Constricting Mind, Expanding Heart (with Katya Lidsky)

On this episode of We Can't Do It Alone, Nōn sits down with Jessica, his best friend and life partner, to explore the difference between helping mode and solving mode, our commitment to trying to understand each other through our diagnoses, being stuck in shame spirals, slowing down enough to recognize possibility in one another, the keys to maintaining softness, and why we only know what we know and why there's always more to know.Helpful things mentioned during this episode:We Can Do Hard Things: Fighting WellHomeboy IndustriesDoctors Without BordersEnjoy the podcast? Here are some ways to support to Nōn:Leave a 5-star rating and a wildly glowing review for We Can't Do It Alone on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your pods.Order The Feely Cards on Bookshop.org, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your local indie bookseller for yourself and literally everyone you know.Listen to You, Me, Empathy, Nōn's previous podcast about mental health, empathy, and big feelings.Need some help with your podcast, or thinking about starting a podcast? Get in touch!Connect with Nōn at nonwels.com and on Instagram @youmeempathy.Thank you for listening to We Can't Do It Alone! Don't forget about the helpers. We all need help. Even you.xoxonōn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of We Can't Do It Alone, Nōn sits down with Ali Riley, four-time Olympian soccer player and co-author of Girls Gone Veg, to explore Ali's early retirement and the grief and self-acceptance wrapped up in that, the continued fight for equality and inclusivity in sports, why allowing yourself to fall apart is a sign of strength, Ali's hopeful and beautiful IVF adventure that lies ahead in 2026, how refreshing storytellers like Sam Mewis, Kelly O'Hara, Darian Jenkins, and yes, Ali Riley, are changing the women's game for the better, and why your worth is less about what you do, and more about who you are. Helpful things mentioned during this episode:Ali on InstagramGirls Gone VegCamino Immigration ServicesEnjoy the podcast? Here are some ways to support to Nōn:Leave a 5-star rating and a wildly glowing review for We Can't Do It Alone on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your pods.Order The Feely Cards on Bookshop.org, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your local indie bookseller for yourself and literally everyone you know.Listen to You, Me, Empathy, Nōn's previous podcast about mental health, empathy, and big feelings.Need some help with your podcast, or thinking about starting a podcast? Get in touch!Connect with Nōn at nonwels.com and on Instagram @youmeempathy.Thank you for listening to We Can't Do It Alone! Don't forget about the helpers. We all need help. Even you.xoxonōn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of We Can't Do It Alone, Nōn sits down with Katya Lidsky, author of Be Your Dog's Best Friend, to explore the entanglement of grief and anger, how intent and impact play a crucial in how we help, giving kids space to be mad at their parents, eating disorder recovery and the disconnected body, practicing the art of detachment by writing stuff down and throwing it away, and the ceaseless tension between the constricting mind and the expanding heart.Content warning: Eating disorder recovery is mentioned by both Nōn and Katya.Helpful things mentioned during this episode:Be Your Dog's Best FriendKatya on InstagramStanding TogetherEnjoy the podcast? Here are some ways to support to Nōn:Leave a 5-star rating and a wildly glowing review for We Can't Do It Alone on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your pods.Order The Feely Cards on Bookshop.org, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your local indie bookseller for yourself and literally everyone you know.Listen to You, Me, Empathy, Nōn's previous podcast about mental health, empathy, and big feelings.Need some help with your podcast, or thinking about starting a podcast? Get in touch!Connect with Nōn at nonwels.com and on Instagram @youmeempathy.Thank you for listening to We Can't Do It Alone! Don't forget about the helpers. We all need help. Even you.xoxonōn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of We Can't Do It Alone, Nōn sits down with Bernie Dickson, artist and ultra runner, to explore how we can create space for people in our lives to ask "why," growing up in an warm and inviting open-door household, the vulnerability of opening up your home to people, AI and its influence in the classroom, a movement of messiness, how authenticity is an opportunity to build deeper trust with each other, and what it means to have a perspective of hope.Helpful things mentioned during this episode:Bernie on InstagramSurfers HealingEnjoy the podcast? Here are some ways to support to Nōn:Leave a 5-star rating and a wildly glowing review for We Can't Do It Alone on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your pods.Order The Feely Cards on Bookshop.org, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your local indie bookseller for yourself and literally everyone you know.Listen to You, Me, Empathy, Nōn's previous podcast about mental health, empathy, and big feelings.Need some help with your podcast, or thinking about starting a podcast? Get in touch!Connect with Nōn at nonwels.com and on Instagram @youmeempathy.Thank you for listening to We Can't Do It Alone! Don't forget about the helpers. We all need help. Even you.xoxonōn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of We Can't Do It Alone, Nōn sits down with Cynthia Alonzo Perez, author of My Marianismo and founder of Rooted In Reflection, to explore what's it been like to move her family to Mexico, the joy of being in relationship with peace protectors, the three houses framework, a mother-daughter relationship story that will simultaneously break and fill your heart, and why you being you is the gift. Helpful things mentioned during this episode:Rooted In ReflectionMy MarianismoConfetti All AroundCynthia on InstagramPhoenix Rise ProjectRaising ReadersEnjoy the podcast? Here are some ways to support to Nōn:Leave a 5-star rating and a wildly glowing review for We Can't Do It Alone on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your pods.Order The Feely Cards on Bookshop.org, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your local indie bookseller for yourself and literally everyone you know.Listen to You, Me, Empathy, Nōn's previous podcast about mental health, empathy, and big feelings.Need some help with your podcast, or thinking about starting a podcast? Get in touch!Connect with Nōn at nonwels.com and on Instagram @youmeempathy.Thank you for listening to We Can't Do It Alone! Don't forget about the helpers. We all need help. Even you.xoxonōn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of We Can't Do It Alone, Nōn sits down with Amil Niazi, author of The Cut's parenting series "The Hard Part", to explore why it's important to allow your kids to see and understand your change, the vulnerability of dogs, giving each other more space and grace to be human, why we've been drawn to reading dystopian fiction lately, and Amil's new book, Life After Ambition: A "Good Enough" Memoir.Helpful things mentioned during this episode:Life After Ambition: A "Good Enough" MemoirThe Hard PartAmil on InstagramParable of the Sower by Octavia ButlerSwan Song by Robert McCammonEarlyON Child and Family CentreEnjoy the podcast? Here are some ways to support to Nōn:Leave a 5-star rating and a wildly glowing review for We Can't Do It Alone on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your pods.Order The Feely Cards on Bookshop.org, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your local indie bookseller for yourself and literally everyone you know.Listen to You, Me, Empathy, Nōn's previous podcast about mental health, empathy, and big feelings.Need some help with your podcast, or thinking about starting a podcast? Get in touch!Connect with Nōn at nonwels.com and on Instagram @youmeempathy.Thank you for listening to We Can't Do It Alone! Don't forget about the helpers. We all need help. Even you.xoxonōn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to season 3! On this episode of We Can't Do It Alone, Nōn sits down with Sophie Lucido Johnson, author and New Yorker cartoonist, to explore why vulnerability is both essential and precious, why we perform when we first meet someone, honoring friend chapters with love and grief, saying "I love you" to strangers (especially Trader Joe's clerks), the difference between hosting and integrating, and Sophie's new book, Kin: The Future of Family.Helpful things mentioned during this episode:Kin: The Future of FamilyYou Are Doing a Good Enough JobSophie on InstagramSophie's websiteIllinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee RightsEnjoy the podcast? Here are some ways to support to Nōn:Leave a 5-star rating and a wildly glowing review for We Can't Do It Alone on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your pods.Order The Feely Cards on Bookshop.org, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your local indie bookseller for yourself and literally everyone you know.Listen to You, Me, Empathy, Nōn's previous podcast about mental health, empathy, and big feelings.Need some help with your podcast, or thinking about starting a podcast? Get in touch!Connect with Nōn at nonwels.com and on Instagram @youmeempathy.Thank you for listening to We Can't Do It Alone! Don't forget about the helpers. We all need help. Even you.xoxonōn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of We Can't Do It Alone, Nōn sits down with Sinead Farrelly, National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) champion, World Cup footballer for Ireland, scream enthusiast, and most importantly, a human, to explore the feeling of being cut off from yourself inside the competitive, intense world of professional sports, the weird way in which grief entangles itself in you, connecting your body with your heart, how a safe relationship can help you feel safer within yourself, and the importance of anger rituals.Helpful things mentioned during this episode:Sinead on InstagramScream Club ChicagoEnjoy the podcast? Here are some ways to support to Nōn:Leave a 5-star rating and a wildly glowing review for We Can't Do It Alone on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your pods.Order The Feely Cards on Bookshop.org, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your local indie bookseller for yourself and literally everyone you know.Listen to You, Me, Empathy, Nōn's previous podcast about mental health, empathy, and big feelings.Need some help with your podcast, or thinking about starting a podcast? Get in touch!Connect with Nōn at nonwels.com and on Instagram @youmeempathy.Thank you for listening to We Can't Do It Alone! Don't forget about the helpers. We all need help. Even you.xoxonōn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of We Can't Do It Alone, Nōn sits down with biblio, poetry and hip hop therapist, creator of the Readers Who Run with the Wolves book club, and author of Bibliotherapy In the Bronx, Emely Rumble LCISW, to explore Emely's childhood being raised by her grandmother and the books that helped her to escape and to understand, foster care and the safety within being present, the life-changing power of public libraries, how hip hop therapy helped one of her client's open up his heart, and the connective, healing magic of deep listening.Helpful things mentioned during this episode:Bibliotherapy In the Bronx (Emely's book!)Emely on InstagramEmely's websiteReaders Who Run with the Wolves (free book club!)Bibliophobia by Sarah ChihayaWe Alive, Beloved by Frederick JosephEnjoy the podcast? Here are some ways to support to Nōn:Leave a 5-star rating and a wildly glowing review for We Can't Do It Alone on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your pods.Order The Feely Cards on Bookshop.org, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your local indie bookseller for yourself and literally everyone you know.Listen to You, Me, Empathy, Nōn's previous podcast about mental health, empathy, and big feelings.Need some help with your podcast, or thinking about starting a podcast? Get in touch!Connect with Nōn at nonwels.com and on Instagram @youmeempathy.Thank you for listening to We Can't Do It Alone! Don't forget about the helpers. We all need help. Even you.xoxonōn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of We Can't Do It Alone, Nōn sits down with podcaster (I Thought It Was Just Me), creator of Tinder Live, musician (Final Girl out now!), and You Will Find Your People author Lane Moore to explore the feeling of not wanting to talk about our mental health because we're tired of drowning in it, why dogs are helpers too and how Lane's dog Lights gifted Lane their first truly safe relationship, how to communicate what you need in relationships, and what it's like to see and be seen in our friendships.Helpful things mentioned during this episode:You Will Find Your People (book)I Thought It Was Just Me (Lane's podcast)Lane's SubstackFinal Girl (album)Tinder LiveLane on InstagramEnjoy the podcast? Here are some ways to support to Nōn:Leave a 5-star rating and a wildly glowing review for We Can't Do It Alone on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your pods.Order The Feely Cards on Bookshop.org, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your local indie bookseller for yourself and literally everyone you know.Listen to You, Me, Empathy, Nōn's previous podcast about mental health, empathy, and big feelings.Need some help with your podcast, or thinking about starting a podcast? Get in touch!Connect with Nōn at nonwels.com and on Instagram @youmeempathy.Thank you for listening to We Can't Do It Alone! Don't forget about the helpers. We all need help. Even you.xoxonōn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.