Talk2Tamara

About Talk2Tamara

Hosted by therapist and coach Tamara, Talk 2 Tamara creates space for the conversations that often go unspoken. Drawing from her life as a mother, wife, and member of the Orthodox Jewish community, Tamara explores real stories, complicated questions, and the moments that shape who we are. This podcast is about naming what’s beneath the surface and making room for deeper understanding, connection, and growth — because some things deserve to be said out loud.

Publisher

Tamara Gestetner

Category

health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

23 Feb 2026

Latest episode

7 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

22 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   7 Sept 2026

   Living Through 16 Years Behind Bars: Yehudah Pryce's Journey

   Dr. Yehudah Pryce reflects on his time in prison and personal transformation. Dr. Yehudah Pryce's story is one of resilience and reflection. At just 19 years old, he was sentenced to 24 years in prison, a reality that felt incomprehensible to someone so young. In our latest episode, we dive deep into his experiences, focusing on the raw emotions and mental struggles he faced during his incarceration. Confronting Reality When he first received his sentence, the gravity of spending a quarter century behind bars was overwhelming. Yehudah recalls, "How do you conceptualize having to spend a quarter century of your life behind bars?" The initial shock led him to push the reality aside, clinging to a glimmer of hope that an appeal might allow him to escape his fate. Identity and Survival In prison, Yehudah developed a new identity, one that he felt was congruent with his past actions. He describes this transformation as a defensive mechanism, saying, "I kind of just pushed it from my mind as much. Yes, it was sad. I felt a certain loss of myself... that was essentially taken away from me." He found himself grappling with anger and victimhood, feeling that the system had failed him. The Shift Towards Acceptance However, it wasn’t until he had served nearly nine years that Yehudah began to accept his reality. He reflects, "What am I sacrificing my life for?" This question catalyzed a profound shift in his mindset. By recognizing the power of his choices, he began to craft a new narrative for his life. Empowerment Through Choices Yehudah emphasizes the importance of finding agency within the confines of prison. "I found a certain empowerment by taking all the choices, all the opportunities I had for choices... that gave me so much agency," he explains. This mindset ultimately propelled him towards personal growth and self-discovery, allowing him to visualize a future beyond incarceration. The Bigger Picture Dr. Pryce also shares insights into the broader patterns he observed among fellow inmates. Many had faced significant trauma before entering prison, highlighting systemic issues that contribute to cycles of incarceration. He notes, "Up to 98% of people who are incarcerated have experienced at least one lifetime traumatic event." Reflecting on his journey, Yehudah Pryce’s story stands as a testament to the human spirit’s capacity for resilience and transformation. As he continues to share his experiences, he encourages others to recognize the power of their choices, no matter the circumstances.

2. 

   31 Aug 2026

   Maybe You Don’t Need a New Identity. Maybe You Need Yourself Back | Sarah Kusavitsky

   This week on Talk2Tamara, Tamara sits down with saxophonist and 613 Music Academy founder Sarah Kusavitsky for a conversation about what happens when the identity you’ve built your life around suddenly disappears. Sarah spent years immersed in music, performing at jazz festivals, studying jazz at the University of Texas at Austin, and building a life around being a musician. Then COVID brought that world to a halt, and somewhere along the way, Sarah stopped playing, took down her websites, deleted pieces of her musical past, and eventually stopped calling herself a musician altogether. What followed was a journey of searching. Through Judaism, community, teaching, marriage, and eventually motherhood, Sarah continued to redefine who she was. But becoming a mother brought another unexpected identity shift, forcing her to confront the parts of herself she thought belonged to an old life and decide which ones she wanted back. Sarah shares how Jewish music ultimately helped reconnect her to the part of herself she had walked away from and inspired her to create 613 Music Academy, a space that brings together her love of jazz, Jewish music, education, and community. Tamara and Sarah also talk about burnout, hustle culture, learning to listen to yourself, letting go of labels, balancing ambition with motherhood, and realizing that growth doesn’t always require becoming someone new. Sometimes, it means finding your way back to who you’ve been all along. It’s a conversation about identity, faith, motherhood, music, and learning that every version of yourself can belong in the same story.

3. 

   24 Aug 2026

   Rejected, Rewritten, Published | Isaac Rudansky

   This week on Talk2Tamara, Tamara sits down with Isaac Rudansky, author, entrepreneur, and lifelong creative, to talk about the nearly decade-long journey that eventually led him to a three-book deal with Penguin Random House. Isaac’s story didn’t begin with a publishing deal. It began with hundreds of pages written in the early hours of the morning, an editor telling him his manuscript simply wasn’t ready, and a decision to put it away. He went on to build a successful advertising business, start a family, and spend nearly nine years away from the book. But the feeling that he had started something and never finished it never fully went away. When he finally returned to writing, the road wasn’t any easier. Isaac rewrote the manuscript, studied the craft, attended workshops, queried roughly 350 middle-grade literary agents, and faced rejection after rejection. Even the agent he wanted most turned him down multiple times. Instead of accepting the no, Isaac kept refining the book and trying again. Eventually, the same agent who had previously passed on his work read the new manuscript and wanted to represent him. That journey ultimately led to something Isaac had spent years chasing: a three-book deal with Penguin Random House. But this conversation goes far beyond becoming a published author. Tamara and Isaac get candid about ambition, rejection, creativity, insecurity, growing up in a creative and religious home, the need for external validation, and why achieving the thing you thought would finally make you feel “enough” doesn’t necessarily stop you from searching for the next thing. They also explore the power of what Isaac calls “idiotic optimism”: believing in something even when the odds are stacked against you, being willing to look a little crazy while chasing it, and using that chip on your shoulder as motivation to keep going. This episode is about unfinished dreams, relentless persistence, and the complicated relationship between success and self-worth. Because sometimes the dream you put away is the exact one you’re supposed to come back to.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.8 / 5

6 ratings

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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