Heya! Happy Friday! I’m celebrating the weekend by watching the snow fall, practicing my set for a couple concerts across the state next week (see you in Moorhead, MN?) and catching a rodeo in town on Saturday night. I heard there is going to be a trick rider and Rosie is PUMPED. (Because, according to her announcement at her pre-school graduation, that is her career aspiration.)
Recently I had the chance to sit down and talk to the brilliant and resilient Jackie M. Stebbins. I met her at a women’s writing event and in the short time we had together we could just tell we were cut from the same cloth. Jackie is a former accomplished attorney who operated her own law firm until her life was sidetracked by autoimmune encephalitis. Autoimmune encephalitis is a rare and can be fatal brain illness that is caused by a person’s immune system mistakenly attacking healthy brain cells. Jackie is now a writer and motivational speaker. She uses her high energy personality, positive attitude, and story to spread awareness about autoimmune encephalitis and to share her inspirational resilience.
Throughout my life as a writer and performer I am consistently reminded of the importance of sharing our stories, not just of hope and success, but of struggle. Jackie is honest about both and is using her struggle to help others feel seen and heard.
It’s hard for me to listen back to hear myself talk on these programs. But with Jackie, I was given space to really open up about how health struggles affect every aspect of your life, and the lives of those around you. She gave me that space and does so with others as well. I am proud of this conversation about music, motherhood, cancer and pushing through. Thank you Jackie. We could have talked for hours.
Listen to the podcast below and pick up Jackie’s book here: “Unwillable: A Journey to Reclaim my Brain” or on Amazon or Barnes and Noble.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch... 