The Author Within

Vicky Truong
  • 5.0 (5)
  • Self-Improvement

The Author Within is a podcast about what it means to consciously create your life and become the person capable of living it. Hosted by Dr. Vicky Truong, a therapist, researcher, legal professional, and lifelong student of human behavior, the show explores the forces that shape who we become in relationships, creativity, adversity, leadership, identity, and the choices we make when the life we've built no longer fits. Through thoughtful conversations with people from different disciplines, careers, and walks of life, The Author Within looks at how people reinvent themselves, develop mastery, navigate adversity, and create meaningful lives on their own terms.

Episodes

  1. 3d ago

    Stormie Cueto - What Your Voice Reveals About What You're Holding Back

    What does your voice reveal about what you're holding back? Vicky Truong sits down with her close friend Stormie, a vocal coach, psychic medium, tarot reader, and intimacy coordinator, to explore how intuition, self-trust, and the voice are connected. Stormie shares what she hears in the way people speak and sing, why emotional abuse so often starts by attacking a person's intuition, and what it takes to make children and adults feel safe enough to perform, create, and be seen. Resources & References Covenant of the Full Moon: Stormie's show, part of her residency on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA Amy Winehouse documentary: Stormie's recommendation for any parent who is hard on their kids Vibe Performing Arts Studios (Santa Clarita, CA): where Stormie began teaching and vocal coaching Key Takeaways Confirm your intuition before you dissect it. Intuition starts with simply acknowledging the things you feel. You don't need an audience or a technique, just the willingness to notice and trust.Abuse goes after intuition first. Emotional and mental abuse teaches you to doubt yourself ("I'm overthinking," "others have it worse"). When your internal security system is down, anything else can be done to you.Your voice tells a story. Projection, perfectionism, and overthinking show up in how you speak and sing. Saying "I am a singer" out loud helps your brain take what you do seriously.Set people up to succeed. Prepare them for new environments, tailor the lesson to the person, and use the compliment sandwich. Talent blooms where people feel safe enough to be vulnerable.Spirituality is a relationship with yourself. It doesn't compete with science. Go outside, breathe, and ask yourself, "How do I actually feel right now?" About the Guest Stormie Cueto is a vocal coach, psychic medium, tarot reader, and intimacy coordinator based in Southern California. A third-generation reader who grew up in the stunt and entertainment industry, she has been coaching singers since age 19 and hosts Covenant of the Full Moon on the Queen Mary. On film and commercial sets, she works in intimacy coordination and child safety. Connect with Stormie Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vocalcoachstormiecueto/If this conversation resonated, leave a five-star review and subscribe to The Author Within Podcast. New episodes explore transformation through creativity, conscious leadership, relationships, and purpose.

    Stormie Cueto - What Your Voice Reveals About What You're Holding Back

  2. Oct 27

    Daniel Jimenez - You Can’t Pour From an Empty Tank: Self-Care for Givers

    What does it take to build a business that serves people and doesn’t drain you? Vicky sits down with Daniel, an engineer turned pastor turned nutrition entrepreneur. Daniel and his wife, Flor, mentor immigrant families into business ownership. He shares why they tell every new owner to expect three to five years, why self-care comes before service, and why “the hard part is making the decision.” Key Takeaways Start with the need, not the sale. Ask questions, find out what people need, and the “how” follows.Plan for the long game. Healthy businesses and habits are projects for life. Expect three to five years before you see the full results.Put your own oxygen mask on first. You can’t give what you don’t have. Make your health a daily decision, not a question of whether you’ll do it.Learn one thing, then practice it. Most people stall by learning without applying. Practice what works for you.It’s okay to say “I don’t know.” Whether it’s a new language or a new business, willingness to ask is how you grow.About the Guest Daniel Jimenez was born in Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico, and holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. He moved to the U.S. in 1990 and worked in restaurants, electronics manufacturing, and environmental engineering. He later earned a master’s in divinity and theology and served as an associate pastor in Santa Ana. With his wife, Flor, he started a nutrition business in 2004 and developed Families Helping Families, which trains and mentors aspiring entrepreneurs. He is also a triathlete. If this conversation resonated, please leave a five-star review and share your thoughts in the comments. It helps more people find the show. As you move through your week, ask yourself: what’s one thing you can shift in the way you create, relate to others, or move through the world that brings you closer to the life you’re creating?

    Daniel Jimenez - You Can’t Pour From an Empty Tank: Self-Care for Givers

  3. Oct 22

    Christopher Rios Berrios, LMFT, The Roommate Effect: Rebuilding Intimacy in Long Relationships

    What if the problem in your relationship isn’t the sex, but the shame, silence, and pressure around it? Vicky Truong sits down with her longtime friend and fellow therapist Chris, a licensed marriage and family therapist working toward sex therapy certification. They talk about why couples struggle to say what they want, how minority stress builds up like a thousand paper cuts, and why choosing to stay curious may be the most important intimacy skill there is. Resources and References: PLISSIT model: a framework Chris uses to gauge comfort and ask permission before more intimate questionsAASECT: the sex therapy certification body Chris is working toward (he is currently completing supervision hours) Key Takeaways Minority stress: the cumulative effect of everyday microaggressions and discriminationNarrative therapy and externalization: used alongside humor in sessionsLead with curiosity. Ask your partner about their education around sex, their family messages, their spirituality, and their politics before you try to fix anything.Affairs rarely come from nowhere. Underneath the behavior there is usually built-up resentment, rejection, or unspoken needs.Survival isn’t inauthentic. Strategies you learned to stay safe are part of who you are, and naming that can lift a lot of self-blame.Drop the goal-driven script. Check in, give feedback, and keep consent open, and sex gets more connected and less anxious. Chris is a licensed marriage and family therapist, former adjunct professor, husband, brother, son, friend, and proud Puerto Rican. His work focuses on couples, sexual health, self-identity, minority stress, depression, anxiety, and relational distress. He is currently working toward sex therapy certification. Connect with Chris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-rios-33697863 https://talktherapycenter.net/staff/christopher-rios-berrios-lmft/ If this conversation resonated, leave a five-star review and subscribe to The Author Within Podcast. New episodes explore transformation through creativity, conscious leadership, relationships, and purpose.

    Christopher Rios Berrios, LMFT, The Roommate Effect: Rebuilding Intimacy in Long Relationships

  4. Oct 2

    Erin Steele, LMFT - The Impact of Uncoupling with Grace, Maturity, and Compassion

    Breakups and divorces often pull us back into the oldest beliefs we hold about ourselves, like "I don't matter" or "I'm not lovable." In this episode, Vicky Truong talks with marriage and family therapist and newly certified conscious uncoupling coach Erin Steele about how to separate with awareness instead of reacting from our youngest, most wounded parts. Erin shares her own story, the five stages of the conscious uncoupling process, and why healing after a rupture works better in community than alone. Erin Steele's website: erinsteeletherapy.com, with a link to her coaching site What's True About You by Katherine Woodward Thomas Conscious Uncoupling and Calling in "The One" by Katherine Woodward Thomas The Absent Father Effect on Daughters by Susan Schwartz The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron Modalities mentioned: narrative therapy, Internal Family Systems (IFS), EMDR Tonglen meditation (a practice Katherine Woodward Thomas encourages) Heartbreak Club (working name): a planned virtual group for women, limited to six to eight participants, launching next year Notice which part of you is reacting. In a breakup, our younger, wounded parts often take over. Practice returning to your "wise adult self" before you respond. Name your source fracture story. The original wound (for example, "I do not matter") shapes how we see ourselves, others, and life. Naming it loosens its grip. Flip the script with a power statement. Turn the old belief into a daily mantra, such as "I do matter," and repeat it morning, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Ask "What's my 3%?" without self-blame. Look at what you tolerated or overlooked, with accountability and compassion rather than shame. Shrink the timeline. Grief doesn't follow a deadline. Ask "Who do I want to be tomorrow?" or "What does she need before five o'clock today?" Erin Steele is a California-licensed marriage and family therapist and a newly certified conscious uncoupling coach. She works primarily with women navigating relationship struggles, heartbreak, grief, job stress, and major life transitions. Her therapy work integrates narrative therapy, Internal Family Systems, and EMDR. She is developing the Heartbreak Club, a group program based on the five steps of conscious uncoupling. To work with Erin, visit erinsteeletherapy.com, where you'll also find a link to her coaching practice. If this conversation resonated, leave a five-star review and subscribe to The Author Within Podcast. New episodes explore transformation through creativity, conscious leadership, relationships, and purpose. Resources & ReferencesKey TakeawaysAbout the Guest

    Erin Steele, LMFT - The Impact of Uncoupling with Grace, Maturity, and Compassion

  5. Aug 28

    Ottis Johnson - How Do We Create Identity Beyond Society's Labels of Us?

    At 84, Ottis has lived through segregation-era South Carolina, the Vietnam War, addiction, and incarceration, and emerged as one of the most joyful people you'll ever meet. In this conversation, he shares how choosing happiness, radical self-acceptance, and service to others rebuilt his life from the ground up, and what he's learned helping other families do the same. Key Takeaways Trust is a gift, not something earned.  You choose to extend it, while boundaries protect you within that choice. "Nothing changes if nothing changes." Real transformation requires changing your environment, your inner dialogue, and who you surround yourself with, not just your mindset. Happiness is a daily choice, independent of circumstances, sustained by a consistent gratitude practice. Service heals both directions. Helping others, especially for men taught to equate worth with productivity, rebuilds self-worth and breaks isolation. Family change starts with the individual. You can't control or fix other people; you can only change how you show up. Guest Bio Ottis is a coach, motivational speaker, and counselor with over 40 years of experience helping people build meaningful, purpose-driven lives. A Vietnam-era Air Force veteran who overcame addiction and incarceration, he now works with individuals and families navigating recovery, self-worth, and transformation, drawing on his own journey of radical self-acceptance and service to others. Connect with Ottis: otislovesyou@yahoo.com If this conversation resonated with you, leave a five-star review and share your thoughts in the comments,  it helps more people discover The Author Within and join the community.

    Ottis Johnson - How Do We Create Identity Beyond Society's Labels of Us?

  6. Aug 20

    Steve Sasaki - How Do We Learn to Trust the Creative Process?

    Steve spent over 20 years as a one-person traffic engineering firm while secretly discovering he could write. In this episode, host Dr. Vicky Truong talks with Steve about his winding path from broadcasting school to screenwriting classes to finally getting his short film, The Camera, a fictional story inspired by his mother's experience in a Japanese-American internment camp during WWII. Along the way: three years of grant rejections, a hard lesson from martial arts about relaxing into power, and what it means to create without needing anyone's approval. Key Takeaways - Steve realized he was in the wrong field only after seeing genuine passion in colleagues who loved their work. - Three consecutive years of grant rejections eventually led to funding on the third try. - Despite glowing feedback on an acting role, Steve chose to keep pursuing writing because it was the thing he couldn't walk away from. - Steve reflects that if his earlier screenplays had succeeded, he might never have written his most meaningful story. - A martial arts lesson in using internal energy over muscle taught him a principle he later applied to creative problem-solving. Guest Bio Steve grew up in the Chicago suburbs, moved to California after earning a civil engineering degree, and spent over 20 years running his own traffic engineering firm. Alongside that career, he trained as an on-air radio broadcaster in Los Angeles, appeared as a supporting actor in a feature film, and eventually turned to screenwriting. His short film, The Camera, inspired by his mother's experience in a WWII Japanese-American incarceration camp, is now headed to film festivals. He lives in Laguna Beach with his wife and two sons. Connect with Steve: www.mariwwalker.com If this conversation resonated, leave a five-star review and subscribe to The Author Within Podcast. New episodes explore transformation through creativity, conscious leadership, relationships, and purpose.

    Steve Sasaki - How Do We Learn to Trust the Creative Process?

  7. Aug 20

    Nhu Truong, LMFT - How Can We See Friendship As an Art?

    In the debut episode of The Author Within, host Dr. Vicky Truong sits down with her close friend and fellow therapist, Nhu Truong, to explore a relationship that rarely gets therapeutic attention: friendship. They dig into narrative therapy, why friendship deserves the same depth of conversation as romance, and how presence, curiosity, and honest disappointment shape the friendships that last. Key Takeaways - Friendship deserves the same intentional, therapeutic attention typically reserved for romantic and family relationships. - Curiosity, staying interested in who your friend is now, not just who they were, is the antidote to friendship stagnation. - Being explicit about what you can and can't offer a friendship (time, presence, frequency) builds more trust than trying to meet every expectation. - Disappointment is inevitable in long-term relationships; how you sit with it, rather than avoiding it or cutting someone off, determines whether the friendship survives. - Presence often matters more than advice: "we don't want to be taught, we just want to be seen." Guest Bio Nhu Truong is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist based in Orange County, California, who recently transitioned to full-time private practice. With eight years of clinical experience, including community mental health work with teens and young adults, and training in narrative therapy at Pepperdine University, she now offers friendship therapy alongside more traditional individual work. Connect with Nhu: https://www.nhutruongtherapy.com/ If this conversation resonated, leave a five-star review and subscribe to The Author Within Podcast. New episodes explore transformation through creativity, conscious leadership, relationships, and purpose. Connect with me: https://drvickytruong.com/ Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drvickytruong/

    Nhu Truong, LMFT - How Can We See Friendship As an Art?

  8. Aug 20

    Mitch Brantley - How Does the Way We Lead Ourselves Shape How We Lead Others?

    Dr. Vicky Truong sits down with Mitch, her friend of 15 years, a 40-year husband, father, grandfather, triathlete, and 30+ year CPG industry veteran, for a wide-ranging conversation on staying centered in a chaotic world. They dig into the five unconscious beliefs that once ran his life, how he learned to talk honestly with his wife about money and fear, and what it really means to lead, sell, and love from a place of service rather than ego. Key Takeaways Identify your unconscious limiting beliefs before you can change the behavior they're driving - Mitch names five that shaped decades of his life. A consistent morning routine (reading, writing, prayer, meditation, breath work) can act as "armor" for how you show up in a chaotic day. Money and fear go unspoken in a lot of relationships - naming them out loud, even awkwardly, can dissolve most of the pressure around them. In both relationships and business, ask "is this about me, or about serving the greater good?", it reframes decisions from leadership to sales. Progress doesn't require having it all figured out - faith plus consistent, disciplined action compounds over time. Guest Bio Mitch has spent over 30 years in the CPG beverage, snack, and nutrition space, working across startups, Fortune 100 companies, and family-owned businesses, including as company president. He's a husband of 40 years, father, grandfather, and triathlete. Connect with Mitch: Mitchell.Brantleyiii@gmail.com If this conversation resonated, leave a five-star review and subscribe to The Author Within Podcast. New episodes explore transformation through creativity, conscious leadership, relationships, and purpose.

    Mitch Brantley - How Does the Way We Lead Ourselves Shape How We Lead Others?
  • 8 Episodes

5
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

The Author Within is a podcast about what it means to consciously create your life and become the person capable of living it. Hosted by Dr. Vicky Truong, a therapist, researcher, legal professional, and lifelong student of human behavior, the show explores the forces that shape who we become in relationships, creativity, adversity, leadership, identity, and the choices we make when the life we've built no longer fits. Through thoughtful conversations with people from different disciplines, careers, and walks of life, The Author Within looks at how people reinvent themselves, develop mastery, navigate adversity, and create meaningful lives on their own terms.

Information

  • Creator
    Vicky Truong
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    8
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Vicky Truong
  • Show Website
    The Author Within