Épisodes

  • Episode 68 - Joseph Okoroji: Mark in the Sand
    Oct 25 2026

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    Leaving home doesn’t just change your address, it grates down the person you used to be and forces a rebuild. I’m joined by Joseph, calling in from Los Angeles to talk about what it really costs to start again in a new country when you don’t have a safety net to catch you.

    Joseph takes us back to being 24 and moving from London to LA, the isolation that comes with an eight to nine hour time gap and the culture shock of stepping into a louder, more attention-driven environment. We also unpack a painful moment from earlier on of losing a cruise ship opportunity after a heavy “celebration” period impacts his health checks, then having to watch others live the life he imagined through social media. It’s grief, guilt and growth all tangled together which shapes how he approaches hope, work and ambition.

    From there, we dig into life as a personal trainer and Muay Thai practitioner in Los Angeles, where presentation and marketing can matter as much as skill. Joseph shares why US fitness culture often sells sex appeal and fantasy outcomes, how that changes client motivations and what it takes to stay grounded in reality while still building momentum. We finish with his book, Mark In The Sand and the lessons he’s earned about protecting dreams until they’re strong enough to survive other people’s opinions.

    Connect with Joseph on Instagram here

    Purchase his book Mark in the Sand here


    If you get something from this conversation, please subscribe, share it with a mate, and leave a five-star review so more Everyday Warriors can find the stories they need.

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

    Disclaimer: The views, opinions, experiences and stories shared by guests on the Everyday Warriors Podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host, Trudie Marie, or the Everyday Warriors Podcast.

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    1 h et 2 min
  • Episode 67 - Linda Varisco: From Whirlwind Romance to Federal Prison
    Oct 11 2026

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    A judge’s gavel comes down, a sentence lands, and Linda feels herself leave her body. That’s where this story starts, because the road to “a year and a day” is not one bad choice, it’s a long chain of grief, pressure, missed red flags and the kind of responsibility that can crush a single mum if she lets it.

    Linda joins me from Florida to talk through a life that reads like a screenplay: a serendipitous beach meeting with the man she’s sure she’ll marry, a thriving chiropractic career, then a business betrayal that changes her husband forever. She unpacks the slow reveal of addiction, the devastation of discovering a secret condo life and the moment she catches an affair. We also talk about parenting through chaos, the gut-wrenching fear of not being able to keep your kids safe and the car crash that becomes her line in the sand.

    Then the plot shifts again. After divorce, illness and forgiveness at the end of her ex-husband’s life, Linda is left trying to survive a financial spiral and a commercial building she never wanted. A referral that seems like a lifeline turns into an FBI raid and a federal healthcare fraud investigation under RICO guidelines. She shares what it’s like to cooperate for years, hear promises that she will be protected and still be sentenced. From there, we go to Camp Fed, where she rebuilds purpose by helping women with pain, starting Pilates yoga classes and handwriting an 800-page book without a computer.

    If you’ve ever felt defined by a “crappy chapter”, this conversation is proof you can keep moving forward, protect your joy, and become a better version of yourself on the other side. Subscribe to Everyday Warriors, share this with someone who needs hope, and please leave a review so more people can find these stories.

    Connect with Linda on Instagram here

    Visit Linda's website here

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    Contact me directly at https://everydaywarriorspodcast.com.au or head to
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    Music Credit: Cody Martin - Sunrise (first 26 episodes) then custom made for me.

    Disclaimer: The views, opinions, experiences and stories shared by guests on the Everyday Warriors Podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host, Trudie Marie, or the Everyday Warriors Podcast.

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    53 min
  • Episode 66 - Marie Ferguson: Miscarriage & Motherhood
    Sep 27 2026

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    Four miscarriages can rewrite your relationship with your body, your partner and your sense of safety in the world. I’m joined by Marie from Brisbane for a conversation that doesn’t look away from pregnancy loss, medical trauma and the kind of grief that comes from losing not just a pregnancy, but the future you’d already started imagining.

    Marie takes us from early motherhood and matrescence into the harsh realities many families face in silence like the physical pain of miscarriage, the fear, the confusion and what it’s like when aftercare is minimal and life expects you to carry on. We talk honestly about mental health, returning to work too soon and the pressure that can come from culture, family and society when “just try again” is treated like a solution instead of a dismissal.

    Then the story shifts into reclamation. Marie shares how breathwork, nervous system regulation and learning her body helped her stop abandoning herself in the hardest moments. We also open up the broader conversation around shame, consent, pleasure and why better education for girls and boys matters for relationships, pregnancy and support through loss. Finally, we step into birth after miscarriage including planning, advocacy, staying flexible and what it means to be held by the right people when you need it most.

    Connect with Marie on Instagram here

    Connect with Marie on LinkedIn here

    If this resonates, please subscribe, share the episode with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more listeners can find these real, raw stories.

    Subscribe to Everyday Warrior Moments here

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    Thanks for listening in!

    Contact me directly at https://everydaywarriorspodcast.com.au or head to
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    Subscribe to Everyday Warrior Moments here

    Support the Podcast - Buy me a Coffee

    Buy my Book here

    Apply to be a guest at everydaywarriorspodcast@gmail.com

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

    Disclaimer: The views, opinions, experiences and stories shared by guests on the Everyday Warriors Podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host, Trudie Marie, or the Everyday Warriors Podcast.

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    53 min
  • Episode 65 - Stacey Kulongowski: Big Energy after the Big C
    Sep 13 2026

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    You can be “successful” on paper and still feel like you’re falling apart in private. Stacy knows that reality from the inside of big tech, where a single high stakes revenue meeting at Google leaves her shutting the laptop, sliding under her desk and sobbing because she’s certain her career is over. Nothing explodes outwardly, but everything fractures inwardly and that’s the moment her body finally wins the argument.

    We talk through what happens next with therapist mandated six month leave, a crash course in burnout recovery and the messy, honest work of listening to your body again. Stacy shares how she used therapy, journalling, movement, family time and unexpected practices to rebuild her confidence without pretending she was fine. Along the way we dig into imposter syndrome, class signals and the pressure to fit a corporate mould that can slowly erase your bright, creative self.

    Then the conversation turns deeply personal. Stacy opens up about being diagnosed with breast cancer while chasing a director role, hiding it from almost everyone and why she never wants to isolate like that again. When cancer returns later, she chooses a different path building a tribe, asking clearly for the support she actually needs and using one powerful question that works in friendships, leadership and parenting alike “How can I support you?”

    Connect with Stacey on Instagram here

    Visit Stacey's website

    Purchase Stacey's Book


    If you want a real story about resilience, redefining success, leadership with humanity and creating community when life gets brutal, press play. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs a reset and leave a review so more everyday warriors can find these stories.

    Subscribe to Everyday Warrior Moments here

    Support the show

    Thanks for listening in!

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

    Subscribe to Everyday Warrior Moments here

    Support the Podcast - Buy me a Coffee

    Buy my Book here

    Apply to be a guest at everydaywarriorspodcast@gmail.com

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

    Disclaimer: The views, opinions, experiences and stories shared by guests on the Everyday Warriors Podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host, Trudie Marie, or the Everyday Warriors Podcast.

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    47 min
  • Episode 64 - Amber Richardson: One, Two, Knockout
    Aug 30 2026

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    A phone rings after 7pm and the ordinary rush of parenting turns into a moment you never forget. Amber takes us back to early 2018, when she’s an assistant principal, a full-time working mum and newly pregnant, only to receive prenatal testing results that point to a Down syndrome diagnosis for her daughter. We talk through the shock, the uncertainty and the unexpected gratitude that arrives when fear starts shouting worst-case outcomes.

    Then comes the next layer with a congenital heart defect discovered in utero, the reality of specialist teams and the planning that leads to open heart surgery when her baby is just five months old. Amber shares what special needs parenting looks like on the ground including therapy appointments, managing germs, family handovers, long drives and the mental load of keeping life moving while your nervous system is stuck in chronic stress and fight-flight-freeze.

    Just as they’re finding their footing, Amber’s mum dies suddenly, and grief becomes the turning point that changes everything. We unpack why she steps away from work, why therapy becomes “I can’t afford not to” and how honest communication and couples support help her marriage hold. The conversation closes with the bold choice that resets their family by moving interstate for an adventure they actually choose, plus the writing and coaching work that grows into her seasonal syncing framework and book.

    If this story hits home, subscribe to Everyday Warriors, share it with someone who needs hope, and leave a review so more people can find these real, raw conversations.

    Connect with Amber on Instagram here

    Work with Amber through her website

    Purchase Ambers book Seasonal Syncing here

    Subscribe to Everyday Warrior Moments here

    Support the show

    Thanks for listening in!

    Contact me directly at https://everydaywarriorspodcast.com.au or head to
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    Subscribe to Everyday Warrior Moments here

    Support the Podcast - Buy me a Coffee

    Buy my Book here

    Apply to be a guest at everydaywarriorspodcast@gmail.com

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

    Disclaimer: The views, opinions, experiences and stories shared by guests on the Everyday Warriors Podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host, Trudie Marie, or the Everyday Warriors Podcast.

    Guests are responsible f...

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    1 h et 2 min
  • Episode 63 - Amanda Stewart - Dark Side of Coercive Control
    Aug 16 2026

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    A relationship can become a cage without you noticing the bars being built. Amanda joins me from Brisbane to share how early trauma and a loss of safety at 15 shaped the choices she made at 16, and how a controlling partner can disguise domination as “protection” until your confidence, friendships and freedom quietly disappear. Her story is raw, honest and painfully familiar to anyone who’s lived through coercive control and domestic violence.

    We unpack what control looks like in day-to-day life with money, transport, parenting, isolation, blame and the public mask that convinces everyone you’re fine. Amanda explains the turning point that comes through nursing and university, when learning about domestic violence gives her language for what she’s been surviving. From there, we walk through the reality of leaving with six kids in the mix, the moment she needs police support to collect her things and the fear that comes with realising how dangerous separation can be.

    The conversation goes deeper into post-separation abuse, family court trauma and parental alienation, including the ways systems and paperwork can be used as weapons. We also spend time on recovery and trauma healing including meditation as “medication”, therapy, journalling, self-trust and choosing to move forward minute by minute when you can’t see the other side yet. Amanda shares how she rebuilds her identity, restores relationships with most of her now-adult children and names her memoir "She Lives" as a declaration of survival.

    If this story resonates, please subscribe, share it with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find these real conversations. What part of Amanda’s journey stayed with you most?

    Connect with Amanda on Instagram here

    Subscribe to Everyday Warrior Moments here

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    Thanks for listening in!

    Contact me directly at https://everydaywarriorspodcast.com.au or head to
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    Subscribe to Everyday Warrior Moments here

    Support the Podcast - Buy me a Coffee

    Buy my Book here

    Apply to be a guest at everydaywarriorspodcast@gmail.com

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

    Disclaimer: The views, opinions, experiences and stories shared by guests on the Everyday Warriors Podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host, Trudie Marie, or the Everyday Warriors Podcast.

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    57 min
  • Episode 62 - Anthony Dyer: When the Mission Ends
    Aug 2 2026

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    He served for 20 years, chased meaning in high-risk missions, then pressed the retirement button and realised the hardest fight was about to start at home. Anthony joins us from Clovis, New Mexico, to share what military service gave him, what it took from him and what it cost when the uniform came off and the structure disappeared. The shift from special operations purpose to civilian life hits fast and he speaks plainly about loss of identity, the pull of alcohol and the moment his wife drew a line he couldn’t ignore.

    We go deep on veteran mental health, PTSD and what “getting help” actually looks like when you’ve spent a career pushing through. Anthony talks about prolonged exposure therapy, panic attacks and learning to be comfortable being uncomfortable, while I reflect on why talk therapy can feel like reliving the worst moments and still be the thing that takes their power away. We also unpack the practical side of recovery: treating mental health like routine maintenance, building a real support network and why seeing leaders seek help makes it easier for others to do the same.

    Some of the most memorable moments are the simplest, “four quarters over a hundred pennies” as a guide to friendship, choosing the pen over the bottle through writing and the “two wolves” reminder that daily actions decide what grows. Anthony’s mission now is fatherhood and presence and he shares the moon as his lighthouse, a symbol of light that holds steady on dark nights. If you’re navigating military transition, first responder stress, addiction recovery, or trauma healing, you’ll find honesty and usable lessons here. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review to help more everyday warriors find these stories.

    Connect with Anthony on Facebook here

    Puchase Anthony's book Moon Child here

    Subscribe to Everyday Warrior Moments here

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    Thanks for listening in!

    Contact me directly at https://everydaywarriorspodcast.com.au or head to
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    Subscribe to Everyday Warrior Moments here

    Support the Podcast - Buy me a Coffee

    Buy my Book here

    Apply to be a guest at everydaywarriorspodcast@gmail.com

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

    Disclaimer: The views, opinions, experiences and stories shared by guests on the Everyday Warriors Podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host, Trudie Marie, or the Everyday Warriors Podcast.

    Guests are responsible f...

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    35 min
  • Episode 61 - Michelle Steiner: Living Beyond Limitations
    Jul 19 2026

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    You can be doing everything “right” and still be treated like you don’t belong. That’s why my chat with Michelle hits so hard. She’s lived the reality of a learning disability from kindergarten, through bullying and repeated grades, into adulthood where the stigma doesn’t magically disappear just because you leave school.

    Michelle takes us through the practical details people rarely talk about including visual perception issues that made driving unsafe, limited hand dexterity that was misread as “bad handwriting” and the exhausting pressure of being labelled lazy or careless. We also dig into what actually helps, not just inspirational slogans but disability accommodations like extra time, note-taking support and having the confidence to introduce yourself to lecturers and clearly ask for what you need. Along the way, she shares how reading and writing became a lifeline and why finding a community outside school can be the difference between isolation and belonging.

    Now, Michelle works as a teacher’s aide paraprofessional with seventh graders, using her lived experience to teach self-advocacy, respectful behaviour and how to speak up without shame. She also writes publicly through her blog Michelle’s Mission, pairs disability storytelling with photography and steps into disability policy advocacy, including a legislative visit focused on improving access to school counsellors through a counselling compact.

    If you care about inclusive education, disability rights, or raising kinder kids, press play. Subscribe, share this with a mate, and leave a review so more people can find these stories.

    Connect with Michelle on Facebook or Instagram

    Read Michelles blog here

    Subscribe to Everyday Warrior Moments here

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    Thanks for listening in!

    Contact me directly at https://everydaywarriorspodcast.com.au or head to
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    Subscribe to Everyday Warrior Moments here

    Support the Podcast - Buy me a Coffee

    Buy my Book here

    Apply to be a guest at everydaywarriorspodcast@gmail.com

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

    Disclaimer: The views, opinions, experiences and stories shared by guests on the Everyday Warriors Podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host, Trudie Marie, or the Everyday Warriors Podcast.

    Guests are responsible f...

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    39 min