Walk With Me, Conversations With Real People

Journey with real people who have lived a life worth telling a story about. Hear their experiences and the wisdom they have gained from them.

Walk With Me, Conversations With Real People is a society podcast hosted by Stephanie Bloom, with 140 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Stephanie Bloom hosts Walk With Me, Conversations With Real People, a society show with 140 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #38

  When Success Still Feels Empty: Finding Your Way Back to Yourself | Ali Christos

  Sep 29, 202641 minS3

  What happens when you get the money, the recognition, the relationships, and the life you thought you wanted—and you still don’t feel whole? Ali Christos knows what it is like to build a life that looks successful from the outside while struggling deeply on the inside. In this vulnerable conversation, Ali shares his journey from childhood bullying and trauma to depression, a suicide attempt as a teenager, years of chasing external success, the breakdown of a 15-year marriage, and a serious accident that forced him to reevaluate what actually mattered. We explore what helped him begin finding his way back: forgiveness, yoga, meditation, music, serving others, allowing difficult emotions instead of constantly numbing them, and developing a deeper relationship with spirituality and his own inner life. Ali also shares how he eventually became a quantum hypnosis practitioner and discusses his beliefs about the Higher Self, QHHT, intuition, past-life experiences, manifestation, and consciousness. At the heart of this episode is a question many of us eventually face: Who are you when achievement, validation, money, relationships, and the image you’ve built can no longer tell you who you are? If you’ve ever looked at your life and thought, “I should be happy… so why don’t I feel that way?” this conversation is an invitation to look beneath the accomplishments and reconnect with the person underneath them. Content note: This episode includes discussion of childhood trauma, domestic violence, depression, suicidal thoughts and a past suicide attempt, self-harm, substance use, and other potentially difficult subjects. Discover more conversations at WalkWithMeConversations.com .

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  Episode #37

  When Anxiety Shows Up in the Body: You Are More Than a Diagnosis | Noah May

  Sep 22, 202643 minS3

  What happens when anxiety doesn’t feel like panic—but instead shows up as nausea, vomiting, weight loss, fear, and an increasing need to avoid everyday life? In this episode of Walk With Me — Conversations With Real People , Stephanie Bloom talks with journalist and podcaster Noah May about living with depression and anxiety from a young age, navigating grief, bullying, family challenges, and the physical toll mental health struggles can take on the body. Noah shares how music helped him feel less alone, how medication has supported him, and how his relationship with mental health has changed as he has grown older. Together, Stephanie and Noah also explore the importance of continuing to look for therapies, practices, supports, and lifestyle tools that may help someone move forward. At the heart of Noah’s story is a powerful reminder: mental health struggles may be part of your experience, but they do not have to become your entire identity. In this conversation: • Anxiety presenting through physical symptoms • Depression and suicidal ideation during adolescence • Grief and the loss of a loved one • Bullying and emotional isolation • Music as a source of connection and support • Medication and mental health management • Nutrition, digestive health, and the nervous system • Finding the right therapist and continuing to seek support • Releasing shame around mental health • Learning that a diagnosis does not define who you are Connect with Noah: NoahsPodcasts.com Explore more conversations, stories, and resources at WalkWithMeConversations.com . Content note: This episode includes discussion of depression, suicidal ideation, mental health crisis, and significant weight loss.

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  Episode #36

  When Your Spiritual Experience Doesn't Fit the Explanation with Michael Monk

  Sep 22, 202655 minS3

  What happens when your deepest experiences challenge everything you have been taught about identity, consciousness, God, and what it means to be human? In this episode of Walk With Me—Conversations With Real People , Stephanie speaks with Michael Monk, founder of the Avatar Energy Mastery Institute. Michael describes growing up as the black sheep of his family, struggling to find a stable identity, and eventually transforming the qualities that once made him feel like an outsider into a path of teaching and service. Michael shares his account of a profound spiritual awakening in 1999 and the years he spent exploring prayer, meditation, energy, consciousness, and what he understands as direct communication with God and the Holy Spirit. He also discusses leaving organized religion, questioning his own perceptions, developing practices intended to quiet the analytical mind, and learning to trust his spiritual experiences. Together, Stephanie and Michael explore the distinction between belief and personal knowing, the relationship between spirituality and the physical body, the importance of discernment, and the difficulties people may face when their experiences do not fit conventional explanations. The conversation also turns toward love, grief, and continuing bonds with those who have died. Michael offers his perspective that love forms an enduring connection between people—one that separation and death cannot erase. In this episode, you'll hear about: Growing up as an outsider and creating an authentic identity Moving from self-doubt toward confidence and purpose Michael's personal account of a life-changing spiritual awakening The difference between inherited belief and direct experience Prayer, meditation, intuition, and inner discernment Questioning spiritual experiences without immediately dismissing them Michael's understanding of energy mastery and consciousness Finding meaning and purpose through teaching others Love as a bridge through grief, separation, and loss Redefining success, retirement, and a life well lived Michael's experiences and spiritual interpretations are his own, but his story invites each of us to ask: What becomes possible when we approach the unknown with curiosity while remaining grounded in thoughtful discernment? Connect with Michael Monk Learn about the Avatar Energy Mastery Institute and the Metaphysical Church of the Tree of Life: MichaelMonk.bio Continue Walking With Us For more honest conversations about healing, resilience, transformation, and the many ways people find their way forward, visit WalkWithMeConversations.com . Listen, explore past episodes, and discover resources created to support your own healing journey. Walk With Me—Conversations With Real People: a space where stories unfold, perspectives shift, and hearts connect—one conversation at a time. To book a private session with me: https://calendly.com/stephanie-bloom5280 My favorite guests book through PodMatch: https://www.joinpodmatch.com/stephaniebloom We couldn't do it without the support of our listeners. To help support the show: CashApp- https://cash.app/$WalkWithMeSteph Venmo- https://venmo/StephanieBloom5280 Click here to purchase my book on Amazon Purchase the supplements you already use at a discount here: https://us.fullscript.com/welcome/roottobloom

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  Episode #35

  Silence Was My First Language: Breaking Cycles, Choosing Recovery & Reclaiming Your Story with Rich Dunning

  Sep 15, 202646 minS3

  What happens when the survival skills that protected you as a child begin to destroy your life as an adult? In this deeply personal episode of Walk With Me Conversations , Stephanie sits down with author Rich Dunning , whose memoir, Silence Was My First Language , tells the story of a childhood shaped by poverty, instability, addiction, abuse, homelessness, and one overriding rule: stay silent. Rich shares how those early survival patterns followed him into adulthood. Despite building a successful career and becoming a husband and father, unresolved trauma remained beneath the surface, eventually contributing to severe alcoholism and the unraveling of the life he had worked so hard to create. This conversation isn't only about what happened to Rich. It's about what he chose to do next. Rich opens up about sobriety, Alcoholics Anonymous, learning healthier ways to cope, rebuilding trust, accepting responsibility for the pain he caused, and discovering that our past can explain our patterns without giving us permission to continue them. Together, Stephanie and Rich explore what it means to recognize the patterns we've inherited, consciously interrupt them, and choose how we spend our time and attention moving forward. In This Conversation You'll hear about: Why silence became a survival strategy during Rich's childhood How unresolved childhood trauma can follow us into adulthood Addiction, rock bottom, and the decision to finally ask for help The role AA played in Rich's recovery Accountability versus using our past as an excuse Rebuilding trust and relationships after addiction Reparenting yourself and developing healthier coping skills Why breaking generational cycles requires both awareness and action Turning personal pain into purpose and service Why Rich wrote Silence Was My First Language His hope that sharing his story helps someone else recognize that it is never too late to change Rich describes the book as something that eventually became bigger than his own healing—a way for another person struggling with trauma, addiction, or destructive patterns to see that change is still possible and that asking for help can be the beginning of a completely different life. About Rich Dunning Rich Dunning is the author of Silence Was My First Language , a memoir about survival, addiction, accountability, and the long journey of confronting the truth after a childhood spent learning to remain silent. Rich and his wife are also behind The First Language Foundation , an initiative focused on helping vulnerable children facing circumstances including homelessness, addiction, abuse, and exploitation. Rich shared that he is committed to donating $1 from every book he sells to support the foundation's work. His message to anyone who believes they've gone too far, lost too much, or made too many mistakes is simple: your story isn't over. You can take responsibility, change direction, rebuild, recover, and find purpose. Connect With Rich Rich Dunning / Silence Was My First Language : Visit Rich Dunning Books Connect with Rich on LinkedIn: Rich Dunning on LinkedIn Learn about The First Language Foundation: The First Language Foundation Contact Rich: richdunningbooks@gmail.com Continue Walking With Me If this conversation brought something to the surface for you—a pattern you're ready to examine, a story you're ready to rewrite, or a part of yourself you're ready to understand more deeply—don't stop here. Explore more conversations, resources, Stephanie's book, My Full Script Link , the Walk With Me Conversations podcast , and the Root To Bloom Practice at: WalkWithMeConversations.com Your roots are part of your story. They don't have to determine where you bloom next. Listen. Reflect. Take action. And keep walking. Content note: This episode includes discussion of childhood abuse and trauma, addiction, alcoholism, homelessness, suicidal crisis, and recovery. To book a private session with me: https://calendly.com/stephanie-bloom5280 My favorite guests book through PodMatch: https://www.joinpodmatch.com/stephaniebloom We couldn't do it without the support of our listeners. To help support the show: CashApp- https://cash.app/$WalkWithMeSteph Venmo- https://venmo/StephanieBloom5280 Click here to purchase my book on Amazon Purchase the supplements you already use at a discount here: https://us.fullscript.com/welcome/roottobloom

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  Episode #34

  Dyslexia Isn't a Lack of Intelligence: How to Help Bright Kids Read and Write with Russell Van Brocklen

  Sep 8, 20261h 2mS3

  When a Brilliant Child Can't Get Their Ideas Onto the Page What if a child who struggles to read or write isn't lazy, unintelligent, or incapable—but has simply never been taught in a way their brain can use? In this episode of Walk With Me: Conversations With Real People , Stephanie speaks with dyslexia researcher and educator Russell Van Brocklen, whose own painful educational journey became the foundation for more than 20 years of work with dyslexic students, parents, and teachers. Although Russell's intelligence tested in the 96th percentile, he spent much of his early education reading and writing at a first-grade level. He was placed in special education, excluded from opportunities, and repeatedly underestimated. After a successful state government internship was unfairly recorded as a failing grade, Russell decided to confront the very thing that had limited him: reading and writing. He entered law school and began discovering how differently his dyslexic brain processed and organized information. That experience eventually led him to develop an instructional approach designed to help students translate their ideas into sentences, paragraphs, essays, and advanced academic work. Russell explains why many dyslexic learners may understand specific details before they can grasp the larger concept, why a child's strongest interests can become powerful learning tools, and why writing can help bring structure to thoughts that otherwise seem to move too quickly to capture. Together, Stephanie and Russell also discuss the emotional cost of being underestimated, the determination required to challenge established systems, and the importance of recognizing intelligence that traditional education may fail to measure. In This Episode, You'll Hear About Russell's experience growing up with severe dyslexia while possessing high intelligence The emotional consequences of being mislabeled or underestimated How he completed college despite reading and writing at an elementary-school level The government internship that changed the direction of his life Why he deliberately entered law school to confront his limitations How dyslexic learners may process information from the specific to the general The importance of beginning with subjects that genuinely interest a child How writing can be used to organize ideas and strengthen reading skills Why parents can play an important role in supporting dyslexic children Russell's approach to moving students from sentences to advanced academic writing How foundational research and writing skills can prepare students to use AI as a tool without surrendering their own critical thinking What becomes possible when children are taught in a way that works with their brains About Russell Van Brocklen Russell Van Brocklen is a dyslexia researcher, educator, and the creator of The Writing Method. His original dyslexia research program received funding from the New York State Senate. Russell has worked with hundreds of students and trained hundreds of teachers in techniques intended to help dyslexic learners strengthen their reading and writing skills. His work focuses on helping parents and educators recognize the intelligence behind a child's struggles and give that intelligence a clearer path onto the page. Connect With Russell Website: DyslexiaClasses.com Contact Russell: Dyslexia Classes Contact Page Email: dyslexiaclasses1@gmail.com Parent programs and one-on-one support: Explore Dyslexia Classes Continue Walking With Me If this conversation encouraged you, share it with a parent, teacher, or caregiver who needs to hear that struggling on paper does not mean a child lacks intelligence or potential. Discover more honest conversations about healing, resilience, personal transformation, and doing what once seemed impossible at WalkWithMeConversations.com . Subscribe to Walk With Me: Conversations With Real People on your favorite podcast platform so you don't miss the next story. To book a private session with me: https://calendly.com/stephanie-bloom5280 My favorite guests book through PodMatch: https://www.joinpodmatch.com/stephaniebloom We couldn't do it without the support of our listeners. To help support the show: CashApp- https://cash.app/$WalkWithMeSteph Venmo- https://venmo/StephanieBloom5280 Click here to purchase my book on Amazon Purchase the supplements you already use at a discount here: https://us.fullscript.com/welcome/roottobloom

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