Show Notes
What if when things fall apart… that’s actually where healing begins? In this week’s episode of Life Happens with Barb & Michelle, we’re diving into the wisdom of Pema Chödrön and her transformational book When Things Fall Apart — a powerful guide for navigating hardship, fear, failure, and suffering. When life feels overwhelming, our instinct is often to escape the discomfort. But what if leaning into fear is actually the path to resilience? What if the suffering we experience isn’t just about what happened — but the meaning we attach to it? This episode explores how to stop adding to your own suffering and start turning life’s hardest moments into growth and healing. 💬 Barb shares how When Things Fall Apart helped her navigate her mother’s terminal cancer diagnosis and shift from fear to grounded presence. 💬 Michelle opens up about recognizing where she was compounding her own suffering — and how she now approaches hardship with greater awareness, compassion, and courage. This conversation is an invitation to step out of denial, stop fighting reality, and begin building emotional resilience — especially when everything feels like it’s unraveling. ✨ In This Episode, We Explore:
When Things Fall Apart – Why hardship and failure are not the end, but the beginning of transformation.
How We Add to Our Own Suffering – The stories we tell ourselves that keep us stuck in guilt, denial, or fear.
Leaning Into Fear – How facing discomfort builds real resilience.
Reframing Failure – Why failure can be your greatest teacher.
From Denial to Acceptance – Feeling difficult emotions instead of escaping them.
The Danger of Passive Hope – Moving from wishing things were different to taking grounded, proactive steps.
Building Emotional Resilience – Navigating small challenges so we’re stronger in life’s biggest storms.
Being Fully Alive – Living with presence, curiosity, and compassion.
True healing begins when we stop resisting what is. When we meet pain with compassion instead of judgment. When we realize that fear and hardship are not signs that we’re broken — but invitations to grow. If life feels heavy right now, this episode is for you. 💗 Mentioned in today’s episode: Pema Chödrön’s When Things Fall Apart: https://bit.ly/3OAynj2 📘 Continue the Conversation If this episode resonates, you may also love Michelle’s USA TODAY bestselling book, Dear Friend — a daily reflection companion designed to help you reconnect with yourself, strengthen your inner voice, and practice emotional clarity one day at a time. Because the most important relationship you’ll ever build… is the one you have with yourself. 👉 Order your copy: https://amzn.to/3Us9eqg 🎧 Listen to the audiobook and step into a year that truly loves you back: https://amzn.to/459zSdt 💬 We’d love to hear from you! What insight or moment resonated most with you in this episode? Share in the comments—we truly read every one. 📅 Subscribe & Join Us Next Tuesday for another heartfelt episode of Life Happens with Barb and Michelle! 💕 🎙️ Host by:
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More from Life Happens with Barb & Michelle
“It’s not about you needing to be fixed. It’s about you needing to understand that you already are worthy.” - Barb Self-love, toxic relationships, and feeling overwhelmed: these are just a few of the topics in this week’s episode of Life Happens with Barb and Michelle, where the mother-daughter duo are back with one of their favorite formats, a Q&A from their community. Barb shares how she gets through difficult family gatherings, from volunteering for the grocery run to taking the grandkids out for ice cream. Michelle reflects on Scott Peck’s line that life is difficult, and how once you accept that, it can take the edge off when someone rubs you the wrong way. They then get into how to build self-love and how to keep it even when it feels like life is knocking you down.
"I'm okay with people having their opinions … but I'm not okay with them saying it's the only way." – Barb
"People are walking around asking, 'Is it okay if I'm just me?'" – Cory Allen
In today’s episode of Life Happens with Barb and Michelle, Barb and Michelle are joined by writer, speaker, and advocate Libby Ward, author of Honest Motherhood: On Losing My Mind and Finding Myself. In a deeply moving and vulnerable conversation, we talk about the realities of modern motherhood, including the mental load, overwhelm, the pressure to do it all, and what it takes to let go of perfection. Together, Libby, Barb, and Michelle explore the hidden roots of rage, overstimulation, and people-pleasing, unpacking how childhood trauma and hypervigilance make setting simple boundaries feel like a matter of life or death. Libby shares her candid "Granola Bar" story, a pivotal moment of maternal rage that forces her to confront her limits and explains why genuine repair and self-compassion are the true keys to breaking generational cycles. From validating our children's experiences to unlearning the myth of the "perfect mother," this episode offers an honest, hopeful blueprint for reconnecting with your authentic self.
On this week’s episode of Life Happens with Barb and Michelle, Barb and Michelle are joined by Kelly Rizzo, host of the podcast Comfort Food and widow of beloved comedian Bob Saget. In this vulnerable conversation about grief and loss, Kelly shares the deep love she had for Bob, the heartbreak that followed his death in 2022, and how she continues to manage her relationship with grief and the trauma she experienced processing such a loss in the public eye. Kelly also shares her personal experience of finding love again after loss, how she knew she was ready to date again, and also talks of her personal experience of choosing to live child-free. We felt such a beautiful connection with Kelly in this episode and we hope you love it as much as we do! Episode Highlights: Grief after sudden loss while grieving in the public eye The trauma of grief, PTSD, and the blessing of sharing your story to help others Finding love again and the importance of not settling in relationships Choosing a child-free life and breaking free from societal expectations