What If Closure Never Comes? | From A Slight Change of Plans

Becca is on a mission and The Plant Lady is calling the shots. Unsure of what she really wants, she tries out New York City because, because, because… that’s what actors do. But New York is hot. It’s a hustle. Until she meets a charismatic musician. Obsession kicks in. It’s better than blow.Hear all episodes of Personally: Discount Dave (and the Fix) now, early and ad-free, on CBC Stories Premium on Apple Podcasts.

Two years before Becca gets duped by Discount Dave, she falls in love with Sweet Boyfriend. They are young and wild. Loving hard and partying harder until tragedy strikes. Becca finds herself in Winnipeg doing a one-woman show but she’s just surviving. Eventually, isolation drives her to escape. She seeks solace from her parents, and they send her to see “The Plant Lady”.Hear all episodes of Personally: Discount Dave (and the Fix) now, early and ad-free, on CBC Stories Premium on Apple Podcasts.

Becca, a hedonistic actor, spots a familiar face in a courtroom, and is hurled back to a cocaine fueled night 14 years earlier, when her best friend’s date with David Lee Roth took an unexpected turn. In the past, when Talia tells Becca she’s going out with the lead singer of the iconic rock band Van Halen, Becca wants a piece of the action. So she invites the two of them to come party backstage at the Shakespeare festival she’s working at. It’s a wild night that becomes Becca’s go-to party story, but years later, she takes a closer look that sends her down a harrowing new path."I Runneth with the Devil," is an Official Selection of the 2026 Tribeca Audio Festival.Hear all episodes of Personally: Discount Dave (and the Fix) now, early and ad-free, on CBC Stories Premium on Apple Podcasts.

Introducing an upcoming season of Personally, called Discount Dave (and the Fix). When David Lee Roth crashes the backstage party at a Shakespeare Festival, Becca — a hedonistic young actor, is set on a path of self-reckoning. A harrowing and hilarious blend of memoir and auto-fiction, Discount Dave (and The Fix) is the true-ish story of a fake rockstar, a real trial and what it means to stop running, face yourself and fight to heal. Episode one of this series, "I Runneth with the Devil," is an Official Selection of the 2026 Tribeca Audio Festival.

Avery Trufelman interviews Helena de Groot about the making of Creation Myth, and how it transformed some of the most important relationships in her life. Including special guests! Also Helena introduces the next season of CBC’s Personally, it’s called Discount Dave (and the Fix) and episodes one and two are coming on June 10.Want to stay in touch? Follow Helena on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/helenavelikaja/

Helena joins Maya Shankar on her show, A Slight Change of Plans from Pushkin to talk about her story: what happened, how she questioned and re-questioned her decisions, and how she found peace within uncertainty. Find A Slight Change of Plans wherever you get your podcasts, and here: lnk.to/SCPPersonally

When Helena was still married to David, she lived through something she doesn’t often revisit—it was too big, too scary. But now she’s ready to talk about it with two friends who were there: Chris and Bernadette. They are a generation older and do not have children. Together, they finally answer the question. What does purpose look like without kids? 

Four of Helena’s friends are pregnant. They’re spending more time with other mothers and mothers-to-be. Will there still be room for her? And while her friends experience the biggest transformation, Helena clings to her routines. Why can’t she be more spontaneous—like her sister! Her sister once got on a boat to the North Pole with six strangers to see vegetarian orcas. It did not go well. But it taught her the biggest truth on planet earth. Can Helena learn it too?Hear all episodes of Personally: Creation Myth now, early and ad-free, on CBC Stories Premium on Apple Podcasts.

Since she can’t decide if she should get sterilized or not, Helena asks a stranger. A guy named Sam who doesn’t have any stake in her life. Sam regretted having his kid. He didn’t realize at the time what he was getting into, what he would be giving up. But he understood the moment his son was born. So when Helena asks, “Should I have a kid or no?” Sam is ready for it, “I thought you'd never ask.”Hear all episodes of Personally: Creation Myth now, early and ad-free, on CBC Stories Premium on Apple Podcasts.

Just like her grandmother, her great-grandmother, and her aunt, Helena gets depressed. She sits down with her mother Annika, to really talk about it. “It was as if your skin no longer fit,” her mother says. Together they unearth the painful moments that have shaped their relationship. After years of struggling with her mental health, Helena is left wondering what to do with the time she has left?Hear all episodes of Personally: Creation Myth now, early and ad-free, on CBC Stories Premium on Apple Podcasts.