
Breaking the Mold
You know the phrase “Don’t judge me until you’ve walked a mile in my shoes”? Diversity is the spice of life. Here at “Breaking the Mold”, we interview people with different life experiences, and gain their perspective on the world and society. The goal of this podcast is to give listeners a broader perspective, and a better understanding about those different from ourselves. We will talk with people who don’t fit society’s typical mold in hopes to be educated and gain greater empathy for our neighbors.
Episodes
18 episodes
Vauna: A Marriage & Parenting Coach On Her Experiences
Vauna Byrd is a marriage and parenting coach, wife of 20 years, mother of six, and grandmother. Thirteen years ago, Vauna and her husband separated. While preparing divorce papers, something spoke to Vauna's heart saying "Not yet, let's see wha...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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51:43

Aleisha: A Weight Loss & Inner Healing Journey
Meet Aleisha Black. Aleisha was born and raised in southern Utah. She is a 43 year old mother of four, and married for 25 years to her high school sweetheart. She has struggled with her weight since she was married. Aleisha lost 85 pounds and d...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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1:06:31

Charity: Boudoir, Empowerment, and Self-Love Journeys
Meet Charity! Charity is a boudoir photographer with a goal to spread positivity, inclusivity, and kindness. She uses her photography to show women that their body and sensuality deserve to be celebrated! Join us on a discussion about ...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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47:03

Brittany: Receiving a Liver Transplant and Overcoming Challenges
Meet Brittany De La Cruz! Brittany is 24 years old, and moved to southern Utah three years ago with her husband and dog. Brittany received a liver transplant when she was 16 years old. Two years later she experienced two close family d...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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33:55

Robyn: Living With An Invisible Illness
Robyn Sanders is a 25 year old mother to a three year old son. Robyn has been dancing since she was three, and dances any chance she gets. In August of 2020, Robyn was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. She joins me on this episode to discuss her exp...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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47:33

Karissa: Parent Loss, Divorce, and Co-Parenting
Meet Karissa Jones! Karissa is a 24 year old divorced single mother, originally from Las Vegas. She lost her mother to cancer when she was 14, and moved in with her father who she didn't get along with well at the time. More recently, ...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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1:05:34

Micah: Being Non-Binary in a Binary World
Meet Micah Barrick! Micah is a transmasculine non-binary individual, who uses all pronouns, and is setting out to help people understand what it means to be non-binary in a binary society. They are here to share their story of joy and ...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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39:56

Tina: Suicide Loss and Advocacy
On this episode of Breaking the Mold, Natalie chats with Tina Hender. Tina lost her brother and her son to suicide. She discusses those two experiences and what life has been like after the loss. She also co-facilitates a suicide suppo...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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41:23

Jenna: A bisexual mother on her life experiences and LGBTQ+ acceptance
On this episode of Breaking the Mold, Natalie chats with Jenna. Jenna is a 30 year old mother and business owner. She speaks about her experiences growing up bisexual and how that affected her and her relationships with the people around her. J...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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45:20

Malory: Addiction, Recovery, and Healing
Malory Ruesch is an author, speaker, and survivor who travels to high schools to help individuals identify trauma and understand healing strategies. Malory is soon publishing a book titled "The Way in 90 Days" to help anyone heal from addiction...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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59:25

Tiffany: Surrogacy, Adoption, and Family
Tiffany Amber placed a child for adoption when she was 17 years old, was a surrogate for a couple in Spain (and is working on a sibling project to do it again), and is also raising six children of her own, all while going to nursing school! She...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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38:58

Lexi: Guardianship, Parenting, and Advocacy
Lexi Sanderson joins me on this episode of BTM to discuss her experiences taking on guardianship of her five siblings (in addition to raising her own two children), the realities of parenting and learning as we go, and the importance of advocat...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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58:36

Danielle: Adoption, Addiction, Recovery
In this episode of Breaking the Mold, I speak with Danielle Jones. Danielle was adopted as an infant, placed a child for adoption when she was 18, struggled with addictions to drugs/alcohol and an eating disorder, but is now sober and a recover...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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52:54

Jeffrey: A gay Latter-Day Saint on his marriage and life experiences
In this episode, Jeffrey joins me to speak about his journey as a gay latter-day saint. WE cover his experiences growing up in the church, being involved in a mixed orientation marriage (meaning he is married to a heterosexual woman), dealing w...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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1:00:22

Kara: A boudoir photographer on self-love and body positivity
Kara is a boudoir photographer residing in Southern Utah. She attended Southern Utah University and majored in art and marketing. Kara and I talk about body positivity, self-love, and her experiences as a boudoir photographer in a conservative ...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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50:27

Makayla: Anxiety, Depression, and Motherhood
In this episode of BTM, we meet Makayla Snow. Makayla is a 23 year old mom who created and runs her own lipgloss business (@stellarcosmetix) and she open up about her experiences with anxiety, depression, how those have affected her postpartum ...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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38:27

Mabi: A First Generation Immigrant
In this first episode, we speak with Mabi Thompson (@thepretichina143/@mabi_slays82) on her experiences as a first generation immigrant to the United States. We discuss her journey, her views on illegal immigration, learn what legal immigration...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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56:54
