Kathleen never saw herself as a cancer patient — she was aprofessor, a mom to two daughters adopted from China, a cyclist climbingColorado's Rocky Mountains. Then thyroid cancer came at 45. Then colorectalcancer at 60, in the middle of a COVID lockdown, with zero symptoms except oneincident she almost ignored.

In this deeply moving episode, Kathleen takes us throughtwo very different cancer journeys — the calm of thyroid surgery at MDAnderson, and the brutal reality of 8 rounds of chemo, 15 days in a New Yorkhospital, and the 'cancer pinata party' she threw before surgery. She opens upabout toxic positivity, what to say (and not say) to someone with cancer, how acycling club became her lifeline, and why her fire inside comes straight fromher mom.

Whether you're navigating your own health crisis,supporting a loved one, or simply looking for a dose of honest, humanresilience — this episode is for you.

📌 Topics covered:

• Her first cancer: thyroid cancer diagnosed at 45 |Choosing MD Anderson over standard care

• COVID-era diagnosis: colorectal cancer discovered byaccident on a road trip

• Chemo reality: what accumulation feels like, why cryingcaused a searing headache

• 15-day hospital stay that was supposed to be 3 days —and Plan B that saved her

• Toxic positivity & cancer warrior language — whatthe community actually wants to hear

• How cycling, 'Partners in Climb,' and ColoTown becameher pillars of recovery

• Her book on renewable energy politics coming from OxfordUniversity Press in 2026

• The fire inside: a tribute to her late mother

He lost his mother at 16. Six years later, Chicago detectives took everything else.

After a grueling 30-hour interrogation — no food, no sleep, handcuffed to a wall — Deon Patrick signed a confession he didn't write.

He spent the next 21 years in prison for a double murder he did not commit. Evidence showed his co-defendant was already in police custody when the crime took place. None of it mattered.

In 2013, Deon was exonerated and issued a Certificate of Innocence. A federal jury later awarded him $13.3 million in a civil rights verdict against the City of Chicago for manufacturing evidence and suppressing the truth.

He is one of the four men behind The Hazel Boyz: The Trials of Four Innocent Men and today works in restorative justice and youth mentorship on the streets he grew up on.

In this conversation, Deon discusses:

• the 30-hour interrogation that made him question his own innocence,

• watching the OJ verdict from a prison cell,

• what he did the moment he walked free after two decades,

• and the work he's doing today so the next generation doesn't end up where he did.

This is more than a story of survival. It's a necessary look at a system that treated four young men as disposable — and the one who refused to let that be the final word.

Don't just listen. Share it.

The Hazel Boyz: The Trials of Four Innocent Men — Amazon & Barnes & Noble

Rachel Socorro was 19 years old when someone she trusted handed her to a trafficker.

What followed was captivity, violence, and choices no woman should ever have to make.

What came after is the reason this episode exists.

Today Rachel runs Total Life Wellness -- a national life recovery ministry that has helped over 500 survivors of trafficking,abuse, and addiction. She is the author of Living Proof.

And she has one message for anyone still in the dark: better is possible.

In this conversation with host Sarada Duvvuri, Rachel talks about:

-- Growing up in Kent, Ohio and the childhood wound of abandonment

-- Being groomed and trafficked at 19 by a trusted family member

-- The moment a gun changed everything

-- Surviving captivity while pregnant

-- Escaping, rebuilding, and the spiral that followed freedom

-- How faith became the foundation -- even when she was furious at God

-- Opening her home and loving 500 strangers back to life

-- Her core belief: your experiences do not define you

CONNECT WITH RACHEL

Book: Living Proof -- available on Amazon

Ministry and donations:TotalLifeWellness.org