For people drawn to real stories and meaningful conversations, Not Just a Story™ explores lived experience, resilience, healing, identity and personal transformation. Guests share the moments, choices and experiences that shaped who they became. We go beyond what happened to uncover why the story matters. Hosted by award-winning podcaster and Story Curator Rose Davidson. Follow for honest conversations that help you see yourself, others and the stories we carry differently.
Why do some stories stay with us long after we've heard them? And what happens when we reach a point where looking away no longer feels possible?
In this solo episode of Not Just A Story™, Rose Davidson explores the connection between lived experience,personal storytelling and speaking up about injustice.
Drawing on her own experiences, years of podcast conversations and growing involvement in human rights advocacy, Rose reflects on why certain issues affect us so deeply and what happens when concern turns into action.
She discusses child protection, domestic and family violence, institutional accountability and the difficult questions we sometimes need to ask of systems designed to protect people.
But this isn't simply a conversation about advocacy.
It's also about uncertainty, self-doubt, emotional exhaustion and learning that caring deeply doesn't mean taking responsibility for everything.
What does it mean to find your voice? Does one person's contribution really matter? And how do we keep speaking upwhen meaningful change can be difficult to see?
A personal and thoughtful reflection on listening, questioning and recognising that even a small voice can contribute to a much larger conversation.
Not Just A Story™ with Rose Davidson.Because every story deserves to be heard.
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Hosted by Rose Davidson, indie podcaster of global 5% podcast and 667 episodes, Winner Beam Award 2025 Podcast of the Year, Finalist Beam Award 2026 Social Change Maker of the Year, and recognised as Thinkers360 Top Voice 2026
🌐 Website: https://rosedavidson.com.au (https://rosedavidson.com.au)
💬Share your story (https://rosedavidson.com.au/impactfulvoice/stories/)
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/rosedavidsonaustralia (https://www.facebook.com/rosedavidsonaustralia)
LinkedIn Profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rose-davidson/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rose-davidson/)
LinkedIn Page:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-impactful-voice-project-2/ (https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-impactful-voice-project-2/)
25 Oct 2026
Losing a Child to Addiction: Grief, Shame and Love | Katie Rizzo
What happens to a family when addiction takes the life of someone they love?
In this episode of Not Just A Story™ with Rose Davidson, writer and educator Katie Rizzo shares the loss of her son, Nicholas, in 2024, and the grief that followed.
Nicholas was a talented soccer player whose sports injuries led to prescriptions for opioid pain medication. Katie remembers a young man who desperately wanted to be free of addiction, yet struggled to feel normal without the substances his body had come to depend on.
Their family tried treatment, rehabilitation and support, often feeling they had to manage the situation alone. Katie speaks about the shame that surrounded Nicholas's addiction, theguilt parents can carry after losing a child, and the questions that have no simple answers.
She also shares what helped her family begin to reconnect: grief groups, the understanding of others who have experienced loss, and learning to give one another grace.
Katie's journalling became her book, The Trimesters of Grief, written for parents searching for words and companionship in an isolating time.
This is not a conversation about blame. It is about love, loss and why no family should have to grieve in silence.
Connect with Katie:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-rizzo-098978280 (https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-rizzo-098978280)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rizzoboysandagirl/ (https://www.facebook.com/rizzoboysandagirl/)
Instagram: @katierizzo007
Website: https://katierizzo.com (https://katierizzo.com)
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@katie.rizzo007? is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc (https://www.tiktok.com/@katie.rizzo007? is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc)
Substack: https://katierizzo504327.substack.com/ (https://katierizzo504327.substack.com/)
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Hosted by Rose Davidson, indie podcaster of global 5% podcast and 667 episodes, Winner Beam Award 2025 Podcast of the Year, Finalist Beam Award 2026 Social Change Maker of the Year, and recognised as Thinkers360 Top Voice 2026
🌐 Website: https://rosedavidson.com.au (https://rosedavidson.com.au)
💬Share your story (https://rosedavidson.com.au/impactfulvoice/stories/)
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/rosedavidsonaustralia (https://www.facebook.com/rosedavidsonaustralia)
LinkedIn Profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rose-davidson/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rose-davidson/)
LinkedIn Page:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-impactful-voice-project-2/ (https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-impactful-voice-project-2/)
18 Oct 2026
Seeing the Hidden System Behind Toxic Relationships | Carine Van Hee
What happens when you finally realise that the confusion, criticism and self-doubt you lived with were not random moments, but part of a pattern?
In this episode of Not Just A Story™, Rose Davidson speaks with artist, author and speaker Carine Van Hee about recognising the hidden system behind toxic relationships. Carine shares how, years after leaving a difficult relationship, research into her family history helped her see patterns of manipulation, psychological abuse and control that she had never fully understood.
That recognition became a turning point. Instead of continuing to ask, “Was it me?”, Carine began to understandwhat had happened, release some of the shame she carried, and find the courage to use her voice.
Rose and Carine also talk openly about survival mode, the long process of rebuilding a sense of self, the importanceof lived experience, and why survivors may need language before they can make sense of what they have endured.
Carine also shares how writing, art and speaking have become ways to connect with others and remind them they are not alone.
This is a conversation about awareness, voice, healing and reclaiming your life. Sometimes, seeing the pattern is wherea different future begins.
Connect with Carine:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carinevanhee/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/carinevanhee/)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarineVanHeeArt (https://www.facebook.com/CarineVanHeeArt)
Website: https://www.carinevanhee.com (https://www.carinevanhee.com)
Her Book: https://www.carinevanhee.com/the-book (https://www.carinevanhee.com/the-book)
▼ ▼
Hosted by Rose Davidson, indie podcaster of global 5% podcast and 667 episodes, Winner Beam Award 2025 Podcast of the Year, Finalist Beam Award 2026 Social Change Maker of the Year, and recognised as Thinkers360 Top Voice 2026
🌐 Website: https://rosedavidson.com.au (https://rosedavidson.com.au)
💬Share your story (https://rosedavidson.com.au/impactfulvoice/stories/)
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/rosedavidsonaustralia (https://www.facebook.com/rosedavidsonaustralia)
LinkedIn Profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rose-davidson/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rose-davidson/)
LinkedIn Page:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-impactful-voice-project-2/ (https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-impactful-voice-project-2/)
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