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The Unexpected Journey
Summiting and skiing an 11,000 foot volcano, completing a DIY adaptive sport decathlon in one day, harnessing a passion for art to help spinal cord injury survivors adapt and bond, flying in a wing suit as a double amputee, giving birth to and mothering twin girls as a quadriplegic...these are just a few of the powerful stories you will hear on The Unexpected Journey. Adaptive athlete and quadriplegic, Tim Brown, talks with other disabled folks to learn how they challenge preconceived beliefs, push boundaries, and get after it - ultimately leading to a life fulfilled. The Unexpected Journey gives you the experience of listening to two friends sitting at a kitchen table, around a campfire, or on a boat, letting you eavesdrop on an intimate conversation about their shared experience, their passions, and the challenging, rewarding and exhilarating elements of their life. The episode plays like an audio memoir of the guest with the host providing clarity and narrating the biographical details so you can enjoy and appreciate the real and raw moments of the conversation. You’ll hear a sonic backdrop of original music to add emotional richness and additional sound design to bring into the moment with the guest as they describe their most formative and powerful experiences. The host, Tim Brown, is quadriplegic from a ski accident that resulted in a spinal cord injury 11 years ago. He prefers to listen before speaking and shares his own experience along with the guest. Our mission is to elevate, educate, and empower our disabled and able-bodied listeners on the disabled experience through creative and powerful storytelling. Our vision is to be a leader in the creation and distribution of empowering disability-centric storytelling and to provide an accessible platform for participants in the disabled experience to share their stories with the world. The Unexpected Journey is a podcast about adaptive athletes, adventurers, and creators. Each episode features an individual with a disability sharing their powerful story of learning how to challenge preconceived beliefs, push boundaries, and get after it - ultimately leading to a life fulfilled. Listen to guests like Anna Soens talk about being the first paraplegic woman to summit and ski Mount Hood, Greg Durso share his love for adaptive sports and completing an adaptive decathlon, and Channing Cash on her childhood and Laos and becoming a Team USA ocean paddle racer. Hosted and produced by Tim Brown, a surfer, sailor, and skier who is quadriplegic from a skiing accident 10 years ago.Our goal is to Educate. Elevate. Encourage.
The Unexpected Journey
Sean and Jill Leary on North of North
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A couple years ago we started hearing about a wheelchair accessible resort in Northern Minnesota call North of North. Several Unexpected Journey guests and listeners visited and raved about it. I reached out to Sean Leary who, together with his wife Jill built and owns North of North, a micro-resort with three fully wheelchair accessible cabins on a beautiful lake a few miles outside of town in Ely, Minnesota. They have also started AWWR, which stands for Adaptive Wilderness Within Reach, to support outdoor adventure opportunities for folks with disabilities in Ely. After an initial conversation with Sean, I decided I needed to check out North of North. This past February I made the trip along with a couple good friends. We met in Minneapolis and drove up for a a magical three days that included frigid dark starry nights, sauna time, ice fishing, dogsledding, wolves, and the wintry beauty of the Boundary Waters Wilderness area.
Sean was paralyzed and became paraplegic from a car accident when he was 18 years old. He went on to college and in his early 20s met Jill while working in a summer camp. Jill asked Sean out and the rest of his history. They are now married, have two beautiful daughters, two dogs, and careers in environmental consulting and education. They live in a suburb of Minneapolis and have spent the past several years building their resort and program up in Ely, where their hearts lie.
Guest info:
- @northofnorthresort
- northofnorthresort.com
Additional Resources:
- https://www.awwr.org
Contact us:
- Instagram: @unexpectedjourneypod
- Email: tim@unexpectedjourneypod.com
- Hosted and produced by Tim Brown
- Editing and sound design by Louis Arevalo
- Original theme music by Jesse LaFountaine
- Episode cover art by Lewis Falconer
- Cover art and logo design by Anne Holt and Lewis Falconer