Joe was a big tough college football player who's world changed when he was in a boating accident. Now he's a paralympian (Wheelchair Rugby). His path to becoming an elite athlete again, started with putting on one sock. Now married with 3 kids, Joe talks with Nina about the dark thoughts in the days, weeks and months after being injured.

Mary Kaye Holmes has been called the 'Comeback Queen". Molested, pregnant at 14, human trafficked, raped, incarcerated, beaten and feeling like she just 'sucked at life' - she survived and taps into that experience to help others through their toughest times. The international best selling author talks with Nina about her darkest moments, her 5 suicide attempts, and how thankful she is they were not successful.

Thomas Dixon says there was no drug he didn’t do when he was a young man. His experiences with addiction and incarceration are riddled with life lessons and what-ifs. The prominant political activist, recognized nationally for his work to end violence, talks with Nina about how he got the name ‘Slick Dixon’, why he was discharged from the military, and shares his feelings of self-hatred during his 30 years as an addict.

Beth Krom was a two-time mayor, running for congress when her son tragically died. It was a week before his college graduation, so her family’s graduation plans became funeral plans. On this episode her kindness and wit come out as shares the surreal moments after losing her son, how she resisted therapy, the inappropriate things people said to her, and having to deal with the narrative that was being written about his death.

The death of a loved one is a life-changing event and Meghan has had a lifetime of these events. She lost someone close to her as a toddler, a teenager, and a young adult. In this episode she talks with Nina about how she coped with loss and her continuous mental health journey with death. Her kindness and wit come through as she shares helpful insights on trauma, saying “when you are physically injured you go to physical therapy – so my brain is in physical therapy”.

Talking about Sexual Assault is difficult, but Survivor, Psychotherapist and Trauma expert Amy Carpenter literally wrote 2 books on talking about it. In this episode the creator of the Be Strong/Be Wise book series talks with Nina about the blame, shame, sexual ethics and how the conversation is evolving.

Heather thought that everything that went wrong in her husband's life was her fault. She spent years walking on eggshells and terrified something would set him off. Now a Registered Psychotherapist, with a training background in trauma assessment and treatment, she shares that experience with Nina. Tune in to hear insights into why people don't leave an abusive relationship, how her husband turned her family against her, how she finally left and how she healed.

Brian's coach saw him scratching his arm in an uncomfortable moment and asked him "how long have you had a death wish?". On this episode, author, lifestyle coach and body language expert Brian Johnson talks with Nina about his journey from being a high school kid who felt he had to work out be safe, to the college kid with a broken heart and a deathwish, then to an influential lifestyle coach and author. Tune for a reminder that if "you don't make time for your wellness you will make time for your illness",

In seventh grade Christopher went from middleclass to Living in his mom’s car with more than a dozen cats. On this episode he shares the moment he knew there were only 3 ways out for him - death, prison or make own choice. His story includes 2 suicide attempts and other bad choices. Now a Speaker-Author-Coach-Comedian, he’s called the ‘No Excuses Coach’ who (as he says) skips the self-help fluffy bullshit.