The Healing Odyssey; Finding your own way forward

podcast artwork

Podcast by Emma Gardner

The Healing Odyssey; Finding your own way forward

"The Healing Odyssey: Finding Your Own Way Forward" is a transformative podcast hosted by Emma, dedicated to exploring the intricate world of addiction, recovery, and mental health. This engaging series aims to break down stigmas and shed light on crucial issues affecting millions worldwide. Each week, listeners embark on a journey of resilience and hope, guided by Emma and an array of guests including field experts, survivors, and loved ones. The podcast delves into: Complexities of addiction and the recovery process, Mental health challenges and innovative solutions, and Inspiring stories of personal transformation and resilience. Key topics covered include: Resilience building strategies, Applications of positive psychology, Effective healing techniques, Myth-busting in addiction and mental health, and Relatable experiences and personal narratives. "The Healing Odyssey" caters to individuals struggling with addiction, those supporting loved ones through recovery, and anyone interested in deepening their understanding of these vital issues. Members gain access to exclusive training sessions and actionable content to support their personal growth journey. Join Emma weekly for insightful discussions, expert advice, and heartfelt stories that illuminate the path to healing and self-discovery.

Listen onApple Podcasts

Listen onSpotify

Latest episodes

episode artwork

12 September 2026

Ancestral Wounds & Epigenetics: Clearing the Family Line with Vandana

Emma and Vandana discuss inherited trauma across generations and the concept of becoming a "cycle breaker." They trace how family dynamics, caregiver availability and even prenatal stress can shape identity, health and behaviour, sometimes for many generations. Using case examples and recommended readings, Vandana outlines how to research family patterns, converse with ancestral parts, and reclaim talents passed down in DNA. The episode also calls out systemic gaps in recovery care like long waits for post-detox support and argues for integrated approaches combining medical oversight, community support and holistic healing to reduce relapse risk and foster lasting resilience.

Connect with Vandana here

https://vandanalighthealing.com/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/VandanaLightHealing

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/vandana_light_healing

Continue Your Journey

Thank you so much for listening to The Healing Odyssey.If this episode has helped you, please consider sharing it with someone who might need to hear it today.

FREE RESOURCE: MY COMFORT KIT

Create your own collection of comfort, connection and hope with this free interactive wellbeing guide, including your own personal Back-to-Me Box.

Download My Comfort Kit free here:

evolve-recovery-comfort-kit.subscribepage.io

Join Dopamine Without Danger

A calm, private community for recovery, ADHD, burnout and emotional wellbeing.

First month just £3 with code ONEMONTH3

https://dopamine-without-danger.mn.co/landing/

Read AA Is Not the Only Way

Real stories of recovery, ADHD, trauma and finding your own way forward.

https://emmagardner.uk

Support the Podcast

If you'd like to help keep these conversations free:

https://buymeacoffee.com/emmagardnerwrites

Be a Guest

Therapist, coach, researcher, author or someone with lived experience?I'd love to hear from you.

emma@evolve-recovery.co.uk

Until next time... be gentle with yourself, stay curious, and keep finding your own way forward

00:00

01:03:26

episode artwork

10 September 2026

Her Name Was Judy: A Daughter’s Guide Through Silence and Healing with Tracie J. Blackmon

In this episode Emma interviews Tracie J. Blackmon, author of the memoir Her Name Was Judy, which explores losing her mother to suicide and the decades of silence that followed. Tracie shares how writing about her mother became a healing act, why grief can resurface across a lifetime, and how different losses (including her father’s recent death) demanded different kinds of mourning. They discuss family dynamics, cultural stigma around suicide, and the powerful release that arises when you finally speak a lost loved one’s name aloud. Tracie’s honesty models how storytelling and remembrance can reshape recovery and resilience.

Where to Find the Book

Paperback, $14.99 amazon.com/dp/B0HFMZF88Q

Kindle, $4.99 amazon.com/dp/B0HF68Q5JY

Amazon author page amazon.com/author/traciejblackmon

The book and the app meetmeridian.co

Continue Your Journey

Thank you so much for listening to The Healing Odyssey.If this episode has helped you, please consider sharing it with someone who might need to hear it today.

FREE RESOURCE: MY COMFORT KIT

Create your own collection of comfort, connection and hope with this free interactive wellbeing guide, including your own personal Back-to-Me Box.

Download My Comfort Kit free here:

evolve-recovery-comfort-kit.subscribepage.io

Join Dopamine Without Danger

A calm, private community for recovery, ADHD, burnout and emotional wellbeing.

First month just £3 with code ONEMONTH3

https://dopamine-without-danger.mn.co/landing/

Read AA Is Not the Only Way

Real stories of recovery, ADHD, trauma and finding your own way forward.

https://emmagardner.uk

Support the Podcast

If you'd like to help keep these conversations free:

https://buymeacoffee.com/emmagardnerwrites

Be a Guest

Therapist, coach, researcher, author or someone with lived experience?I'd love to hear from you.

emma@evolve-recovery.co.uk

Until next time... be gentle with yourself, stay curious, and keep finding your own way forward

00:00

39:11

episode artwork

10 September 2026

Laughing Through the Darkness Again with Frank King on Suicide Prevention

Comedian-turned-suicide-prevention speaker Frank King joins host Emma again to map the unexpected intersection of humour and mental health. Frank traces his journey from the comedy circuit to TEDx stages and keynote work, revealing how lived experience, suicide loss, a personal attempt, and living with mental illness became the foundation for teaching suicide prevention. He explains why storytelling and well-timed levity help audiences absorb heavy material, shares an impactful military engagement story, and stresses the power of honest conversations. This episode blends warmth, practicality and hard-won wisdom to show how laughter can open the door to life-saving dialogue.

Previous Episode #73 Turning Comedy Into a Life-Saving Message with Frank King

First Four (of twelve) TEDx Talks:

Born to Be Funny https://youtu.be/mugOzr6ItFk

Mental With Benefits https://youtu.be/mCnsHSdAn48

A Matter of Laugh or Death https://youtu.be/IeMg6OFYfU0

Suicide, The Secret of My Success https://youtu.be/3D4m33DXtsI

And my Dry Bar Comedy Special

https://vimeo.com/743798587 Dry Bar Comedy Special

Contact Frank Here: +1 858 405 56 53

Continue Your Journey

Thank you so much for listening to The Healing Odyssey.If this episode has helped you, please consider sharing it with someone who might need to hear it today.

FREE RESOURCE: MY COMFORT KIT

Create your own collection of comfort, connection and hope with this free interactive wellbeing guide, including your own personal Back-to-Me Box.

Download My Comfort Kit free here:

evolve-recovery-comfort-kit.subscribepage.io

Join Dopamine Without Danger

A calm, private community for recovery, ADHD, burnout and emotional wellbeing.

First month just £3 with code ONEMONTH3

https://dopamine-without-danger.mn.co/landing/

Read AA Is Not the Only Way

Real stories of recovery, ADHD, trauma and finding your own way forward.

https://emmagardner.uk

Support the Podcast

If you'd like to help keep these conversations free:

https://buymeacoffee.com/emmagardnerwrites

Be a Guest

Therapist, coach, researcher, author or someone with lived experience?I'd love to hear from you.

emma@evolve-recovery.co.uk

Until next time... be gentle with yourself, stay curious, and keep finding your own way forward

00:00

46:11

episode artwork

08 September 2026

Language of the Heart: Vulnerability, Recovery and Creativity with Ezra Vancil

This episode centers on human connection. How admitting pain and choosing curiosity over control can change a life. Ezra and Emma talk about the rituals, relapses and revelations that shaped his recovery: the importance of spiritual practice, embracing imperfection, and making daily choices that align with inner values. They also explore practical family dynamics, working with adult children as equals, allowing vulnerability at home, and turning failures into moments of humor rather than shame. Listeners will find compassionate insights for anyone supporting a loved one or rebuilding a life after addiction, with music as both metaphor and medicine.

Continue Your Journey

Thank you so much for listening to The Healing Odyssey.If this episode has helped you, please consider sharing it with someone who might need to hear it today.

FREE RESOURCE: MY COMFORT KIT

Create your own collection of comfort, connection and hope with this free interactive wellbeing guide, including your own personal Back-to-Me Box.

Download My Comfort Kit free here:

evolve-recovery-comfort-kit.subscribepage.io

Join Dopamine Without Danger

A calm, private community for recovery, ADHD, burnout and emotional wellbeing.

First month just £3 with code ONEMONTH3

https://dopamine-without-danger.mn.co/landing/

Read AA Is Not the Only Way

Real stories of recovery, ADHD, trauma and finding your own way forward.

https://emmagardner.uk

Support the Podcast

If you'd like to help keep these conversations free:

https://buymeacoffee.com/emmagardnerwrites

Be a Guest

Therapist, coach, researcher, author or someone with lived experience?I'd love to hear from you.

emma@evolve-recovery.co.uk

Until next time... be gentle with yourself, stay curious, and keep finding your own way forward

00:00

50:44

episode artwork

05 September 2026

Bonus Episode From Survival to Rock-and-Roll History: Once a King, Now a Prince with Ira Blacker

In this special bonus episode of The Healing Odyssey, Emma speaks with memoirist, writer and former music agent Ira Blacker about a life shaped by survival, reinvention and rock-and-roll history.

Ira takes us behind his memoir, Once a King, Now a Prince, which brings together three distinct parts of his journey: his unconventional and often chaotic upbringing, the lessons and consequences of his past, and his experiences working within the music industry.

He shares how what began as personal journalling gradually developed over 15 years into a memoir, as well as stories from his career as a full-time music agent at Associated Booking. Ira also reflects on his decades of writing, from blogging and magazine contributions to being published by The Times of Israel.

This is an honest, lively conversation about identity, unexpected opportunities, leaving one chapter of life behind and finding a new way to tell your story. It is also a glimpse behind the curtain of the rock-and-roll business from someone who experienced it first-hand.

Connect with Ira Here: www.onceakingnowaprince.com

Continue Your Journey

Thank you so much for listening to The Healing Odyssey.If this episode has helped you, please consider sharing it with someone who might need to hear it today.

FREE RESOURCE: MY COMFORT KIT

Create your own collection of comfort, connection and hope with this free interactive wellbeing guide, including your own personal Back-to-Me Box.

Download My Comfort Kit free here:

evolve-recovery-comfort-kit.subscribepage.io

Join Dopamine Without Danger

A calm, private community for recovery, ADHD, burnout and emotional wellbeing.

First month just £3 with code ONEMONTH3

https://dopamine-without-danger.mn.co/landing/

Read AA Is Not the Only Way

Real stories of recovery, ADHD, trauma and finding your own way forward.

https://emmagardner.uk

Support the Podcast

If you'd like to help keep these conversations free:

https://buymeacoffee.com/emmagardnerwrites

Be a Guest

Therapist, coach, researcher, author or someone with lived experience?I'd love to hear from you.

emma@evolve-recovery.co.uk

Until next time... be gentle with yourself, stay curious, and keep finding your own way forward

00:00

01:05:44

episode artwork

05 September 2026

Mindful Meals and Calm Minds: Eat, Breathe, Digest with Jill Nussinow

Host Emma welcomes breathwork teacher Jill Nussinow from Breath Wise Health, who shares her shift from 30 years of teaching cooking to a passion for breathwork during the pandemic. Jill explains how basic breathing practices access the parasympathetic nervous system moving us from fight-or-flight into rest, digest, and heal. She guides a short coherence breath (5 in/5 out) and highlights practical outcomes: reduced stress, clearer decision-making, better digestion, and improved posture. This episode emphasizes consistency over intensity with small daily practices, even a minute before meals or a two-minute pause, compound into profound physical and mental benefits.

Join Jill Here: https://breathwisehealth.com/

Continue Your Journey

Thank you so much for listening to The Healing Odyssey.If this episode has helped you, please consider sharing it with someone who might need to hear it today.

FREE RESOURCE: MY COMFORT KIT

Create your own collection of comfort, connection and hope with this free interactive wellbeing guide, including your own personal Back-to-Me Box.

Download My Comfort Kit free here:

evolve-recovery-comfort-kit.subscribepage.io

Join Dopamine Without Danger

A calm, private community for recovery, ADHD, burnout and emotional wellbeing.

First month just £3 with code ONEMONTH3

https://dopamine-without-danger.mn.co/landing/

Read AA Is Not the Only Way

Real stories of recovery, ADHD, trauma and finding your own way forward.

https://emmagardner.uk

Support the Podcast

If you'd like to help keep these conversations free:

https://buymeacoffee.com/emmagardnerwrites

Be a Guest

Therapist, coach, researcher, author or someone with lived experience?I'd love to hear from you.

emma@evolve-recovery.co.uk

Until next time... be gentle with yourself, stay curious, and keep finding your own way forward

00:00

46:51