No One Is Normal

Brad H. Hill
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Personal Journals
  • Updated Weekly

No One Is Normal is a 2026 Signal Awards Silver Winner in the Craft – Best Writing, Individual Episodes category for “Relapsed: How Easy It Creeps Back In.” The podcast is centered on recovery, identity, resilience, and the moments that change us. Hosted by Brad H. Hill, author of No One Is Normal: Breaking Free from Normal, the show features honest solo episodes and real conversations about adversity, loss, addiction, trauma, grief, rebuilding, and starting over. No polished success stories—just honest conversations about what happened and what came next. You weren’t meant to be normal. You were meant to be you.

  1. 1d ago

    S2E22 - The Work No One Sees

    Some of the most important lessons in life come from doing things nobody else notices. For me, one of those places was a farm. In this episode of Under the Surface, I look back at what farm life taught me about responsibility, consistency, mistakes, and showing up when the work still needs to be done. Animals need to be fed. Water needs to be checked. Gates need to be secured. The work does not care whether you're tired, distracted, frustrated, or simply not in the mood. There was something valuable in that honesty. I learned that rushing usually created more work later. Mistakes did not have to become proof that I was incapable. They could teach me something, as long as I was willing to correct them. And the things that eventually made me more dependable were rarely dramatic. They were built through repetition, attention, and returning the next day. The farm also taught me something I would carry into work, relationships, sobriety, and the rest of my adult life: what we repeatedly do matters far more than what we intended to do. You don't have to grow up on a farm to understand that lesson. We all have places in our lives that show us the truth about how we're showing up. Sometimes growth happens there, quietly, while nobody is watching. 🔗 More from me: 🎙️ Podcast & episodes: ⁠https://www.bradhhill.com/podcast⁠ 📖 Book: ⁠https://a.co/d/06CoAtVF⁠ 🎧 Audiobook: ⁠https://www.audible.com/pd/No-One-Is-Normal-Breaking-Free-from-Normal-Audiobook/B0GJFWBSBZ⁠ 🛍️ Merch: ⁠https://www.bradhhill.com/merch⁠

    S2E22 - The Work No One Sees

  2. Oct 19

    S2E21 - Heather Stewart - Stop Pretending You’re Fine

    "I'm fine." We say it so automatically that sometimes we don't even stop to ask ourselves whether it's true. In this episode of the No One Is Normal Podcast, I sit down with Heather Stewart to talk about what happens when the life that looks right from the outside no longer feels right on the inside. Heather spent 15 years as a CPA and climbed the corporate ladder into senior leadership. She had the career, the money, the house, and many of the things we're told we're supposed to want. Eventually, she realized the next promotion wasn't going to give her more of the life she wanted. It was going to require her to give even more of her life away. But her story goes much deeper than a career change. Heather opens up about spending 12 years in a narcissistic relationship that slowly changed the way she saw herself. She talks about isolation, control, gaslighting, losing confidence in her own judgment, and the moment someone else's simple comment finally made her recognize what had been happening. Leaving meant learning to trust herself again. We also talk about why people stay in careers, relationships, and lives that no longer fit simply because change feels more frightening than what they already know. Heather shares what she learned about boundaries, asking for help, happiness, and the enormous cost of constantly trying to hold everything together. Then, in 2021, Heather suffered two strokes. Lying alone in an emergency room during COVID forced her to confront another reality. She had spent years rebuilding a life that actually supported her, and when everything suddenly stopped, that life was still there. Her relationships, community, finances, and the choices she had made gave her room to recover. That experience changed the direction of the work she wanted to do with others. This conversation isn't about blowing up your life because you're having a bad day. It's about being willing to ask whether the life you're protecting is actually the life you want. Because sometimes "I'm fine" is true. And sometimes we've just gotten really good at saying it. 🌐 Connect with Heather Stewart: Website: ⁠https://heatherstewart.coach/⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/heatherstewartcoaches⁠ Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/heatherstewartcoaching/⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/heatherstewartcoaching/⁠ YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@HeatherStewartCoaching⁠ TikTok: ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@heatherstewartcoaching⁠ 🔗 More from me:🎙️ Podcast & episodes: ⁠https://www.bradhhill.com/podcast⁠ 📖 Book: ⁠https://a.co/d/06CoAtVF⁠🎧 Audiobook: ⁠https://www.audible.com/pd/No-One-Is-Normal-Breaking-Free-from-Normal-Audiobook/B0GJFWBSBZ⁠ 🛍️ Merch: ⁠https://www.bradhhill.com/merch

    S2E21 - Heather Stewart - Stop Pretending You’re Fine

  3. Oct 12

    S2E20 - The Power of No

    There is a difference between being kind and constantly giving pieces of yourself away. For a lot of us, saying yes became automatic. We took on more at work, more at home, more for friends, and more for everyone else until we couldn't remember what we actually wanted anymore. Somewhere along the way, being dependable quietly turned into feeling responsible for everything. In this episode of Under the Surface, I talk about why saying no became one of the hardest and most important lessons I have ever learned. We explore where that fear comes from, why so many of us struggle to set boundaries, and how constantly trying to keep everyone else happy can slowly wear us down. This isn't about becoming selfish or pushing people away. It's about recognizing that every yes costs something. Sometimes protecting your peace, your time, and your health starts with one simple word. Because the people who care about you should never require you to disappear. 🔗 More from me: 🎙️ Podcast & episodes: ⁠https://www.bradhhill.com/podcast⁠ 📖 Book: ⁠https://a.co/d/06CoAtVF⁠ 🎧 Audiobook: ⁠https://www.audible.com/pd/No-One-Is-Normal-Breaking-Free-from-Normal-Audiobook/B0GJFWBSBZ⁠ 🛍️ Merch: ⁠https://www.bradhhill.com/merch⁠

    S2E20 - The Power of No

  4. Oct 5

    S2E19 - Bart Merrell - When Life Happens

    Life rarely asks whether you're ready before it changes the plan. Bart Merrell knows that better than most. In this episode of the No One Is Normal Podcast, I sit down with Bart, known as The Side Hustle Samurai, to talk about resilience, entrepreneurship, financial security, and what happens when the future you expected suddenly disappears. Bart once planned to join the FBI and chase serial killers. One unexpected decision ended that dream before it started. Years later, several business deals collapsed after 9/11, costing him hundreds of thousands of dollars and bringing him dangerously close to bankruptcy. Then came another major turn when he learned his lower left leg would need to be amputated. Each time, Bart had a decision to make about what came next. We talk about the fear he experienced walking into the hospital on the morning of his amputation, the humor and mindset that helped him adjust, and how he eventually turned that experience into an opportunity to help other amputees facing the same uncertainty. But Bart's story is also about preparation. He believes relying on a single paycheck can leave people far more vulnerable than they realize. We explore how skills, hobbies, experiences, and even some of life's hardest chapters can reveal opportunities that are easy to overlook. Bart explains why a side hustle does not have to mean chasing somebody else's business idea. Sometimes the opportunity is already sitting inside something you know how to do. This isn't a conversation about getting rich quickly. It's about being prepared when life changes the plan, recognizing what you already bring to the table, and having the willingness to act when an opportunity appears. As Bart puts it: What happens when what happens, happens? 🌐 Connect with Bart Merrell, The Side Hustle Samurai: Website: ⁠https://thesidehustlesamurai.com/⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/bartmerrell⁠ Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/bartmerrell/⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/bart-merrell-2440148/⁠ YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@BartMerrell-SideHustleSamurai⁠ 🔗 More from me: 🎙️ Podcast & episodes: ⁠https://www.bradhhill.com/podcast⁠ 📖 Book: ⁠https://a.co/d/06CoAtVF⁠ 🎧 Audiobook: ⁠https://www.audible.com/pd/No-One-Is-Normal-Breaking-Free-from-Normal-Audiobook/B0GJFWBSBZ⁠ 🛍️ Merch: ⁠https://www.bradhhill.com/merch⁠

    S2E19 - Bart Merrell - When Life Happens

  5. Sep 28

    S2E18 - Direction Over Drift

    Most people don't wake up one day and intentionally build a life they don't want. It usually happens one small decision at a time. We put things off. We tell ourselves we'll deal with it later. We hope life somehow organizes itself while we stay busy reacting to whatever shows up next. Before long, months or even years have passed, and we're still wondering why nothing seems to change. In this episode of Under the Surface, I talk about why planning has nothing to do with controlling the future and everything to do with being honest about where you want your life to go. We look at the small choices that shape our finances, careers, relationships, and goals, and why direction is more important than perfection. Life will always throw surprises your way. A plan won't eliminate them. But it can keep you moving forward instead of constantly starting over. Because hope is important. Direction is what turns hope into progress. 🔗 More from me: 🎙️ Podcast & episodes: https://www.bradhhill.com/podcast 📖 Book: https://a.co/d/06CoAtVF 🎧 Audiobook: https://www.audible.com/pd/No-One-Is-Normal-Breaking-Free-from-Normal-Audiobook/B0GJFWBSBZ 🛍️ Merch: https://www.bradhhill.com/merch

    S2E18 - Direction Over Drift

  6. Sep 21

    S2E17 - Brandi (Bee) Doyle - When Survival Isn't Enough

    There comes a point when surviving is no longer enough. You can check all the boxes. Build the career. Earn the degree. Get married. Have children. Accomplish everything you thought was supposed to make you happy. And still feel disconnected from yourself. In this episode of the No One Is Normal Podcast, I sit down with Brandi (Bee) Doyle, Army combat veteran, former nurse practitioner, coach, and founder of Double Libra Astrology, to talk about trauma, purpose, addiction, healing, self-awareness, and what happens when the life you built no longer feels like your own. After serving as a combat medic in Afghanistan, Bee returned home carrying experiences that most people will never fully understand. While life continued moving forward on the outside, she struggled internally with post-traumatic stress, emotional pain, unhealthy coping mechanisms, and a persistent feeling that something was missing. We discuss combat trauma, survival mode, motherhood, addiction, accountability, resilience, and the difficult process of rebuilding an authentic life. Bee shares how becoming a mother forced her to confront what she had spent years avoiding and why curiosity became one of the most important tools in her healing journey. This conversation is not about having all the answers. It is about having the courage to stop pretending everything is okay and finally asking: Who am I underneath the roles, expectations, achievements, and survival strategies I have carried for years? Because sometimes healing begins with a simple realization: The life that looks successful is not always the life that feels authentic. 🌐 Learn more about Bee Doyle: https://doublelibraastrology.com/ 🔗 More from me: 🎙️ Podcast & episodes: https://www.bradhhill.com/podcast 📖 Book (Print + Kindle): https://a.co/d/06CoAtVF 🎧 Audiobook on Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/No-One-Is-Normal-Breaking-Free-from-Normal-Audiobook/B0GJFWBSBZ 🛍️ Merch & Support the Mission: https://www.bradhhill.com/merch

    S2E17 - Brandi (Bee) Doyle - When Survival Isn't Enough

  7. Sep 14

    S2E16 - The Mirror Doesn't Lie

    There is a strange kind of confidence that can come from getting your life together. You become dependable. You build a career. You handle responsibility. People trust you. From the outside, it can look like growth, maturity, and self-awareness all rolled into one. The problem is that functioning well is not the same thing as seeing yourself clearly. In this episode of the No One Is Normal Podcast, I explore the uncomfortable but necessary process of honest self-assessment. Not the version that turns into self-criticism or shame, but the kind that helps us understand the gap between who we think we are and how we actually show up in the world. We talk about personality, blind spots, defensiveness, control, vulnerability, and the ways strengths can quietly become limitations when left unchecked. I share my own experiences with personality assessments, leadership, relationships, and the realization that being capable is not the same thing as being self-aware. This episode is about learning to look at yourself without tearing yourself apart. Understanding where your patterns came from without letting them become excuses. And recognizing that growth often begins when we stop defending the image and start paying attention to the person underneath it. Because the question is not: "What is wrong with me?" The better question is: "What is true about me?" And sometimes that answer changes everything. 🔗 More from me: 🎙️ Podcast & episodes: https://www.bradhhill.com/podcast 📖 Book: https://a.co/d/06CoAtVF 🎧 Audiobook: https://www.audible.com/pd/No-One-Is-Normal-Breaking-Free-from-Normal-Audiobook/B0GJFWBSBZ 🛍️ Merch: https://www.bradhhill.com/merch

    S2E16 - The Mirror Doesn't Lie

  8. Sep 7

    S2E15 - Jenna Udenberg - Normal Is a Myth

    Most people never think about accessibility until they need it. They walk into buildings without wondering if everyone can get through the door. They make plans without thinking about whether the space was designed for everyone. They assume the world works because, for them, most of the time it does. In this episode of the No One Is Normal Podcast, I sit down with Jenna Udenberg, educator, author, advocate, and founder of Above and Beyond With U, to talk about disability, resilience, inclusion, and what it means to build a life in a world that was not always designed with you in mind. Diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis at age seven, Jenna has endured chronic pain, multiple joint replacements, more than a dozen surgeries, and countless accessibility challenges throughout her life. Yet what stands out most is not what she has endured. It is what she has built. From a 19-year teaching career to founding a nonprofit focused on accessibility and inclusion, Jenna has turned personal challenges into opportunities to help others. We talk about disability, leadership, confidence, depression, advocacy, accessibility, and why asking better questions often matters more than having the right answers. Jenna shares practical ways people can create more inclusive communities and challenges the assumptions many of us make without even realizing it. This conversation is not about sympathy. It is about understanding. Because disability is not rare. At some point, it touches all of our lives. 🌐 Learn more about Jenna and Above and Beyond With U: https://www.aboveandbeyondwithu.org/ 📚 Jenna's Memoir – Within My SpokesA powerful story of resilience, disability, identity, and finding purpose while navigating a lifetime of challenges. https://a.co/d/020VH6ss 🔗 More from me: 🎙️ Podcast & episodes: https://www.bradhhill.com/podcast 📖 Book (Print + Kindle): https://a.co/d/06CoAtVF 🎧 Audiobook on Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/No-One-Is-Normal-Breaking-Free-from-Normal-Audiobook/B0GJFWBSBZ 🛍️ Merch & Support the Mission: https://www.bradhhill.com/merch

    S2E15 - Jenna Udenberg - Normal Is a Myth
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5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

No One Is Normal is a 2026 Signal Awards Silver Winner in the Craft – Best Writing, Individual Episodes category for “Relapsed: How Easy It Creeps Back In.” The podcast is centered on recovery, identity, resilience, and the moments that change us. Hosted by Brad H. Hill, author of No One Is Normal: Breaking Free from Normal, the show features honest solo episodes and real conversations about adversity, loss, addiction, trauma, grief, rebuilding, and starting over. No polished success stories—just honest conversations about what happened and what came next. You weren’t meant to be normal. You were meant to be you.

Information

  • Creator
    Brad H. Hill
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    49
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Brad H. Hill
  • Show Website
    No One Is Normal