Story Sessions™: Where Your Story Matters

Story Sessions™: Where Your Story Matters is a podcast centered on lived experience and meaningful conversation. Previously published as In the Margins , the show now lives under the Story Sessions™ name—reflecting a clearer focus on intentional storytelling, personal insight, and the human experience beneath the surface. Each episode invites listeners into thoughtful dialogue where stories are honored, explored, and held with care.

Story Sessions™: Where Your Story Matters is a society podcast hosted by Laura Lyn Donahue, with 40 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Laura Lyn Donahue hosts Story Sessions™: Where Your Story Matters, a society show with 40 episodes published.

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  Story Sessions™: Where Your Story Matters

  Encore Episode: She Chose to Go Back

  Jul 29, 202650 minS2

  Encore Episode: She Chose to Go Back Part two of my conversation with Tiffany Baker Larnicol picks up where part one left off, and it is the harder half of the story. Tiffany talks about choosing to go back to a place most people spend their whole lives trying to leave, and what home actually means once you have seen what she has seen. In this episode, Tiffany walks through what it was like living in Dubai when the missile and drone strikes began this year, the night she and her husband decided to evacuate with two hours' notice, crossing the Oman border alone as an American woman, and the decision that brought her back to Dubai on her own, weeks later, to stay. Guest — Tiffany Baker Larnicol: Instagram: @tiffanybakerlarnicol Timestamps: 00:01 Why we're revisiting this conversation 01:13 Welcome to StorySessions 01:29 Why Dubai, and what surprised her most 10:09 Fast forward to February 28th 12:11 The first alert: "take shelter" 16:10 Evacuating her husband's team from Saudi 17:38 Trying and failing to reach the State Department 20:18 Her birthday, and the sound of her husband's voice 22:36 The drone that wasn't intercepted 23:52 "That's it, we're leaving" 24:16 Two hours to pack "like you're never coming back" 28:30 Crossing the Oman border alone 32:13 Five weeks in Paris, then choosing to go back 35:02 "This is not how the story's gonna end" 41:45 What she has learned about the people around her 45:05 The biggest lesson: "just be present and listen" 47:13 What's next If this conversation moves you, share it. That is how StorySessions, the Podcast grows. Listen and follow StorySessions™, the Podcast: www.storysession.live/podcast www.storysessionsthepodcast.riverside.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@StorySessionsthePodcast Social: @storysessionsthepodcast My book, Who Do You Think You Are? Direct from the publisher: https://books.by/w-brand-publishing#who-do-you-think-you-are Amazon: https://a.co/d/0etzONCV Follow me: @lauralynauthor

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  Story Sessions™: Where Your Story Matters

  Encore Episode: The Other Side of the Mirror

  Jul 22, 202618 minS2

  This episode is a deeply personal reflection on one woman’s experience witnessing her daughter’s wedding dress journey, and how it illuminated her own transitions, mortality, and growth. It’s a raw, honest look at how we change as we watch others step into new chapters of life—and how those moments shape us for the future. In this episode: The emotional power of shopping for a wedding dress and the symbolism of generational heritage The moment of realization, watching her daughter try on dresses, and seeing herself in her The transformation from bride to mother of the bride and the shift in identity Reflections on mortality, approaching 57, and the fleeting nature of time The significance of doors opening and closing in life’s ongoing stories How watching loved ones change can help us define who we are going forward The importance of sharing your own stories and reflections to foster connection and growth Timestamps: 00:00 - Opening and personal context of the episode 01:25 - The significance of sharing stories and life lessons 02:11 - A trip to Florida to help find her daughter’s wedding dress 03:52 - Exploring generational heirlooms and nostalgia in wedding dresses 04:40 - The emotional experience in the dress shops and expressing self 05:34 - Watching her daughter in the wedding dress, feeling her transformation 06:47 - The mirror moment and recognizing her own past as a bride 08:14 - Transitioning from the bride to the mother of the bride 09:05 - Contemplating mortality and the passing of time 10:34 - Facing the reality of aging and new roles 11:18 - The metaphor of doors opening and closing in life 12:21 - Reflecting on witnessing loved ones begin new chapters 13:53 - How stories evolve and our lives are forever intertwined with change 14:49 - Inviting listeners to reflect on their own transformational moments 15:34 - An open call for stories and reflections from the audience 16:51 - Expressing gratitude and encouraging sharing and community 17:21 - Final encouragement: Your story matters Resources & Links: StorySessions.live — Join the community and explore more episodes Book: Who Do You Think You Are? by Laura Lyn Donahue — Dive deeper into the themes of identity and transformation Connect with Laura Lyn Donahue: LinkedIn Twitter Remember: Your story isn’t finished. Every chapter, every shift, every farewell and new beginning shapes who we are meant to become. Share your story—because it matters.

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  Episode #15

  What Happens If Your Story Is Never Told? — with JuLee Brand

  Jul 1, 20261 hourS2

  JuLee Brand has spent three decades helping people find their voice--first through graphic design and television, then as the founder of W. Brand Publishing, and now through StorySessions Live. In this conversation, Laura Lyn sits down with her longtime friend and publisher to talk about the difference between traditional, hybrid, and independent publishing, why JuLee built a company around the conviction that stories deserve to exist, and the deeply personal loss that inspired StorySessions Live, a conversation-based way to capture stories for people who don't think of themselves as writers. They talk about accessibility, memory care, veterans who never told their stories, and what it really means to listen. Because as JuLee says, "stories matter" isn't just a tagline, it's the whole mission. Connect with JuLee Brand: W Brand Publishing: wbrandpublishing.com StorySessions Live: storysessions.live StorySessions Live podcast page: storysessions.live/podcast W Brand Publishing social: @wbrandpub StorySessions Live social: @storysessions_live

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  Episode #14

  She Chose to Go Back: Tiffany Baker Larnicol on War, Witness, and What Home Really Means — Part 2

  Jun 23, 202654 minS2

  In Part 2 of my conversation with lifelong friend Tiffany Baker Larnicol, we pick up where the world got complicated. After nearly a decade of calling Dubai home, a city she once said she would never live in, Tiffany found herself in the middle of a regional conflict she couldn't fully process in real time. Nightly missile alerts. Rattling windows. A drone passing her apartment window in broad daylight on her birthday. And a husband telling her she had two hours to pack like she was never coming back. But this isn't just a story about leaving. It's about what happened when she got angry enough to return. Tiffany shares what it felt like to be an American in a war zone with no clear lifeline from her own government, to drive through the oldest Emirate in silence wondering what comes next, and to cross the border into Oman with a US passport and a bag full of medication during Ramadan. And then, five weeks later, to choose to fly back alone. This episode holds grief, clarity, cultural humility, and one of the most honest reflections on humanity, belonging, and what it means to stay that I've ever been part of. 00:00 — Welcome back: picking up the story in Dubai 00:16 — From Paris to the Middle East: why Dubai after the ISIS attacks 01:39 — Life under the National Guard in Paris: the weight of constant surveillance 02:26 — The unexpected move: Airbus, the Middle East, and a counterintuitive decision 03:34 — Arriving in Dubai: first impressions, culture shock, and adjusting to the heat 05:33 — Nine years in: how her understanding of the region deepened 09:16 — The Islamic Jesus and the surprising similarities she discovered 12:51 — What studying history can teach us about why things are the way they are 14:01 — "A sticky moment in history": February 28th and the first alerts 16:40 — What "take shelter" means when you've never expected to need it 17:31 — Her husband's calm — and why he knew the interception system would hold 18:27 — Nightly alerts, the airport under fire, and the US government's silence 21:44 — Trying to reach the State Department for a week 24:00 — Her birthday. A drone. A ball of fire. And the decision to leave. 27:35 — Two hours to pack like you're never coming back 29:20 — The drive through Alain and Oman: COVID in a war zone 32:16 — The Oman border crossing: a US passport, a white dress, and "woman medicine" 35:34 — Paris. Five weeks. And then anger. 36:30 — Why she chose to return alone 39:00 — The discomfort of having privilege enough to leave 44:06 — What she's learned from workers across 200 nationalities living side by side 48:10 — Just be present. Just listen. Just be an open heart. 50:18 — The photo of the Strait of Hormuz and the beauty beneath the conflict 51:57 — Closing reflection: stories that recalibrate us @storysessionspodcast @lauralyn_author @tiffanybakerlarnicol @wbrandpub @storysessions_live

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  Episode #13

  Tiffany Baker Larnicol: An Unscripted Life, Beautifully Lived — Part 1

  Jun 16, 202650 minS2

  Some friendships begin before we're old enough to remember, and those are often the ones that carry the most truth. This week, I'm joined by my lifelong friend Tiffany Baker Larnicol, known to those who've loved her longest as Tiffy, for a rich, wide-ranging conversation about a life fully and bravely lived. Tiffy grew up alongside me in Nashville, and from those early days together — including a Nashville Magazine cover with Santa in 1974 — she went on to build a remarkable career in international modeling, living and working in Japan, Europe, and now Dubai. In Part 1 of our two-part conversation, Tiffy shares what it was like to leave the comfort of a "boutique" Nashville for the precision and beauty of Japanese culture, the early lessons that shaped her career, and how, looking back now, she recognizes just how protected she was during an era when so many young women were not. We also talk about finding your voice, the freedom that comes with age and experience, and how living across cultures reshapes who you are. This one is personal, warm, and full of wisdom. I think you'll love her as much as I do. Part 2 drops next week. Tiffany: @tiffanybakerlarnicol Follow StorySessions at www.storysessionspodcast.riverside.com KEY WORDS: StorySessions , memoir , women's stories , international living , modeling , Japan , Paris , Dubai , Gen X women , finding your voice , friendship , human trafficking awareness , cultural immersion , Laura Lyn Donahue , Tiffany Baker Larnicol

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