Poema S11 006 | MJ Weissenberger Shares Her Autism Story

Author and friend Jim Woods returns to the podcast today, to discuss his latest work, the creative process, power of story and what he's learned as an author coach.  We talk about the challenges which every creative person faces, with Jim sharing some of his own story, why these happen, and how to overcome them. We also explore the dangers of pursuing our art and how we can keep our integrity whilst still creating great art to share with the world. He shares his inpsiration for his recent series of novels and how the research and writing of these books changed him. This was such a fun conversation, and I'm sure you're going to love it. ___________ You can find Jim's books on Amazon, and access to all his work at JimWoodsWrites.com   Jim's books, including several nove are all available on Amazon

Today my friend Justin return to the podcast. In this episode they talk about their advocacy and lived experiences as a bi and ace racialised person and how the developments in the USA have impacted their lived experience. We both share stories about how healthy community can help us survive through difficult times, in a world of prejudice and hate, and what healthy community should - and can - look like.  Justin is a person who inspires hope in me, and I'm sure they will in you too. Check out their work here: Medium: jancheta25.medium.com Bluesky: @jancheta25.bsky.social Website: www.justinanchetawriter.com

My beloved friend Brandan Robertson returns to the podcast today to talk about his latest book, "Queer & Christian: Reclaiming the Bible, Our Faith, and Our Place at the Table".  We talk about how Brandan revisited the scriptures and discovered there are several Queer saints within it, more than you'd expect. He also explored the usual "clobber" verses used against LGBTQIA community and unpacked their true contextual meaning.  He shares his vision of a Biblically supported, fully inclusive, loving joyful Christian faith, and its very compelling. 

This week Jenna DeWitt is back on the podcast, this time we discuss the MCU movie "The Marvels", the sequel to Captain Marvel, the MCU's leading female superhero currently.  Jenna shares how this movie and the journey of the lead characters in it, have been really impact for her as a queer, asexual woman. She also talks about how the movie covers themes of grief and loss, something often found in these type of movies, and identity.  This was such a fun conversation, hope you enjoy it. ***** You can find more of Jenna's work at invisiblecakesociety.com

This week my dear friend MJ joins us to share the story of her autism diagnosis, how she first realised she may be autistic, the process of getting her diagnosis, and how her life has changed since.  This is a powerful, challenging and encouraging story. 

Today I'm joined by author and speaker Alice Hewson to discuss autism in the work place. Alice talks about the challenges of being neurodivergent in the world we live in, which isn't set up for neurodivergent people, and how this can often translate into the work place.  She shares her own experiences and also offers some practical ideas for both employers and neurodivergent people themselves, for how neurodivergent people can feel safe and protected in the work place. She also shares some thoughts and examples of how neurodivergent people can build structures and processes which will help them thrive in the work place rather than be overwhelmed, and to avoid potential meltdowns You can read more about this in her book "Neurodiversity in the Workplace" which is available wherever books are sold. 

This week, as part of a new series, Dr Amy Maschall PsyD returns to the podcast to talk about people's lived experiences with autism and in particular the experience of justice sensitivity.  Dr Amy is autistic herself, and works with autistic people on a regular basis, and a qualified expert, so has a lot of both lived experience and academic knowledge of autism. She shares this with us, and talks about how autistic people can be more sensitive about injusitces, big and small, and feel them more acutely, often seeing injustice and how to stop it in a binary way. I myself share my experiences of this as an autistic person too, and we explore how autistic people can navigate the challenges this bring, and how it impacts our day to day lives.  Dr Amy has so much knowledge and insight on this subject, this is well worth a listen. ____ Find more of Dr Amy's work, including her many books on neurodiversity on her website here.

**Trigger warning: Spiritual abuse, toxic evangelicalism, conversion therapy stories** This week I'm joined by author and activist Lucas Wilson, to discuss stories of conversion therapy, the damage done by it, and the toxic evangelical culture which gave rise to it. We talk about some of the stories shared by people in Lucas' new book  "Shame Sex Attraction", their grief, trauma and how they healed from those experiences. We also discuss toxic evangelical culture, and the harm its done to the LGBTQIA community as a whole & how we can support people who've experienced spiritual abuse, and how many of them have healed and moved into healthier lives embracing & being accepted for who they really are.

Today my beloved friend, embodiment coach, writer and podcaster Jamie Lee Finch returns to the show. We talk all sorts in this episode, from connectedness with our bodies, intuition and how this all connects to a wider spirituality, to grief and how we build healthy relationships with our bodies and build resilience. We also explore how the system we all rigged, in, is simply not built for the thriving of human bodies.  We had such fun recording this, make sure you check it out. 

The podcast returns for 2025 with a new interview with the ever inspiring author and speaker Rob Bell.  Recorded just before the US election of 2024, Rob joins me to talk about his latest novel, "There's Only One Noon Yeah", the second in his new series of novels. We talk about the themes and inspirations behind the novel, how it shows us the world we live in a fresh way, and delve into grief, transitions, transformation and awareness, as well as finding joy in the creative process. It was such a fun and interesting conversation.