S2E1 Here We Go — Season 2

Three words can change how you survive the hardest seasons of your life: This is it. Sherry opens season two by sharing the message her dad wrote to their family while facing glioblastoma, and how those words kept her steady through compounding grief, sudden medical events, and the long, brutal reality of loving someone through addiction and serious mental health challenges. We don’t sanitize any of it, because real resilience starts with telling the truth. 

Jodi brings her own story of loss, nonstop life changes, and the quiet ways friendships can become a lifeline when everything feels out of control. Together, we explain what the “Thriving Yinzer” identity means to us, shaped by Pittsburgh grit but open to anyone who wants to keep showing up. 

This isn’t toxic positivity or bouncing back like nothing happened. It’s learning to carry what you’ve lived through and still build a life that feels good to live, even while the hard things keep happening. We sit with the layered truth that happiness can coexist with heartache, and we talk about meaning, purpose, boundaries, wellness, grief, and why asking for help is brave.We also kick off the first theme of the season: self-awareness. 

If you’re running on autopilot with the mental list already spinning, we offer a simple practice you can do in ten minutes or even ten seconds. Notice one small moment. That’s the start. We share #4WINS4YINZ as a way to track small wins and keep moving forward, one grounded choice at a time. 

If this conversation helps, subscribe so you don’t miss the next theme, share it with someone who's looking for steady ground, and leave a review so more people can find the show. SIGN UP for the TY Community at https://www.thrivingyinzers.com/podcast

Transcript

Why “This Is It” Matters

Sherry 0:00

This is it! Season two. How do we stay steady, grounded, and intentional even when the shit hits the fan?

Grief Through Addiction And Illness

Sherry 0:17

My dad knew he was dying. He'd been diagnosed with glioblastoma and things moved very quickly. And in the middle of that he wrote our family a message. It was the kind of message that you write when you know your time is short and you want the people you love to remember what matters. And in it, he wrote three words. This is it. He meant this life you have, this moment you're in. This is the one you get to work with. What are you going to do with it? Those words stayed with us and they kept me grounded and centered through all that would come since his passing. Around that time, we were also losing my sister in a completely different way. Slowly. We painfully watched her slip away over a very long time. Her struggle lasted more than 20 years. Cycles of addiction and serious mental health challenges. Watching someone you love caught in that cycle is its own kind of heartbreak, knowing she wasn't okay and feeling powerless to change it. A little over a year ago, she passed and we will carry the weight of that forever. Not because she wasn't loved, not because her life didn't matter, not because we didn't try like hell. The truth is loving someone through addiction and mental illness sometimes means making incredibly hard choices, but sometimes become necessary. So many people tried to help, but this is a very nuanced issue, and our support systems failed over and over again. Along with those two losses, there were a series of sudden changes and serious medical events, leading to intense personal struggle, moments where I had to remind myself over and over, "this is it." This moment, this life, this is the one I get to work with. And all of it forced me to ask the same question. If this really is it, how do we live in a way that actually matters? I'm not here to merely exist. Life is for living. And that's the mission of this show, to remind people that you are not alone. You are stronger than you think, and you deserve to build a life that actually feels good to live, and that we need each other to thrive. I had been carrying around the pain, hurt and grief of the compounding effects of that long series of difficult life events, and it often made me question so much about my life, and I did have thoughts about giving up. Those experiences, gave me perspective into some of the things that people go through and how the small things can create the biggest difference. So I had this thought for a long time that maybe sharing some parts of my story could help someone else feel less alone, but it never really went anywhere. It just kind of stayed in the background. And, I don't know if I would've ever brought it to life on my own. And then one day I walked into our usual coffee shop to meet Jodi, and there was absolutely no plan to talk about any of this. And somehow I just said it out loud.

Jodi 3:26

While Sherry was fighting through her biggest battles, I was also struggling through a series of tough life events; dealing with the aftermath of losing my parents, the heart wrenching pain of having people very close to me struggle with mental health and addiction, COVID thrown in the mix of course. Life was beginning to feel really out of control. The changes in my life were coming fast and furious. Not all of it was even bad, it just never stopped. Meeting with friends became like a life raft for me. In those conversations with Sherry, certain themes just seemed to come up between us. I recall saying to her, I just want to do something that I can do that could make a difference somewhere, somehow. And when she responded and asked me if I wanted to do this podcast with her, it was the easiest yes of my life, one of. I was nervous. I didn't have a clue how we were gonna go about it, but I knew it was the answer I was looking for.

What A Thriving Yinzer Means

Sherry 4:28

So that one little day at the coffee shop somehow we decided that together we are going on this journey and we want to create, support, and celebrate what's now the Thriving Yinzer identity. So, it's like this. There's something about being from Pittsburgh or being shaped by the kind of people that Pittsburgh produces that we want you to understand about this show. Yinzers don't quit. That's what the show's about. Not bouncing back like nothing happened, but getting up anyway, carrying what you've learned and then building something from there.

Jodi 5:12

You know what it is to go through something hard and refuse to let it be the last thing written about you.

Season Two Focus And Big Themes

Sherry 5:19

That's what we're trying to build here. So a little look back. If you're new to the podcast, if you're curious about how it all started, season one is a great place to catch up. But for this season, season two, we're going to shift the focus and instead of retelling those stories, we're moving forward and exploring what it actually looked like building a life that feels good to live even as the hard things happen. And we're reminding ourselves that there's a complicated, layered truth, that happiness can coexist in heartache, and that's something to sit with for a second because that's hard.

Who This Show Is For

Sherry 6:03

But though there are some tragedies that we may experience that definitely leave us forever changed, we're still talking about a life where you can find things that light you up, the things that make you wanna get outta bed in the morning again, and a life where you realize that living outside of yourself and finding meaning and purpose in doing for others is the secret sauce for an amazing life, despite its inevitable hardships. Not because everything is easy, but because you know your life, even the hard parts is worth showing up for. And that's really what season two is about. So let's paint a picture. Maybe it's you, maybe it's someone you love.

Jodi 6:49

You wake up in the morning and before your feet even hit the floor, your brain's already running in a list. The job, the kids, the things you said two weeks ago, the bill you need to pay, the relationship that you need to work on. The question of whether you're actually doing any of it right.

Sherry 7:05

And you just keep going because that's what you do- autopilot. You get through the day, you don't always feel it. You know you're doing it.

Jodi 7:14

The show is for you.

Sherry 7:16

Maybe your family's been through something, addiction loss, separation, a child in your home or someone else with needs, awful diagnoses, a relationship that fell apart, or one you're trying to repair.

Jodi 7:27

Maybe you're a busy professional, juggling, career, family, school, caregiving. You're tired. Maybe you're looking for a place where there's understanding for the struggles that we don't all carry. Empathy... perspective... You want real. You want simple. You don't want a five step plan or somebody telling you what to do.

Sherry 7:47

And if you're from Pittsburgh, you'll feel right at home. You don't have to be from the Burgh. You just need to want to live a life that feels good.

Jodi 7:55

We're not therapists, or counselors. We're not doctors, and this is not a substitute for any of those things. We will talk about wellness, grief, boundaries, resilience, and what it actually looks like to take care of yourself when life doesn't stop.

Sherry 8:11

And, when the conversation goes deeper than a podcast can reach, we'll point you to people trained to help, because asking for help is one of the bravest things that you can do.

Jodi 8:20

Sure is. We're not handing out answers. We don't really have them. We're here figuring it all out together.

Sherry 8:27

Self-awareness is the first theme of the season. We'll be starting our next episode with this because everything else builds on knowing where you actually are right now.

Sherry 8:35

So let's do a quick check. This week I noticed how carrying the weight of the world, all the news, the problems, the stuff we can't immediately change really shows up physically. I noticed it while I was driving and I realized that my jaw was tight and my fist was balled up, and I paused and I thought, okay, I remember this. And I, I know what that feeling was telling me, and so I got intentional about letting that shit go. I'm glad that I could reset from there and not carry that tension home to my family or, anywhere else, because now, I have some tools to redirect when those moments happen. And it was that noticing, it's that catching it in the moment that's the foundation for our first episode this season. It's the first step on the path that we're exploring together.

Small Wins and #4WINS4YINZ

Jodi 9:35

Yes, yes. Those small, quiet wins. That's where it starts. That's why we're intentional about reminding you to take the time to notice the things that are going right. When we talk about the hashtag #4WINS4YINZ, it's a reminder to look for those wins, to keep going and build upon those little wins. So here's one thing to try in the next couple of days. Find 10 minutes, not necessarily quiet, not perfect, just 10 minutes wherever you can get it.

Sherry 10:06

Like wherever you are walking, doing dishes. Take a second. Well, Jody said 10 minutes, but even, even a few seconds. No.

Jodi 10:15

Ten seconds will do!

Sherry 10:16

Yeah. Notice one small moment that catches your attention. Doesn't have to be fancy, just something that you pay attention to about yourself and that noticing, that's your starting point for the journey that we want to take this season. It all starts with self-awareness. What am I actually noticing about myself, right? So welcome to season two built around 12 themes, the places where we have experienced the most meaningful growth. Not that there's any one path that works for anyone. No two journeys are the same. To all the Thriving Yinzers listening, this is your journey wherever you are right now. And for all of you who were here last season, the feedback from season one has been incredible. Thank you.

Community Invite And Safety Note

Jodi 10:57

And we wanna build on that this season. We're also building a community, where we can go deeper, share resources, and we really hope to hear from you.

Sherry 11:07

Sign up for our email list at the link in the show notes, or by visiting thrivingyinzers.com.

Jodi 11:15

So you can be the first to know about all the things behind the scenes and special offers just for you. As our first thank you, we will send you our #4WINS4YINZ tracker, so that you can keep track of the things that are going right, because that matters.

Sherry 11:31

Thank you for being here for the launch of season two. Whether you've been with us since the beginning, or this is your first episode, we're glad you found us. Come back in two weeks and bring someone with you.

Jodi 11:41

Until then, remember,

Sherry 11:43

This is it!

Sherry 11:46

Before we go a quick note. This podcast is meant to be informational and inspirational, but it is not a substitute for professional advice. We are not licensed therapists or medical professionals, and what we share here comes from personal experience only. If you or someone you love is struggling, please reach out to someone trained to help. And if you're in crisis, you can call or text 988 The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. It is available 24-7.