Dancing in the Discomfort Zone with Anne Bonney

Widower, Father, Fighter: Keep Those Feet Moving with AJ Coleman

Anne Bonney Season 16 Episode 360

What do you do when life hits you with every curveball imaginable—hearing loss, heartbreak, grief, and single parenthood—all before 40?

In this powerful episode of Dancing in the Discomfort Zone, I talk with AJ Coleman, (https://keepthosefeetmoving.com) widower, single dad, financial crime fighter, and author of Keep Those Feet Moving. His story is equal parts heartbreak, humor, and hard-won wisdom about what it really takes to keep going when life feels impossible.

After losing his wife to brain cancer just a year after their daughter was born, AJ had every reason to give up. Instead, he made a choice—to keep moving forward, one step at a time. From rebuilding his faith on a mountain in Israel to finding peace through purpose, AJ’s story is a blueprint for resilience that’s as practical as it is inspiring.

He opens up about his journey through grief, anxiety, and self-discovery, and how learning to feel his emotions, not fight them, helped him heal. He’s also redefining masculinity through emotional intelligence and connection, proving that strength and vulnerability go hand in hand.

What You’ll Hear About

  • How to find forward motion when life stops you in your tracks
  • The healing power of action—and why grief hates momentum
  • Why emotional intelligence isn’t weakness (it’s strategy)
  • How men can support each other through openness, not silence
  • A simple trick to reframe any challenge: the “five-minute, five-hour, five-year” rule

AJ’s story reminds us that resilience isn’t about bouncing back.  It’s about building forward. You can’t control the losses, but you can control the legacy you build from them.