RESILIENT PEOPLE Janet Fanaki

Back in 2019 I spoke with a woman by the name of Dawn Custode. She loved to sail, travel, spend time helping the causes that she held dear and having fun with loved ones.

When we spoke she was dying of colon cancer, a disease that she had lived with for two and a half years.

She was spending her remaining days imparting her wisdom on life for the living. And she had some terrific advice such as getting regularly screened for colon cancer, keep adding things to the calendar to look forward to, live with no regrets and be mindful of time because tomorrow is not guaranteed.

Dawn believed that much of her resilience came from moving often as a child. She felt that it made her an extrovert and someone who was able to land on her feet and move forward.

Perhaps this helped her through her cancer diagnosis too. The ability to look at this challenge and find positive ways to move forward from it.

It's a great conversation and I'm so grateful that she shared some time with me.

Our talk came at a time when my own husband was living with terminal brain cancer called glioblastoma.

Dawn and I both agreed that having conversations like this are helpful and connect us with likeminded people.

I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.

A popular topic from the past, I've brought back some new and very fun ways to actually enjoy Valentine's Day as a single person.

It's a day that can be tricky and sometimes depressing, but it absolutely does not need to be.

I'm sharing insights as a widow for the past 3 years, as well as after collecting feedback from many single people who have found ways to be happy and fulfilled on February 14th.

This episode offers tips for spending the day on your own or with others, as well as ways to avoid it altogether.
I touch on self care and the importance of community, but also that joy can be found in doing something nice for others.

​It's the idea of finding a purpose that will help to get you through this day and turning the narrative into something positive.

In 2017, Max Gruver began as a freshman at Louisiana State University. He, along with his parents, was full of hope and excitement.

From Georgia, his parents heard about his first weeks away at school which included pledging at various fraternities.

They never anticipated that on September 17th they would receive a call that would change their lives forever. Max had died at LSU from a hazing event held at Phi Delta Theta house.

Since 1959, there has been at least one hazing-related death in Canada, the United States and Mexico. In the year that Max passed away, there were seven hazing-related deaths.

In her grief, Rae Ann Gruver new that something needed to change so that no one else would die they way that her son Max did.

Her family created The Max Gruver Foundation to abolish hazing on campuses, to educate young people on the risks associated with it and to change laws state by state.

Her efforts along with the volunteers who support this initiative are making a big difference.

I spoke with Rae Ann about:
- the day that they moved Max to LSU
- what happened in those first few weeks
- how is hazing defined
- the days following Max's death
- the purpose that she found to honour his memory and becoming a changer
- where her resilience comes from

Toronto psychiatrist and sleep expert Dr. Cara Ooi is my latest guest on the RESILIENT PEOPLE podcast.

Helping teens to sleep better is her main focus, but as our conversation will show, sleep disorders cover every age group.

As many of us struggle to get a good night's rest, Dr. Ooi offers simple and effective tools to help us. Without getting the necessary amount of sleep, it impacts everything from our productivity to our relationships.

But as she confirms, there are many options. Her approach includes changing the way we use our bed, addressing the light around us and sleep timing.

​Listen and learn how to get the sleep you've been dreaming of.

Canadian author Ann Douglas has been writing books about parenting for years. Popular guides to help pregnant women and new parents prepare for the exciting and very unpredictable life of parenthood.

In her latest book, "Navigating the messy middle: A fiercely honest and wildly encouraging guide for midlife women", Ann Douglas is turning her attention and expert research to helping women through the midlife years.

As she said in our conversation, "I am fascinated by human growth and development. Being in the middle chapter of life, I started to wonder what is this life stage and how can I enjoy it?"

Having interviewed over 100 women during the pandemic, the book is full of their wisdom and strategies to thrive in midlife through heartfelt, funny, sad and inspiring stories.

Ann and I spoke about:
- the need for women and society to rewrite the narrative
- going beyond negative stereotypes of what it means to be a midlife woman
- practicing self-compassion
- the importance of building a like-minded community of support
- learning from different generations on best practices for living our best lives
- the joy that can be found in the midlife years

I've been reading the latest book by Dr. Sanjay Gupta titled, "Keep Sharp: Build A Better Brain At Any Age".

It's very informative and a science-driven guide to preventing brain decline. But I also found that the advice is beneficial for overall wellness and positive mental health.

As I focus a lot of my learning for RESILIENT PEOPLE on building resilience and learning from those who demonstrate a positive mindset, Dr. Gupta offers some terrific and easy to employ tips for maintaining our overall health.

In this short episode of the podcast, I offer some of my favourite takeaways.