What Didn’t Break Me

About What Didn’t Break Me

Inspired by the Japanese philosophy of Kintsugi, where broken pottery is repaired with gold, What Didn’t Break Me is a podcast about resilience, healing, and the strength found after life’s hardest moments. Through honest conversations, guests share the experiences that shaped them—not to dwell on the pain, but to celebrate the courage that carried them through. Because every scar tells a story, and every story has the power to heal.

Publisher

Sekani

Category

education

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

7 Jul 2026

Latest episode

8 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

45 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   8 Oct 2026

   Bradley Gabbert: Hit by a Car at 2, People-Pleasing & Healing Decades Later

   In this episode of What Didn’t Break Me, Joy sits down with Bradley L. Gabbert — author of The Agreeable Child: A Yogic Journey from Tragedy to Triumph. His memoir explores childhood trauma, lifelong people-pleasing, finding your voice, and the discovery that healing can begin decades after the original wound. At two years old, Bradley was struck by a car and spent two weeks in a coma. He survived, relearned how to walk and speak, and went on to build what looked like a normal life — preschool teacher, industrial engineer, and later a professional actor. Physically he recovered. Emotionally, it would take more than sixty years to understand that survival and healing are not the same thing. He became the “agreeable child” — quiet, passive, conflict-avoidant, always saying yes even when his body said no. That survival strategy was praised and reinforced for decades. Only later, through therapy, the 4-7-8 breathing practice, yoga, and meditation, did the door finally open to the grief and patterns he had carried since childhood. In this conversation Bradley shares: • The accident at two and the long physical recovery • How early trauma shaped a lifetime of people-pleasing • The difference between surviving and truly healing • How a simple breathing practice cracked open decades of silence • Finding his voice through yoga, breathwork, and self-reflection • What it means to stop giving your choices away If you have ever felt that being “easygoing” cost you parts of yourself, this episode shows that it is never too late to reclaim your voice. If this story resonates with you, share it with someone who needs it, and subscribe so you never miss a new episode of What Didn’t Break Me — where every scar tells a story. #BradleyGabbert #TheAgreeableChild #WhatDidntBreakMe #PeoplePleasing #ChildhoodTrauma #Healing #Breathwork Connect with Bradley Gabbert Website:https://www.bradleylgabbert.com/ (https://www.bradleylgabbert.com/) If What Didn’t Break Me sparks something in you, do well to share to someone who you think might need this. Subscribe so you don’t miss new episodes. If you have a minute leaving a review helps more people discover these everyday unique voices and the insight they carry. Your support means the world. Want to be a guest on What Didn’t Break Me Send a message to Joy https://www.joinpodmatch.com/whatdidntbreakme (https://www.joinpodmatch.com/whatdidntbreakme) Chapters 0:00 – Introduction & Welcome 2:00 – Hit by a car at two and two weeks in a coma 3:30 – Relearning to walk and speak — physical recovery 5:00 – Becoming the “agreeable child” 7:00 – Decades of people-pleasing and giving choices away 9:00 – Therapy, the 4-7-8 breath, and the door that finally opened 11:00+ – Yoga, voice, and the difference between surviving and healing

2. 

   8 Oct 2026

   Dean Graves: Meditation at 50, Identity & Learning to Sit Still

   In this episode of What Didn’t Break Me, Joy sits down with Dean Graves — meditation teacher, mental health counselor, and spiritual guide with more than 25 years of experience helping people explore healing, mindfulness, self-awareness, and spiritual growth. His own deeper journey did not begin until around age 50. The first half of his life looked like a fairly ordinary American success story — yet none of it was making him happier. Meditation opened the door to questions and insights that completely reshaped how he understood himself, his experiences, and the work he would go on to share. Dean explains that we create an identity (ego) from the beliefs and experiences we absorb, often without realizing it. That identity acts like a magnet, attracting the very experiences we need in order to awaken. Experiences themselves are neutral; we assign the emotional value based on how we are in the moment. By becoming quiet enough to notice, we can begin to surrender limiting beliefs and change the nature of what we attract. In this conversation Dean shares: • Why conventional success still left him unhappy • How meditation at 50 changed everything • The identity we build and how it shapes our experiences • Why we attract both what we like and what we don’t • How awareness and surrender transform what comes next • Learning to sit still long enough to hear what is underneath If you have ever felt that the life you built is not the life that actually brings you peace, this episode offers a different way of looking at the path forward. If this story resonates with you, share it with someone who needs it, and subscribe so you never miss a new episode of What Didn’t Break Me — where every scar tells a story. #DeanGraves #Meditation #WhatDidntBreakMe #SpiritualGrowth #Mindfulness #Identity #Healing Connect with Dean Graves Website:https://www.ddeangraves.org/ (https://www.ddeangraves.org/) LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/dean-graves-985390239/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dean-graves-985390239/) Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/simpleenlightenment/ (https://www.instagram.com/simpleenlightenment/) If What Didn’t Break Me sparks something in you, do well to share to someone who you think might need this. Subscribe so you don’t miss new episodes. If you have a minute leaving a review helps more people discover these everyday unique voices and the insight they carry. Your support means the world. Want to be a guest on What Didn’t Break Me Send a message to Joy https://www.joinpodmatch.com/whatdidntbreakme (https://www.joinpodmatch.com/whatdidntbreakme) Chapters 0:00 – Introduction & Welcome 2:00 – An ordinary American life that still left him unhappy 3:00 – Beginning to meditate around age 50 4:00 – The identity we create and why we create it 6:00 – Attracting experiences according to how we are 8:00 – Experiences are neutral — we assign the emotion 10:00+ – Becoming aware, surrendering beliefs, and changing the magnet

3. 

   8 Oct 2026

   Robert O. Bowers: Night Fishing, Mona of the Plains & Unexplained Stories

   In this episode of What Didn’t Break Me, Joy sits down with Robert O. Bowers — storyteller, outdoorsman, and self-published author. After a 43-year career, he turned fully to writing, creating four volumes of Campfire Tales from Uncle Rob and expanding into fiction with Red Eyes and the Black Mesa and the Have Dog Will Travel series. His work draws from decades of hunting, fishing, and time outdoors, with a particular fascination for cryptids and the unexplained. His philosophy is simple: stay curious, pay attention, and you’ll never run out of stories. One night in his 20s, while night-fishing on a sandbar with his friend Dale, something large dive-bombed them — big enough that they felt the air from its wings and saw a massive shadow. Dale insisted it was a pterodactyl. They left. On the remote dirt road home, they saw a woman standing at the edge of the road, dressed entirely in white, long dark hair covering her face. No houses or vehicles nearby. When Robert stopped to check on her, she vanished. The sheriff’s office confirmed they were not the first to report her. Locals call her Mona of the Plains — a ghost many people (and their families) have seen for years. In this conversation Robert shares: • Decades outdoors and the experiences that still defy explanation • The night-fishing encounter that started it all • Meeting Mona of the Plains on a lonely country road • How the story spread and how many others have seen her • Turning real-life strangeness into campfire tales and fiction • Why curiosity keeps the stories coming If the unexplained has ever stayed with you long after the moment passed, this episode is for you. If this story resonates with you, share it with someone who needs it, and subscribe so you never miss a new episode of What Didn’t Break Me — where every scar tells a story. #RobertOBowers #UncleRob #CampfireTales #WhatDidntBreakMe #MonaOfThePlains #Cryptids #Storytelling Connect with Robert Bowers Website:https://www.amazon.com/stores/Robert-O-Bowers/author/B0BTCBBJWR?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1785180777&sr=1-1&shoppingPortalEnabled=true&ccs_id=8fb18f2d-d27c-4441-8a44-9bd1c5199394 (https://www.amazon.com/stores/Robert-O-Bowers/author/B0BTCBBJWR?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1785180777&sr=1-1&shoppingPortalEnabled=true&ccs_id=8fb18f2d-d27c-4441-8a44-9bd1c5199394) If What Didn’t Break Me sparks something in you, do well to share to someone who you think might need this. Subscribe so you don’t miss new episodes. If you have a minute leaving a review helps more people discover these everyday unique voices and the insight they carry. Your support means the world. Want to be a guest on What Didn’t Break Me Send a message to Joy https://www.joinpodmatch.com/whatdidntbreakme (https://www.joinpodmatch.com/whatdidntbreakme) Chapters 0:00 – Introduction & Welcome 2:00 – A lifetime outdoors and the call to write 3:00 – Night fishing and the thing that dive-bombed them 5:00 – The woman in white on the lonely country road 7:00 – She vanished — and the sheriff already knew her 8:30 – Mona of the Plains and how many others have seen her 10:00+ – Turning the unexplained into stories that last

Reach and audience

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

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

5 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

Contact What Didn’t Break Me

Guest appearances

Books guests

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