, Carol was able to identify that her husband was repeatedly manipulating her, gaslighting her and exhibiting other behaviors associated with narcissistic personality disorder. Carol eventually found the strength to leave that marriage and get a divorce.

Her experiences informed the foundation of the book she would go on to write, entitled “We Are Alike: How a Doctor Leveraged her Neuroscience Expertise to Survive and Heal from Narcissistic Abuse”. The book covers the details and lessons of her profoundly challenging and isolating experience in the hopes that she can help people in long-term relationships with narcissistic partners identify what is going on and to explore their options. Carol also hopes the book might help people at the beginning of a relationship to identify patterns and red flags and understand their options.

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

“When you have someone at the table with a disability, you quickly see how they’ve had to navigate a world that’s not designed for them. They are problem solvers. They’ve had to learn to organize so many aspects of their lives. They see dimensions to our world we might be oblivious to.” ~ Lisa Drennan

There was a time—not so long ago—when people with disabilities were often hidden away in institutions, their individuality separated from the rest of the world. Fortunately for Lisa Drennan, a childhood family friend with a disability was welcomed fully into her life and community. That relationship allowed her to see, firsthand, what it meant to navigate the world with a different set of circumstances —planting early seeds of understanding, empathy, and belonging that continue to guide her work today.

At 17, Lisa secured a job with a neighborhood agency that supported people with disabilities. There she developed a passion for figuring out how to support people who navigate life with additional physical and / or developmental challenges, as they strive to be included in all aspects of society. Her time at this organization was so important to Lisa that she now serves on its board of directors.

Since we all have differences of one sort or another, Lisa views inclusion as a win-win for everybody. She believes that as we celebrate, honor and accommodate these differences, we pave the way for each of us to grow into the best version of ourselves. Inclusive mindsets and practices benefit everyone.

Lisa founded MERGE Inclusion Consulting in 2018 to further her efforts to put this belief into action. Through MERGE, Lisa provides training to community organizations and helps them brainstorm about ways to be more welcoming to people with a wide range of abilities and disabilities. Lisa also talks to the community of people who experience disabilities about navigating their lives powerfully through accessing their community, contributing in meaningful ways.

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

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This is a link to a free download “A Toolkit For Community Recreation, Cultural, and Faith Organizations” which Lisa talks about during the show-

https://thearcofmass.org/toolkit-organization/

IMPORTANT NOTE- after you click the link and enter your name and email, it will take you to

another page with the link to download the PDF.

“There’re 10,000 different ways of getting over the same obstacle.” ~ Marina Gavryushkina

Marina Gavryushkina is not unlike a Russian Indiana Jones, not only does she have a Masters in Archaeology and started her PHD, but she’s lived her life in constant pursuit of adventure, following her passion for parkour all the way to the national stage as a contestant on American Ninja Warrior.

Of parkour, Marina says, “It’s an opportunity to move through your environment in a very liberating and creative way. It has a sense of adventure to it. You run, jump and climb your way around obstacles and experience challenges and perspectives not just anyone gets to experience.” If we consider Marina’s environment the entire world’s stage, she has vaulted over many obstacles within it. She was born in Moscow, Russia, went to grade school in Santa Monica, California, high school in Thousand Oaks, majored in Anthropology and Art History at Berkley, and went to grad school in the Netherlands. She’s had an archeology internship in the wilds of the Nevada desert, has worked at a chateau in France, a vineyard in France, an AirBnB in the Italian Alps, as a grounds keeper in Scotland, and as an accountant because she needed money to further fund her adventures.

Currently the Manager of Communications & Development at Jay Nolan Community Services, Marina does her part to help individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other neurodiverse disorders to live as empowered, included, and embraced members of the community. Of her years of service, she says, “My work at Jay Nolan has supported me through all the crazy adventures and all my crazy adventures inspire me to always return to Jay Nolan, where no two days are the same and I feel like the work I’m doing actually makes a difference.”

Be it leaping over a six foot wall, moving between continents with confidence, or sitting down for an Awkwardly Awesome conversation with me, Marina Gavryushkina knows how to make life exciting. I can’t wait to share some of her adventures with you.

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com