Real Talk with Tina and Ann
Tina and Ann met as journalists covering a capital murder trial, 15 years ago. Tina has been a tv and radio personality and has three children. Ann has a master's in counseling and has worked in the jail system, was a director of a battered woman's shelter/rape crisis center, worked as an assistant director at a school for children with autism, worked with abused kids and is currently raising her three children who have autism. She also is autistic and was told would not graduate high school, but as you can see, she has accomplished so much more. The duo share their stories of overcoming and interview people who are making it, despite what has happened. This is more than just two moms sharing their lives. This is two women who have overcome some of life's hardest obstacles. Join us every Wednesday as we go through life's journey together. There is purpose in the pain and hope in the journey.
Episodes
We dig into the real-life supports that help neurodivergent brains thrive, from the hard science of FASD to daily tools for executive function, transitions, sensory needs, and affect regulation. RJ Formanek and Ann Kagarise share candid stories, and swap strategies that trade shame for structure and self-forgiveness.
• neuroanatomy changes shaping behavior and perception
• amygdala overdrive, safety cues and...
Ever watch someone recite the rules and still miss the first step? We dive into that gap with FASD advocate RJ Formanek to reveal what’s actually happening under the surface —and why replacing blame with understanding can change a life. We’re talking brain wiring, not character flaws; symptoms, not “bad behavior.” Through raw stories and clear examples, we map how memory, language, and sensory processing collide in real ...
The room changes when a true maestro enters—yet the most revealing stories often happen offstage. We sit down with Nancy Shear to explore the hidden lives behind classical music’s brightest names and the personal courage it takes to step through doors that weren’t built for you. From a conductor who needed worship more than love to a cellist whose wild openness defied a regime, this is a lived portrait of power, devotion...
Today on Real Talk with Tina and Ann we are talking about neurodivergence and share a raw, practical look at “diagnosis day,” advocacy, and the tools that actually help our kids thrive. Nothing about our kids changed with labels; only our map did, and that map guides support with less shame and more clarity.
• early signs, and the long road to evaluation
• diagnosis day emotions of relief and grief
• pro...
A teenage girl finds her way through the stage door and into the inner life of a great orchestra, learning how courage, craft and attention can open rooms that seem shut. Nancy Shear reflects on mentors, trauma, Stokowski’s charisma and the quiet work that shapes sound.
• sneaking into the Academy of Music and earning trust
• learning the orchestra library and serving an apprenticeship
• confidence witho...
What if you’re not behind at all—you’re right on time for a life that finally feels like yours? We dive into nonlinear living and redefine progress as capacity, not speed. Instead of chasing milestones and highlight reels, we talk about the quiet work that actually changes us: noticing overwhelm sooner, asking for help before the breaking point, and choosing rest without guilt.
Together we unpack how grief, trau...
We sit with creator Deborah Weed to explore how love, loss, and art can coexist, and why self-worth must be defined from within. Her stories of hospice dignity, cross-country wandering, and the evolution of Paisley the Musical point to a courageous path back to voice and purpose.
• holding grief and joy in the same body
• caregiving as dignity and soul polishing
• the year of firsts and self-permission t...
Tina and Ann explore gratitude that tells the truth in crisis: not a list, but a lifeline beside cancer, caregiving, and long grief. Kara Lockwood’s story and Robert Emmons’ research anchor practical ways to find small joys that help us keep showing up.
• Cara Lockwood’s remission story and irreverent wisdom
• Robert Emmons’ research on gratitude and resilience
• Fake gratitude versus honest, wound-aware...
Fear is not the enemy, until it starts running the show. In this episode, we sit down with USA Today bestselling author Cara Lockwood (aka Cara Tanamachi) to discuss her book, There Is No Good Book for This But I Wrote One Anyway: An Irreverent and Brutally Honest Guide to Crushing Breast Cancer, a refreshingly honest and laugh-out-loud take on navigating cancer.
A mom of five in a blended family and a survivor of stage...
We trace a life rebuilt through acceptance, humor, and purpose, from paralysis and autism advocacy to grief, faith, and the daily practice of choosing better. The path moves from why to how, from pity to power, and from isolation to community through Pathfinders for Autism.
• tracking tiny gains with a “better than yesterday” list
• Madison’s autism story and early ABA access
• founding Pathfinders for A...
Some stories don’t fit inside neat arcs. Rebecca Galli’s life holds a brother gone at 17, a son who passed at 15, two children with special needs, and sudden paralysis nine days after divorce. What unfolds is not a list of tragedies but a blueprint for living when certainty disappears: short morning rituals that steady the mind, phrases that reframe pain, and a practice of choosing the next right step even when the path ...
We follow a wrong turn that became a mission and explore how dignity-based service transforms both givers and receivers. Gil shows how housing, education, and reciprocity can turn charity into equity, and why true joy is found when we serve.
• enlightened self-interest and why service elevates the giver
• rent-to-own housing tied to education and community service
• girls’ scholarships and mentorship red...
We bring the border into focus as a lived place, not a line, and confront how wealth disparity, US demand, and policy choices shape human lives. Gil Gillenwater shows why enlightened self interest, housing with dignity, and education beat walls and fear.
• wealth disparity between $18 an hour and $14 a day
• the border as community, not an abstract boundary
• enlightened self interest as a guiding princi...
A single weekend can reroute a life. When Deborah Meyerson, a tenured Stanford professor, suffered a stroke that stole her speech and altered her body, she and her husband, Steve Zuckerman, had to reimagine everything—career, communication, purpose, and the very shape of partnership. What began as an “it’ll pass” blip became a blueprint for growing forward, not going back.
We dig into what aphasia actually is—be...
The Tuesday before Thanksgiving can feel ordinary—until it isn’t. Fifty years ago, a dad kissed his child goodbye and didn’t come home, and that single day rewrote every holiday that followed. We open the door to that memory and walk through its rooms: the neighbor who showed up at swim practice, the crowded living room where silence said more than words, the TV playing Happy Days, the rain that made it seem like the sky...
A glossy holiday is easy to post, but the real story of Thanksgiving often lives in the places that ache. This year, our table looks different—empty chairs, fading memories, and traditions that no longer fit who we are now. Still, gratitude finds a seat beside grief.
We talk about the tenderness of a rare moment of clarity with a loved one whose memory is slipping, and the sting of anniversaries that return each November....
We dig into life with FASD beyond labels: how shame warps identity, how routines protect mornings, and why late-blooming brains change everything. RJ shares the red shoes origin, practical language for kids, and a hopeful path from rage to self‑acceptance.
• removing shame and naming “it’s not your fault”
• morning reboot, windows, slow processing
• routines for sensory load and homeschooling
• caret...
We share real, lived experiences from someone navigating life with FASD: the diagnosis, the data, and the dignity that often get lost in the conversation. Together, we unpack the daily struggles and the deep relief that comes from hearing the words, “It’s not your fault.”
What follows is a powerful journey from shame to self-forgiveness, as we explore person-first support, resilience, and practical tools that empower fam...
We share Sophia Lorenzi’s path from losing her father to suicide to investigating death row cases, tracing how grief, stigma, trauma, and systems shape lives. The heart of the talk: seeing people fully, not as problems to fix, and building care long before crisis.
• how invisible crisis can exist alongside visible treatment
• rising suicide rates despite reduced stigma and why access still lags
• 988 as ...
Midlife isn’t a slow fade; it’s a volume knob. We sit down with Angela, the force behind Real Girls Guide and RGG55, to rewrite the script on aging and claim midlife as a comeback. From the lost folder that sparked her book to the candid truths she shares about hormones, identity, and self-trust, this conversation is a bright, unflinching look at how women can live on purpose and take up space.
We dig into radi...
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