Rising to Resilience

Sharon Hujik
  • 5.0 (6)
  • Mental Health

Rising to Resilience is the podcast for women who feel stretched thin, discouraged, or stuck, and wonder... Is it possible to feel joy again? Is there purpose in this pain? What does hope look like when the sky is falling? Each week, host Sharon Hujik sits down with guests who have faced profound challenges - loss, trauma, heartbreak, illness, and unexpected detours. Their stories reveal the radical choice to rise: choosing joy over bitterness, purpose over despair, and resilience over giving up. Through raw conversations and practical wisdom, you’ll discover tools to navigate your own hard seasons, reminders that you’re not alone, and inspiration to find beauty and meaning even in brokenness. Join a community of women choosing hope, finding comfort in shared stories, and discovering the strength to rise again — no matter what life brings.

  1. Susan Snow: From Trauma to Resilience, Healing After PTSD

    Mar 30

    Susan Snow: From Trauma to Resilience, Healing After PTSD

    Susan Snow: From Trauma to Resilience, Healing After PTSD What does resilience actually look like when life changes in an instant? In this episode of Rising to Resilience, Sharon Hujik sits down with Susan Snow to share a powerful story of trauma, survival, and healing. At just 17 years old, Susan’s life was forever changed when her father, a Los Angeles police detective, was killed in a targeted act of violence. In the aftermath, she was left to navigate grief, fear, and overwhelming emotional pain; without the support or understanding she needed. For years, Susan lived in survival mode. She masked her pain, pushed forward, and tried to build a life while quietly struggling with panic attacks, depression, and undiagnosed PTSD. It wasn’t until years later — after a breaking point triggered by another traumatic event — that she finally found the right help, the right language, and the beginning of true healing. In this conversation, Sharon and Susan explore: What unresolved trauma looks like over timeHow PTSD can affect your life years after the initial eventThe impact of not being seen or understood in your painWhy the right support can change everythingPractical tools for regulating the nervous system and beginning healingWhat resilience really means after trauma Susan’s story is a powerful reminder that healing is possible — even after years of struggle — and that resilience is not about avoiding pain but learning how to live and grow through it. Connect with Susan SnowWebsite: https://susansnowspeaks.com LinkedIn: Susan Snow Instagram: Susan Snow About Rising to ResilienceRising to Resilience is a podcast featuring real stories of women who have faced adversity and found strength, clarity, and growth on the other side. If you’re looking for stories of resilience, healing, and overcoming hardship, follow the show and share this episode with someone who might need it.

    36 min
  2. Joy Scott: Losing a Child, Finding Faith. Choosing Hope in the Hard

    Mar 23

    Joy Scott: Losing a Child, Finding Faith. Choosing Hope in the Hard

    Joy Scott: Losing a Child, Finding Faith — Choosing Hope in the Hard What do you do when life doesn’t just get hard… it breaks your heart? In this deeply moving episode of Rising to Resilience, Sharon Hujik sits down with Joy Scott, author of Flow: Keeping Your Heart Alive When Life Hurts, to talk about grief, faith, and the choice to keep going when everything inside you wants to shut down. Joy shares her story of walking through unimaginable loss, including the death of her four-year-old son after a brain tumor diagnosis, along with years of compounding trauma, betrayal, and a season of deep depression that followed. But this conversation isn’t just about loss. It’s about the moment everything could have gone a different way. The moment when Joy realized: “If you don’t open up and reach out… you’re not going to make it.” And the choice she made in that moment changed the course of her life. In this episode, Sharon and Joy explore: What it’s like to lose a child and still hold onto faithWhy grief doesn’t always show up immediately — and how it can surface years laterThe hidden battle of depression and emotional shutdownThe power of being seen, believed, and supported in your painThe difference between isolating and reaching outWhy forgiveness is a process — not a one-time decisionHow to “keep your heart alive” after repeated trauma Joy also shares her FLOW framework, a simple but powerful way to process pain, realign your thoughts, and move toward healing. This episode is for anyone who has walked through loss, faced overwhelming circumstances, or wondered how to keep going when life doesn’t look anything like you thought it would. Connect with Joy Scott Website: https://www.joyscott.me Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joy_scott_

    36 min
  3. Karli Auble: From Pregnancy Loss to Resilience, The Science of Positive Psychology

    Mar 16

    Karli Auble: From Pregnancy Loss to Resilience, The Science of Positive Psychology

    What happens when a highly analytical, systems-thinking engineer is forced to confront one of the most emotional experiences of her life? In this episode of Rising to Resilience, Sharon sits down with Karli Auble, founder of Life in Labor, systems engineer, and positive psychology graduate, to explore how a life-threatening ectopic pregnancy became the catalyst for a profound shift in how she understands resilience, mindset, and human flourishing. Karli shares how her analytical brain initially tried to push through trauma, minimize her experience, and return to work immediately after surgery. But the emotional aftermath forced her to confront something deeper, the inner wisdom that many high achievers ignore when they’re busy pushing forward. That moment of disruption led Karli down an unexpected path into positive psychology, mindfulness, and the neuroscience of resilience. Together, Sharon and Karli explore: How trauma can become a doorway to post-traumatic growthWhy high achievers often struggle to slow down and process emotionsThe neuroscience behind negative thought patterns and resilienceHow mindfulness can shift the brain’s pathways toward growthWhy motherhood often becomes a turning point for deeper self-awarenessHow positive psychology helps people move from surviving to thriving Karli also shares her THRIVE framework, which helps people develop healthier thought patterns, habits, and environments that support long-term resilience. This conversation is especially powerful for high achievers, analytical thinkers, and anyone navigating a season where life did not go according to plan. Connect with KarliWebsite https://lifeinlabor.com LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/karli-auble/

    43 min
  4. Laura Bratton: Blindness, Grief, and Resilience

    Mar 9

    Laura Bratton: Blindness, Grief, and Resilience

    What does resilience really look like when life changes in ways you never expected? In this powerful episode of Rising to Resilience, Sharon Hujik sits down with speaker, pastor, and author Laura Bratton, who lost her vision as a teenager after being diagnosed with a rare retinal disease at age nine. By the time she finished high school, Laura was completely blind. The years that followed included severe anxiety, panic attacks, and the difficult process of grieving the life she once imagined. But through that journey, Laura discovered something profound about resilience: it isn’t about pretending everything is okay - it’s about acknowledging the pain and still choosing to move forward. Today, Laura helps others navigate major life changes using what she calls the balance of grit and gratitude - practical tools for moving through grief, rebuilding confidence, and finding strength in the middle of uncertainty. In this conversation, Sharon and Laura discuss: • What it was like losing her eyesight during high school • The mental and emotional impact of sudden life-changing loss • Why our culture struggles to allow space for grief • Panic attacks, anxiety, and learning to sit with difficult emotions • The moment Laura made a very literal choice to keep living • How gratitude can become a practical resilience tool • How personal adversity prepared Laura to help others facing crisis Laura’s story is a moving reminder that resilience isn’t about bouncing back - it’s about moving forward, one moment and one choice at a time. If you’ve ever faced grief, unexpected change, or overwhelming circumstances, this conversation will encourage and strengthen you. Learn more about Laura BrattonWebsite: https://www.laurabratton.com Laura’s book: https://www.amazon.com About Rising to ResilienceRising to Resilience features honest conversations with people who have faced adversity and discovered unexpected strength on the other side. Each episode explores the mindset, tools, and life lessons that help us navigate life’s hardest seasons. Subscribe so you never miss a story of courage, growth, and resilience.

    38 min
  5. Nancy Langevin: From Brain Aneurysm and Lupus to Finding Purpose After Divorce

    Mar 2

    Nancy Langevin: From Brain Aneurysm and Lupus to Finding Purpose After Divorce

    What happens when your identity collapses - your health fails, your marriage ends, and your future feels uncertain? In this powerful episode of Rising to Resilience, Sharon sits down with Nancy Langevin, former international elite gymnast, brain aneurysm survivor, lupus warrior, and founder of Unbound Synergy Academy. Nancy shares her journey from breaking her back as a young athlete, to being diagnosed with systemic lupus, to facing emergency brain surgery at age 49 while raising two teenagers. In the midst of recovery, she also navigated the end of a 25-year marriage - forcing her to rebuild her life from the ground up. But this isn’t just a story of survival. It’s also a story of surrender. Nancy opens up about the 3 a.m. moment that changed everything - when she stopped trying to control the outcome and chose faith over fear. From that turning point, she began redefining resilience, purpose, and what it means to be given a second (and even third) chance at life. In this episode, you’ll hear: How to find hope after divorce and major life transitionsWhat resilience really looks like during chronic illnessHow to move forward after a brain aneurysm diagnosisThe power of surrender and faith in rebuilding your lifeWhy small “baby steps” create lasting transformation If you’re walking through loss, health challenges, or the end of a chapter you didn’t choose, Nancy’s story will remind you: you are not done. There is still something beautiful on the other side. Connect with Nancy Langevin: Website: https://www.unboundsynergyacademy.com Book: The Flip Side of Despair Fitness & Coaching: https://www.unboundsynergy.com If this episode encouraged you, please share it with someone who needs hope today — and subscribe to Rising to Resilience so you never miss a story of courage and post-traumatic growth.

    31 min
  6. Katie Tramonte: Parenting PANS When Crisis Hits; Faith and Survival

    Feb 23

    Katie Tramonte: Parenting PANS When Crisis Hits; Faith and Survival

    What do you do when your child’s health declines so severely that you fear for their life? In this deeply honest conversation, Katie Tramonte shares her family’s journey through PANS (Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome), a rare neuroimmune disorder that presents as severe OCD and restrictive eating. After watching her son rapidly decline, Katie and her husband sold their home, left their community, and moved across the country in search of healing. What followed was not a tidy story of resolution — but a gritty story of survival, anger, faith, and flexibility. In this episode, we talk about: What PANS is and how it affects familiesParenting through severe childhood illnessMoving across the country in crisisHow faith holds — and stretches — in unresolved sufferingWhy lament mattersThe survival principle of a “future memory”What resilience really looks like when life doesn’t resolve Katie shares candidly about being angry with God, learning to bend without breaking, and finding comfort in small daily rituals when nothing feels stable. If you are walking through crisis - whether medical, relational, spiritual, or emotional - this episode offers practical wisdom and permission to be honest in the dark. Connect with Katiehttps://www.instagram.com/seeing.inthedark (@seeing.inthedark) Recommended PANS resource mentioned in this episode: Lucy | Parenting Pandas Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/parenting_pandas (@parenting_pandas)

    41 min
  7. Kym Hinchey: Unthinkable Grief; A Story of Surviving Loss

    Feb 16

    Kym Hinchey: Unthinkable Grief; A Story of Surviving Loss

    What does grief really look like after losing a child? What happens when you lose your spouse just months later? And how do you survive when your entire world has been shattered? In this deeply honest and powerful conversation, grief educator and coach Kym Hinchey shares her story of unimaginable loss - the accidental overdose death of her son Adrian, followed just three months later by the sudden heart attack of her husband, John. After becoming intimately familiar with grief, Kym discovered something that changed everything: Almost everything we’ve been taught about grief is wrong. In this episode, we talk about: What grief after child loss and widowhood actually feels likeWhy the five stages of grief don’t reflect real lifeHow PTSD shows up after traumatic lossThe myth of “getting over it”What post-traumatic growth really meansThe difference between surviving grief and being stuck in itWhy you are not grieving wrong This is not a conversation about toxic positivity, quick healing, or tidy timelines. It’s about truth. It’s about resilience. And it’s about learning how to keep living inside grief without losing yourself. If you are grieving the loss of a child, spouse, parent, or loved one — or walking alongside someone who is — this episode will remind you that what you feel is normal. You are not broken. You are grieving. Connect with Kym HincheyWebsite: https://agriefsupport.com Book: Then and Now: The Evolution of Grief Available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Then-Now-Evolution-Kym-Hinchey/dp/B0G51RSPQ1 You can find Kym on social media under @agriefsupport If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who may need to hear it.

    53 min
  8. Kristi Hujik: Healing with MS Diagnosis

    11/24/2025

    Kristi Hujik: Healing with MS Diagnosis

    When Kristi Hujik opened her MRI results alone in her car, everything she believed about her health (and her life) shattered in an instant. The diagnosis was multiple sclerosis. The fear was overwhelming. And the uncertainty felt paralyzing. But that moment also marked the beginning of something she didn’t expect - healing, clarity, and a renewed sense of purpose. In this powerful episode, Kristi shares her journey from fear to agency, from spiraling uncertainty to nervous-system healing, and from judgement to a life that finally feels like her own. She opens up about how functional medicine, emotional regulation, community, and faith helped her rebuild physically, mentally, and spiritually. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by a diagnosis, stuck in fear, or unsure how to move forward, Kristi’s story will give you hope and practical tools for taking your next step. CONNECT WITH KRISTI Website: kristihujik.com Instagram: @wholehealthkristi

    27 min
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Trailer

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About

Rising to Resilience is the podcast for women who feel stretched thin, discouraged, or stuck, and wonder... Is it possible to feel joy again? Is there purpose in this pain? What does hope look like when the sky is falling? Each week, host Sharon Hujik sits down with guests who have faced profound challenges - loss, trauma, heartbreak, illness, and unexpected detours. Their stories reveal the radical choice to rise: choosing joy over bitterness, purpose over despair, and resilience over giving up. Through raw conversations and practical wisdom, you’ll discover tools to navigate your own hard seasons, reminders that you’re not alone, and inspiration to find beauty and meaning even in brokenness. Join a community of women choosing hope, finding comfort in shared stories, and discovering the strength to rise again — no matter what life brings.

Information

  • Creator
    Sharon Hujik
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    17
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Sharon Hujik