Send us a text

Some moments split a life into before and after. When Matt was eight, a phone call about his mum’s fatal motorcycle accident shattered the version of childhood where safety felt assumed. What followed was a quiet agreement many of us make without words. To be perfect, pleasing and fine so no one else leaves. Years later, a high school essay cracked open the grief he’d pushed down, hinting that telling the story might be a way through rather than a way back.

We go deep into what came next. His grandmother who moved close and became a mother figure, the kind of unwavering presence that re-teaches nurture. When cancer came for her, Matt chose a different path than the one grief taught him at eight. He had the hard conversation while there was still time, saying everything that so often gets saved for eulogies. He stayed by her side for the final 96 hours, present for her last breath and found a devastatingly beautiful truth. That love can be most powerful in the moments we’d rather avoid.

The conversation broadens to pet loss and the myth that these goodbyes are somehow lesser. Matt shares how losing his dog Mikey upended his confidence as a “grief pro,” forcing him to confront guilt, timing and the silent calculus of mercy. Together we unpack why every grief writes its own map, why comparison steals compassion and why men must be allowed to name feelings without shame. Threaded through it all is the power of storytelling, when people voice the messy parts, isolation breaks and healing starts in the echoes we recognise.

If you found strength or comfort here, follow and subscribe, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a five-star review so more Everyday Warriors can find their way to these stories. Then tell us: what truth do you still need to say while there’s time?

Check out the Life Shift Podcast here

Connect with Matt on Instagram here or LinkedIn here

Support the show

Thanks for listening in!

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

Support the Podcast - Buy me a Coffee

Buy my Book here

Apply to be a guest here

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

Disclaimer: The views, opinions, and stories shared on this podcast are personal to the host and guests and are not intended to serve as professional advice or guidance. They reflect individual experiences and perspectives. While we strive to provide valuable insights and support, listeners are encouraged to seek professional advice for their specific situations. The host and production team are not responsible for any actions taken based on the content of this podcast.

Send us a text

What if the hardest years of your life became the foundation for your boldest work? We sit down with Rhiannon, a single mum, artist and survivor who turned bipolar type 2 and C-PTSD into a creative engine, building a 1700 m² exhibition that celebrates women’s stories of struggle and strength. This is a fearless conversation about poverty, stigma, trauma and the radical power of art to connect people who feel alone.

We start at the beginning: moving homes, living in a shed and learning that time, love and presence outrank possessions. From there, the path zigs from Uni and fundraising for Kenya to then stripping to survive as mental health faltered. A sexual assault and a mother’s blunt wisdom become a pivot toward Rhiannon seeking help. Diagnosis brings context to a decade of chaos, where medication reframes fear into function viewing it as “glasses for the brain.” The highs and lows don’t vanish, but they get easier to manage. And in a rare twist, our guest learns to love how her mind works, using risk and intensity as strengths.

Art enters quietly and grows loud. First as therapy with calm hands, and steady breath, it becomes a private refuge. Then as purpose, portraits that act like mirrors for strangers. "If She Spoke, Stories from Struggle to Strength" fills a pavillion at the Brisbane Showgrounds with 30 monumental portraits and more than 180 unedited stories covering DV, grief, mental illness and survival. The scale is the point, as ordinary women rendered to museum size, their lives impossible to overlook. Built mostly solo, with a handful of sponsors, Rhiannon's show is community in action, witnessing pain, honouring resilience and reminding each visitor they’re not alone.

If you’re searching for language to name your own journey, or a place to feel seen, this one’s for you. Press play, share it with someone who needs a lift, and leave a review so more people can find these stories. Subscribe for future conversations and updates on the exhibition’s next steps, your support helps this movement grow.

Connect with Rhiannon on Instagram here

Connect with Rhainnon on Facebook here

Support the show

Thanks for listening in!

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

Support the Podcast - Buy me a Coffee

Buy my Book here

Apply to be a guest here

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

Disclaimer: The views, opinions, and stories shared on this podcast are personal to the host and guests and are not intended to serve as professional advice or guidance. They reflect individual experiences and perspectives. While we strive to provide valuable insights and support, listeners are encouraged to seek professional advice for their specific situations. The host and production team are not responsible for any actions taken based on the content of this podcast.

Send us a text

Some stories start with a roadmap. Ours begins on the side of a highway, smoke from a sliced radiator curling into the night while Dayelene and her son lie on a picnic rug, laughing at the chaos and choosing to keep moving.

From Airlie Beach’s endless summer to Victoria’s four seasons in a day, this is a candid journey through starting over, co‑parenting after domestic violence and learning how to let go of identities that no longer fit.

Dayelene is a single mum who rebuilt life twice, first for safety, then for alignment. She opens up about the hidden cost of coercive control, the slow burn of CPTSD and what it took to find grounding when anxiety kept hunting for the next storm. We talk safety planning and court hurdles, the sting of rental shortages, sneaking a beloved dog into motels on a state-spanning drive and the moment she realised that “old ways don’t open new doors.”

There’s no gloss here, just the real, repetitive work of recovery and the honest truth that relapse and repair can live in the same week. The conversation leans into practical tools including EMDR and therapy, daily systems that respect limited capacity, ten-minute walks that restart the day, food that steadies the mind and hobbies that reignite confidence. We unpack how to stop replicating yesterday’s life in today’s context, how to choose connection over isolation and how to teach kids resilience by letting them see you break and rise.

We also share what’s next for Dayelene, finishing a body–mind practitioner qualification, stepping fully into trauma‑informed coaching and launching a free community event in Geelong with breath work, meditation and open‑armed connection.

If you’ve ever felt stuck between survival and growth, this episode offers hope you can hold and steps you can actually take. Subscribe, share with someone who needs a steady voice, and leave a review to help more Everyday Warriors find their way back to themselves.

Connect with Daylene on Instagram here

Support the show

Thanks for listening in!

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

Support the Podcast - Buy me a Coffee

Buy my Book here

Apply to be a guest here

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

Disclaimer: The views, opinions, and stories shared on this podcast are personal to the host and guests and are not intended to serve as professional advice or guidance. They reflect individual experiences and perspectives. While we strive to provide valuable insights and support, listeners are encouraged to seek professional advice for their specific situations. The host and production team are not responsible for any actions taken based on the content of this podcast.