Kristen Carter: Living Your Best Life

Lise Deguire is an attractive woman. Her kind eyes belie what she has lived through. When Lise was four years old, her mother used a household solvent used to start a barbecue. It exploded, engulfing the entire porch in flames. Her mother ran through the fire and jumped in the lake to cool her burns. She left Lise standing in the midst of the inferno. Lise who was a beautiful, bubbly, child with blond curls suffered third degree burns over 65% of her body. The ensuing years would be round after round of brutal burn treatments and skin removal resulting in heavy scarring. Lise reflects back on her relationship with her mother and notes that:   "She was not emotionally equipped to be a mother. She just wasn't. And some mothers aren't... One of the things I've learned since my book has  come out is there is a lot of people who had mothers who were not very good at it."   Lise describes her parents as “outrageously flawed, gifted, and iconoclastic parents.” And as such, they were often wrapped up in their own lives and drama. Lise had numerous experiences that would have stopped most people. Perhaps most traumatically, her beloved brother committed suicide. That is what ultimately led her to a life dedicated to making a difference in mental health. "I think it made me a better person. And I help a lot of people now."   Coming Soon! The Book. Bump In The Road, Stories of Courage, Perseverance and Resilience, an inspiring anthology of overcoming life's bumps. Because everyone needs a bit of inspiration.   Learn more at Follow Bump on:

Welcome to Side Trips.  This podcast is to introduce Side Trips, a short form podcast about a variety of topics. Side trips are about the  off road excursions we take that often lead to interesting life experiences. This is a new addition to Bump In The Road that lets me share my thoughts beyond the podcast. For Side Trips there’s no set publication schedule and no set topics. The podcasts are short. No music; no post production. They’re a place for a bit of thought and rumination and perhaps perspective on the themes from my guests and from my own life. Every week I interview someone new. But there’s so much more going on than just the basic podcast. So the idea for Side Trips came to be. Subscribe at BumpInTheRoad.us and you’ll automatically have access to Side Trips along with the biweekly newsletter, weekly conversations with my guests, blog posts, and more. When you subscribe, if you can,  It’s only $5 a month and it helps support Bump in The Road.   And of course you can always find Side Trips along with the podcast on all major podcast platforms.   Coming Soon! The Book. Bump In The Road, Stories of Courage, Perseverance and Resilience, an inspiring anthology of overcoming life's bumps. Because everyone needs a bit of inspiration.   Learn more at Follow Bump on:

Dave Pelzer is the author of a series of books including , which was on the New York Times bestseller list for a record setting six years. In that book, he chronicles a childhood of almost unbelievable abuse. Finally, one weekend, he was sure his mother intended to kill him. And that’s when a network of caring adults stepped in to save him. Dave has gone on to a life of great adventure. The hardship of Dave’s early years surprisingly didn’t sour him on life. Instead, it inspired him to LIVE. Now, in his early sixties, he looks back at life with great love and appreciation. His message is is one of resilience, but also of love, learning and doing. In his most recent book, he looks back on it all with love and gratitude. The tone of the book is wistful in some ways. Dave asks: "How many summers do you have left?" It’s a message about making your time here count. About doing your best every day and being aware of the wonderful possibilities of the world around you. It’s about gratitude and the adventure of a life well lived. This podcast with Dave is absolutely inspiring. Dave suggests you listen twice, once for the story and wants to absorb the wisdom of a life well lived.   Coming Soon! The Book. Bump In The Road, Stories of Courage, Perseverence and Resilience, an inspiring anthology of overcoming life's bumps. Because everyone needs a bit of inspiration.   Learn more at Follow Bump on:

Sultan Deniz was a banker for fourteen years. But when she found herself meditating for hours and hours to deal with the stress, she realized something had to give. Sultan decided to follow her heart and it led her to becoming a mediation coach and poet.  Becoming yourself is a process, and the answers lie within. It is in that internal exploration that Sultan directs her clients to discover what is true for them. Sultan's own quest for peace and authenticy led her to tap into a more confident, abundant.and fulfilled version of herself. For Sultan, the path was through both doing and learning. She developed a meditation practice and studied Kundalini Yoga, Buddhism and Sufi wisdom. From this wisdom, she shares her journey and helps others along in theirs. Come be inspired by Sultan Deniz.   Coming Soon! The Book. Bump In The Road, Stories of Courage, Perseverence and Resilience, an inspiring anthology of overcoming life's bumps. Because everyone needs a bit of inspiration.   Learn more at Follow Bump on:

In 2020 the world was dealing with Covid. But in Nova Scotia, Canada, another event took place that defined the year, the deadliest mass shooting in Canadian history. Over two days, April 18th and 19th, Gabriel Worman killed 22 people. He started by killing 13 people in Portapique, N.S. and by burning down several houses, including his own. The next day his rampage continued. Altogether, twenty two people died. The province is home to about a million people. With such a small population, people were shaken and stunned. Many knew one of the victims. Mental health was suddenly a top topic. The combination of events in 2020 led Karen Dean to reach out to her neighbors to chronicle the year. Her efforts allowed woman to voice their concerns and share their stories. She pulled the stories together in her book In this podcast Karen talks about the year and the lessons learned as she shares her story and the stories of her country-women and neighbors.    Coming Soon! The Book. Bump In The Road, Stories of Courage, Perseverence and Resilience, an inspiring anthology of overcoming life's bumps. Because everyone needs a bit of inspiration.   Learn more at Follow Bump on:

Robin’s story starts with 14 years of dealing with infertility. As an RN, Robin went on a surgical trip to the Dominican Republic. It was there she had an aha moment, that moved her from her angst over infertility into an adoption mindset. Robin and her husband would go onto adopt a two day old baby girl and three years later, a 5 day old little girl. Robin was in love with her children, but over the years, she started to sense some dis-ease. She finally had the opportunity to speak to another mother who had adopted some children, and that conversation blew her away. Both mothers were seeing issues  that were identical, and they weren’t the typical issues adolescents face. This sent Robin on a journey to better understand the adoptive process from numerous points of view. She interviewed birth moms, adoptive parents, adult adoptees, doctors, and therapists and wrote a book to encourage, educate, and equip adoptive parents as well as adult adoptees. This is a story about love, and how different people have different viewpoints. It’s a must listen for all of us seeking to find clarity and truth in our situation. And it’s an absolute must for anyone touched by adoption. #BumpInTheRoad #Adoption Coming Soon! The Book. Bump In The Road, Stories of Courage, Perseverence and Resilience, an inspiring anthology of overcoming life's bumps. Because everyone needs a bit of inspiration.   Learn more at Follow Bump on:

From Uganda to American culture, this is a far ranging conversation with Charlie Hedges. Charlie and I are both on a quest for greater understanding and consciousness, and this conversation reflects that. It starts with Charlie's efforts with Wells of Water, a charity that provides clean water for rural Ugandan villages. Clean water changes everything for these villages. The women no longer spend hours a day trudging back and forth from a remote water source. The water is clean, and disease disappears. It means time for education. Charlie notes that:   Everyone I meet in Uganda is a happy and grateful person.   That happiness is a contrast with the trends we are seeing in the West where communities are disintegrating; people are increasingly isolated; drugs are rampant; and society has a distinctly material bent. Charlie speculates that   "is the downside of the American dream."   The American ethos is so future oriented, that today doesn’t exist. That is exactly opposite of the rural mentality one finds in Uganda. Our conversation ranges from the life changing impact of local, clean water, to what it takes to live a meaningful life. What are our priorities? What matters most? While the answer may differ for each of us, the basic constructs are the same.   Coming Soon! The Book. Bump In The Road, Stories of Courage, Perseverence and Resilience, an inspiring anthology of overcoming life's bumps. Because everyone needs a bit of inspiration.   Learn more at Follow Bump on:

Terry Chase is an athlete. And that mindset has defined her life. Riding her bicycle one sunny spring day in Colorado, Terry came to a turn. Behind her was a large SUV that collided with her, then fled the scene. Terry was left sprawled on the pavement with a broken back. Her beloved red bicycle lay mangled on the road. This is a story of remarkable courage and resilience. It's a story of enormous personal and spiritual growth. And for , some behind the scenes stories that will just make your day!   Coming Soon! The Book. Bump In The Road, Stories of Courage, Perseverence and Resilience, an inspiring anthology of overcoming life's bumps. Because everyone needs a bit of inspiration.   Learn more at Follow Bump on:

What is an "Old Soul"? The phrase has connotation of wisdom beyond one’s years. And that certainly describes Raileigh Duschen. Raileigh was on a successful path. She’d been accepted into a prestigious medical school program as an undergrad. Her future was assured. Or was it? For Raileigh, medicine was about healing, but she herself was not well. That recognition sent her on a different path, one of healing and connection outside the hospital walls. This is the story of a young woman, forging her way forward, well outside the conventional career path. As Raileigh says: "I wasn't quitting being successful. I was following the true and authentic path of success for myself." Learn more at Follow Bump on:    

What does “KC” stand for? Killer Chick. Kim “KC” Campbell served in the Air Force for 24 years as a fighter pilot and senior military leader. She has flown 1,800 hours in the A-10 Warthog, including more than 100 combat missions protecting troops on the ground in both Iraq and Afghanistan. KC’s story is one for all of us. It’s about courage, inspiration and perseverance. It’s about creating a wingman culture of mutual respect and excellence. We talk about the educational value of debriefs and how we can integrate this practice into our own daily lives. And of course we talk about that fateful day when Kim’s A-10 was hit by a missile over Bagdad. This is a story you won’t want to miss. For Bump II Subscribers, you can hear about courage and leadership directly from KC.   Coming Soon, The first in a series of books about inspiring people: Bump In The Road, Stories of Courage, Perseverance and Resilience A book about living with heart, soul and courage. Website: Facebook: Twitter: Instagram:   #BumpInTheRoad #Avgeek #Aviation #pilot