Turning Trauma into Triumph with Dani Rosenblad James

What if your greatest trauma became your most profound gift? That's exactly what happened to Dani Rosenblad James, whose life completely transformed after a catastrophic car accident left her with a traumatic brain injury ten years ago.

Dani takes us through the harrowing experience of her accident on black ice in Wyoming—an accident so severe the sheriff called it the worst he'd seen in his career. After being airlifted to Salt Lake City and placed in an induced coma, Dani awoke to an inner voice whispering, "This is but a moment." That simple phrase became her north star, guiding her from being a self-described "party girl" and weed farmer to becoming an international bestselling author, mind-body coach, and founder of Misfit Wanderers.

Dani made the remarkable choice to refuse pain medication during recovery so she could truly listen to her body—a decision that helped her develop the deep mind-body connection she now teaches others. Even today, she occasionally experiences cognitive challenges that remind her of her ongoing healing journey.

Her international bestselling book offers readers an intimate, raw look at her transformation, alternating between past and present to reveal both her pre-accident life and her path to healing.

Guest Bio:

Dani Rosenblad James is a dynamic force, inspiring through sustainable travel, writing, and mind-body coaching. As the founder of Misfit Wanders, she shares the transformative power of nature. Alongside her roles as an author and sustainable travel expert, Dani guides others on a journey of holistic well-being, drawing from her own experiences and resilience overcoming her traumatic brain injury. Her mission is to empower individuals to cultivate strength, vitality, and purpose in their lives.

Find Dani:

Website, Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook, Linkedin

This episode was produced by six-two.studio

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Karen Sarmento is a passionate and dedicated Nurse Practitioner for more than 18 years, CEO at Sarmento Mentoring Services LLC, and a Proctor Gallagher Certified Mindset Mentor. She specializes in empowering women to tap into their true potential. She understands the unique challenges faced by women because she too has battled some major challenges in her life. Karen does not let that define her; she believes it’s the challenges that have made her the limitless woman she is today. She whole-heartedly believes we hold all the power within and that we should stand tall together in the pursuit of greatness.

Karen has served thousands over the course of her career and has spent many years studying directly with world class mentors to gain a deep understanding of the science behind human behaviour and learning about the success principals that create lasting change and transformation. She will share her insights with you so you can feel unstoppable and limitless too.

Find Karen:
Website
Instagram
Facebook

Transcript

Karen Sarmento:

0:01

Have you ever felt that inner whisper nudging you towards something greater? We truly are a force of nature, possessing our own incredible power within. We are all here to identify our own personal definition of success. We all have a story to tell. Join me as I dive into empowering concepts and have powerful conversations with extraordinary humans who have shattered limitations, overcome adversity and created remarkable success. I'm your host, Karen Sarmento, and we are meant for more.

Karen Sarmento:

0:49

Hello and welcome back to another episode of We Are Meant For More. Today, I have an amazing, amazing guest for you. I'm super excited about this. Welcome, Dani Rosenblad James.

Dani Rosenblad James:

1:07

Yeah, thanks for having me.

Karen Sarmento:

1:08

Oh, our pleasure. So I'll tell the audience a little bit about you and I'm going to read actually right from your bio, because it's amazing. Dani is a dynamic force, inspiring through sustainable travel writing. She's an international bestselling author We'll talk more about that after, for sure and a mind-body coach. You're the founder of Misfit Wanderers and you share a transformative power of nature. Alongside your roles as an author and sustainable travel expert, you guide others on a journey of holistic well-being, drawing from your own experience and resilience, overcoming a traumatic brain injury. So really powerful story and I'm really excited to dive into all of this. So if you don't mind, would you just to tell us a little bit about you? I know your traumatic brain injury is a big driving force and it's certainly an inspiring story, so share with us a little bit about you.

Dani Rosenblad James:

2:15

Yeah, so originally I'm from South Dakota, but nowadays I live in Sweden and have been for seven years. But nowadays I live in Sweden and have been for seven years Now. I didn't let a traumatic brain injury stop me from living, so I have a little three-year-old that runs around like a little maniac and it's been 10 years since my accident from the traumatic brain injury and, as you know now it's something that I've seen has inspired tons of people when I talk about it and that's what gave me the drive to write the international bestseller, because it's loosely based on my traumatic brain injury, and it also helped me realize that I can help other people out there. So I started becoming a mind and body coach as well.

Karen Sarmento:

3:03

Fascinating, so I started becoming a mind and body coach as well. Fascinating it's always amazing how the challenges can lead to something so great. So tell me, what is sustainable travel? Yeah, I'm dying to know.

Dani Rosenblad James:

3:28

Yeah, sustainable travel is where you're consciously traveling, so you maybe are going to be staying at a place and you've researched into the hotel or hostel or whatever it is to see that they're actually giving back to the community or they're working on helping with nature or they're doing something in some way to help and like sustainable travel. There's actually really simple, easy tips of tricks that you can do, and that's just like bringing reusable silverware with you or bringing a water bottle with you. So it's like just these little things that we kind of take for granted, because it's like when you're traveling, you need to hydrate yourself. So why not bring your own water bottle instead of buying a plastic water bottle at a store? Because then it's just you're adding to the pile of garbage that we already have of all these plastics.

Karen Sarmento:

4:15

So my gosh, thank you for clarifying that. That is. That's so interesting and something that I know I don't really think about when I'm traveling. Yeah, so I appreciate that perspective on it.

Dani Rosenblad James:

4:29

Yeah, there's a few people that have talked to me and they're like oh, because what they think of when it's sustainable travel, they think that, oh, you have to pay so much to give back and it's probably expensive. But it doesn't have to be, because that's why I always mention like about the water bottle, or just bring reusable silverware, because it's it's just something simple that is easy, just to really quickly pack and then you just have it with you. So then when you come to I don't know a place where you're like, oh, I'm very thirsty. Then if you're staying at a hotel or something, you can fill the water, probably there usually. But yeah, it just makes it easy.

Karen Sarmento:

5:08

Right, oh, great Thanks for sharing that. So your story is fascinating and you mentioned a traumatic brain injury about 10 years ago. Do you mind telling us a little bit about that and what that journey looked like? Because I was curious, if is there a defining like before and after brain injury, is there a you before and after and kind of what that journey looked like for you going through it?

Dani Rosenblad James:

5:38

Yeah, so 100%. I was a completely different person before the accident and then afterwards. I mean, I had to overcome so much to get to like where I am today. But we'll go to the back to the past, and before the accident happened I was just a party girl and I was not thinking about my future whatsoever.

Dani Rosenblad James:

6:03

I was a weed farmer for five years and I was actually driving back to California from South Dakota and I ended up getting stuck in Wyoming and the ice there on the roads were was horrible. So I stayed in a hotel room and I'm like, okay, I'll just wait it out. And then I started driving again at like around noon and visibility was less than a mile. Then it was all black ice and I was like, hmm, they wouldn't keep the road open if it was so bad, would they? Oh well, I guess that was not the case here. So what ended up happening is, I kind of went on autopilot. I saw all of these cars piled up against a semi truck and since I was on autopilot, I think I was trying to avoid it somehow. But what ended up happening? Since you're on black eyes, you can't really stop. So I ended up hitting it, did a 360 in my small truck and then the back of my truck was hit as well and so my small truck turned into a convertible because the whole top was ripped off and that also got a huge gash here on me, and since it was so cold, I was lucky that I didn't have to have a blood transfusion. So I'm very thankful for that. I had my dog with me and thankfully he was safe from all of it somehow. So when the sheriff came to the scene, he said that was the worst accident he has ever seen in his entire life and he was going to be retiring in two weeks or so from that. So it was like Ooh. So he ended up having to call a helicopter to come get me. Because they couldn't take care of me in Wyoming.

Dani Rosenblad James:

7:52

I had to go to Salt Lake city, utah, to go into the ICU. There they induced me in a coma. I was in ICU for 10 days. I finally came out of my coma three days in and I just remember being foggy, not understanding what was going on, why I was there or anything, and I just felt super lost. And then I just had this inner voice say this is but a moment. And when I heard that I realized I get to choose my path Now, I get to choose what happens next. And since I had that voice in me, I realized that you know, I don't have to be stuck in a bed for the rest of my life, I can make it as I see fit for me.

Dani Rosenblad James:

8:38

And that was what really was a pivotal moment for me when I had that happen to me, because then I realized that the traumatic brain injury it was, it was a gift, it was. It's kind of hard to say that not everyone will understand it, but I mean, where I was at that time, I had no place, like no future, no, nothing going on for me, and I knew I was going down the wrong path. But it was like nothing going on for me and I knew I was going down the wrong path, but it was like I was just caring about partying. But when the accident happened, then I had to reflect on myself and reflect within myself and figure out so much more. And like I had to relearn how to walk, use my brain, I had to work on getting my equilibrium back on track. Like it was hard, but it it was. It needed to be done.

Karen Sarmento:

9:27

Wow, this is but a moment. So in those moments when you first realize you've had this accident, or when you realize how dire the situation is, or the injuries, what do you say to yourself to actually stir up the courage to make decisions that are going to serve you moving forward? How do you do that in that moment? How do you think it happened for you?

Dani Rosenblad James:

9:58

So when I got the this is but a moment in my head that's when it clicked right away in my head and I realized that, okay, I'm the one that's making the decisions now, and I don't want to be stuck in a bed for the rest of my life, so I'm the only one that can make the decision what happens with me, like no one else is going to walk for me. So that's when I got the courage and I was started taking my life in my own hands. Plus, I also told the doctor that I didn't want any medication because I wanted to feel what my body could do and couldn't do and I know that sounds crazy, but I was listening to my body and what it needed. And I also remembered that I was a person that I would overdo things if I didn't feel any pain, which would have caused further issues for me in the future, and so I'm thankful that I followed what my body was saying.

Dani Rosenblad James:

11:03

And in this same timeframe, I felt so frustrated and lost so much because it was like I was missing a piece of myself, and it took about two years before I finally started feeling like me again. Took about two years before I finally started feeling like me again. But since I had that missing piece out of me, it made it easier for me to connect with my inner self and I think it also made it easier for me to start healing myself and do the inner work and do all this not so fun things to help heal yourself.

Karen Sarmento:

11:29

That is so that's really powerful to anybody listening, and what I'm hearing is that, no matter how brave a situation may feel, or how helpless we might feel, or if things feel really dark and challenging, those are moments that can be very pivotal. Those are moments that can be very pivotal and if you make a decision, a committed decision as to how it's going to play out moving forward, it really can be life-changing yeah, and I think it's really good for us to remember that we have the choice.

Dani Rosenblad James:

12:04

We always have the choice, and it sometimes does not look like it, but we do and like. My choice was I could have either stayed in bed and just been like, oh what was me, poor me, or I could get up and work on getting better. And of course, there are days where I stayed in bed because I was in so much pain. But I mean, I kept remembering that this wasn't my future. I wasn't going to be like this for the rest of my life. I can see my future self over there and she's going on hikes, she's traveling, she's doing all these things I love.

Karen Sarmento:

12:39

Which, by the way, she is now. Yeah, I love that. You said you had to listen to your body and it was guiding you, and all too often we don't do that. We get the messages or we get the signs from our body and we don't listen. What would you say to the listeners about that? You're a mind-body coach, so what does that look like? How can people begin to actually acknowledge their body and kind of work with their body?

Dani Rosenblad James:

13:09

That's a great question. So there are actually some really easy things that we can do. And like the first thing is asking yourself oh, am I hungry? Yeah, yeah, I am. Then go eat. Like that's just something super easy and it's something that we take for granted because you know you might get caught up in work and be like, oh, I'll eat later. Or oh, oh, what time is it? Oh, geez, it's already six. I didn't even have lunch, or something like that. But I mean, we have to have time for ourselves too.

Dani Rosenblad James:

13:41

And then that's like our body trying to give us a heads up. If you feel a little bit of you starting to feel a little anxious or frustrated or grumpy or something, it's usually coming from something in our mind or in the body. And also another tip for our body is, if you start getting a pain somewhere, it's good to be like okay, body, I feel this, what does this mean? And then you just kind of sit on it and usually you'll get an answer if you don't get too frustrated or impatient. And then you'll be like ah, yes, that's what that's from, because the outer pains and the things that we have happening on the outer of us, it actually comes from within.

Dani Rosenblad James:

14:29

So it's a reflection of maybe, maybe you had a bad breakup or a fight with someone and then you end up having a pain on the outer side, on your leg or somewhere. Then you can try to connect it, and you got to be consistent with talking with yourself, and you could even do this by journaling too. It works different for everybody, so it's like you could just literally ask yourself out loud, or you could do it inside, or you can start journaling it and writing the questions down and then just let the words flow out of you when you answer it, and it seems silly having conversation with yourself, but you can learn so much by doing that.

Karen Sarmento:

15:13

I love that, though. I love that holistic approach, because your body does let you know, and even things that we don't realize are impacting our health, things we're stuffing down and not feeling our emotions they are going to show up somewhere else, somewhere in our body. They're in there. So I love that you're bringing awareness to this very topic. To some people that are listening right now and this feels like the first time they've heard this like what my back pain might mean something else, where do they even begin to? So they, if they're asking themselves hey, back pain, what? What are you trying to tell me? How else can they look into this more Like what am I maybe stuffing down? What am I not dealing with?

Dani Rosenblad James:

16:03

Yeah, so I would say that they would have to start asking their questions like what are these main negative feelings that I'm holding on to, or what memories or thoughts do I keep replaying in my head? And then you'll start thinking about it and then they will probably pop up and they'd be like oh yes, that time that my father yelled at me or whatever it may be. And then it goes on repeat and then you start burrowing it into your subconscious and then you learn like, oh wait, this stems from me thinking that I'm unworthy of love or whatever it may be. And then you start piling up all of these beliefs and opinions of yourself that went into your subconscious and then this is what can start creating the outer problems for you. So this could be even your environment, so it doesn't always have to be just your body. It's like what you surround yourself with and everything.

Karen Sarmento:

17:04

Interesting. Yeah, I'm so fascinated by the subconscious mind and you know, over the years, everything that we've stored and how it just manifests itself in our reality. And but the beautiful part that you mentioned already is that we have a choice and we can change how things play out moving forward. So you're the founder of Misfit Wonders. Yeah, what is that?

Dani Rosenblad James:

17:31

Tell us us, tell us more about it yeah, so misfit wanders is my travel blog and, as you know, it's about sustainable travel or eco-friendly travel. Um, so my family and I we've been on a lot of trips. I'm a little jealous of my son, because he's already been to six countries at three years old, but I mean it makes sense because we're in the Europe, so it's everything so much closer than being in the US. So I usually write about our trips. I've written some itineraries, some good tips and tricks when it comes to flights or just traveling in general. I talk a lot about outdoor adventures because I love hiking and being out in nature, so there's a lot of articles about that, and there's quite a few over Sweden, since that's where I'm living, that's fascinating over Sweden, since that's where I'm living.

Karen Sarmento:

18:32

Oh, that's fascinating. And so, coming back to all the traveling you're doing now and relating that to your brain injury, you've had to continue to persevere and there were things you had to push through. Over the years Were there times when it was really difficult, or you were doing something new that you almost felt like you know I should be past this now and yet there's still challenges to overcome um, so to this day I am very much healed, but I still have some, some little issues that happen here or there, and that usually stems from me not being the greatest at sleeping.

Dani Rosenblad James:

19:13

So if I'm not on top of my sleep or hydrating, I can tell very much, so that my brain is not fully functional, and if I get a bit anxiety or get some of the negative emotions running through me, I tend to not be fully there in my head as well. So it's like, let's see, I think it was in the spring or summertime my husband and I went outside to plant a tree and he asked me such a simple question. He's like, oh, put the dirt in the hole and for some reason it just didn't click for me. And I just stood there like dumbfounded and he's just staring at me all frustrated, like why the hell aren't you doing this? And then I started bursting out in tears because I can't control that all the time, and it just sometimes happens where it just doesn't click and it's something so simple that all of us are just kind of blown away that wait't, what's not? What's going on with you?

Dani Rosenblad James:

20:11

and it just doesn't work, but it's like people that have brain injuries. It's been seen as um a hidden illness, because you're dealing with this all on your own and nobody knows what's going on with you or what's going on within, within, and it's different for every person too. So, like any kind of brain injury, it could be someone healed it within a week or two, and then another person maybe it took them 10 years to heal. So everyone it's so different because we still don't fully understand the brain to this day. It's such a complex thing and it's different for each individual as well. So it's I mean, I'm very grateful at how healed I am and, yes, I still have some hiccups here or there and it's hard to accept it at times, but it's me and I accept it now.

Karen Sarmento:

21:07

And I love that you pointed out that it's not something that people can see. It's not a broken arm and a cast. It's so, it's so personal and nobody's aware. So it's it's your own, your own personal journey that you're going through.

Dani Rosenblad James:

21:25

Yeah, and it was. It was. It was pretty difficult when I was more beaten from it, when I was more broken, because there were times where my friends would be saying jokes or something. This is like a month in healing and it just didn't click for me. So I was just kind of staring off into the distance and everyone just kind of got this uneasy, feeling like whoa, she's really messed up, but it's. It's.

Dani Rosenblad James:

21:56

What I was doing at that time is I was actually doing the inner work and it didn't bother me that I was surrounded by people, cause I didn't have that social norm anymore, I guess. And so I was, like you know, doing meditation, surrounded by people, this inner work, and everyone thought I was just cuckoo.

Karen Sarmento:

22:17

Oh my gosh. Thank you for sharing all of that and just the difficult times. And I'm so happy that you're in this place now where you're doing amazing and you're living such a vibrant life and you have a three year old-old and traveling and just sharing all of this. And what jumped out at me, too, is that and this could apply to everybody that it isn't just any one thing that you have to do to stay on top of your game and your self-mastery, but it's tending to yourself yourself, rest and hydration and exercise, and nature. What role can nature play in day-to-day life? How can we use nature, not use? How can we work with nature and have it just benefit us?

Dani Rosenblad James:

23:14

oh, man, man, there's so many things you can do, the littlest thing as just go out in nature and just go on a walk. When you do this, it helps you calm, it can get rid of anxiety, it can help get rid of the stress that you were having in the day, and just doing that once a day, I think like 15 minutes or so, can make a huge benefit for yourself. And it also helps like if you're dealing with any mental issues or you're dealing with some problems with the family or work or something like that. I would highly suggest to go out in nature and just be in nature, just like just sit in it and be present and just doing those little things like that. It helps tremendously.

Karen Sarmento:

24:01

I love that Just incorporating nature. It seems so simple. But yet even for me I don't do it often enough.

Dani Rosenblad James:

24:11

Yeah it's, it helps tremendously. I mean, that was a huge reason that I actually went back to California. After a month and a half of healing I was like I need to go back to California because I could feel that I needed to get away from the hospital where people just saw me more of a paper a piece of paper with oh she'll only get this better, whatever it was. Piece of paper with oh, she'll only get this better, whatever it was. And so I got a friend to drive me back to California and that was the most painful drive I've ever done because I could feel every bump, everything throughout my body. But once I got there I was surrounded by the plants and I didn't have anyone judging me or looking at me. In certain ways, I just had my dog, myself, my friend and plants and that alone. Being out in that nature, I felt so peaceful and it felt like I was getting healed just being around all that.

Karen Sarmento:

25:09

Amazing. I love it. I love that. Such a beautiful reminder. So, on top of all this that you've done and accomplished, you're an international bestselling author. Tell us about your book.

Dani Rosenblad James:

25:22

Yeah, so when I first wrote this and published it, I was like, ah, I did it because it's super raw, like I'm talking about first person in all, about my traumatic brain injury.

Dani Rosenblad James:

25:38

It's loosely based, I should say, and I go past and present through it, so you get a taste of how I was before the accident and then the whole during the accident and the post and everything. So you get to see my weed life days and that's a little crazy in itself. And then you get to see the whole healing process and that whole journey and you get to look into my brain as well, like what I'm thinking about in my mind and some of the inner battles I had within as I was working on healing. And yeah, it's pretty brutal because I'm I'm talking about emotions and my feelings throughout it and it feels like I'm so vulnerable doing that. But I know that it's going to help so many people out there because then they'll relate with it in some way and just be like, wow, that's how I feel or whatever they're going through. And that's definitely what I want to do is inspire as many people as I can and thank you for that.

Karen Sarmento:

26:41

Thank you for doing that, because when people are going through it, they feel like they're the only one and they feel alone and I'm sure it felt insurmountable at some point and you're letting someone else know that it's, it's possible yeah, yeah, definitely, and I want them to see because at the end of it, I'm pretty much talking about where I'm at nowadays and I want them to see that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Dani Rosenblad James:

27:08

It's it's tough. It's hard being surrounded by all this darkness, but you're gonna get there and you're gonna get to that light. You're gonna be like, yes, look what I took on.

Karen Sarmento:

27:17

Yes, and I, and I love that. Not only is this such, you're the victor in this, it's like where you started and then what was could have been perceived as this awful awful thing and held some people captive for the rest of their lives, actually catapulted you in a whole different direction, and it turns out it's, as you said, a gift.

Dani Rosenblad James:

27:43

Yeah, that also comes down to what we take it as, too, because there's the law of polarity, and with that there's an up and down, left, right, then there's the good and the bad, and with that there's an up and down, left, right, then there's the good and the bad. So it's like the way to use this to our advantage is to always see the good, and that doesn't mean that you're just ignoring the bad of it. It's just that you're looking for the good over the bad. So, like for me when I had the traumatic brain injury yes, it was horrible and I was going through so much and there were times where I was so full of all of it and just over it, but I knew where I was going to be, that future self, and it wasn't in a bed for the rest of my life.

Dani Rosenblad James:

28:28

And I mean this is completely different when it comes to people with relationships and things like that. I know it's hard to take, but there is some good, there's silver lining somewhere there. It might take a few years or very, very long time to finally see it, but it's there, and what's the point of holding it out to the negativity anyways? I mean that just brings you down. It's not serving anyone, so why not hold on to the good stuff and focus on getting more of that instead?

Karen Sarmento:

29:00

And what I want to point out to make sure everybody heard that part there that you looked for the good. You consciously were looking for the good in the situation and you also held the vision of how you were going to look, or what you would be doing, years down the road.

Karen Sarmento:

29:19

So powerful is where we're um, our focus goes, our energy flows and we really create from that space. Thank you so much for sharing this story. I know it's going to inspire so many people. Is there anything we haven't touched upon that you want to share with the listeners, or any parting words for the listeners?

Dani Rosenblad James:

29:42

Yeah, I would definitely have to say slow and steady wins the race. And when I say that, I'm saying you know you cannot heal automatically or right away. It takes time and that's physical, mental, emotional pains. You can't just heal these overnight. You got to do the work to make it happen and you got to stay consistent. And slow and steady does win the race Because if you keep at it you're going to get to where you want to get.

Karen Sarmento:

30:14

Annie, thank you so much for being here today. We're so appreciative of you sharing your story. It's really inspiring.

Dani Rosenblad James:

30:21

Yeah, thanks for having me here.

Karen Sarmento:

30:24

And thank you to everybody that's listening today and we'll see you next time on the we Are Meant For More podcast.

Remember, whatever challenges you're facing or have faced in the past, they don't define you. You are worthy, capable and destined for greatness. Let's embrace the whispers of possibility together, because together we rise and we are meant for more.