How Did You Get Here with Verastic
Short story: Those who are doing it do not have two heads.
Long story: Welcome to How Did You Get Here with Verastic - the podcast where real people share real stories about the winding, messy, hilarious, and sometimes miraculous journeys that got them here. No fluff, and no curated Instagram perfection. Just raw, authentic conversations that inspire you to believe that if they can do it, so can you.
As our Nigerian parents loved to remind us: Those who are doing it do not have two heads. Translation? The people you admire aren’t superheroes; they’re humans with struggles, detours, wild stories, and twenty-four hours in a day, just like you.
So, if you’ve ever wondered how someone survived heartbreak, built a career from scratch, moved continents, reinvented themselves, or turned pain into power, pull up a chair. This is where truth meets laughter, and where you get the audacity to believe that your own “getting here” is absolutely possible. I'm just here as your good-smelling guide.
E-mail: hello@verastic.com
Episodes
33 episodes
How Nigerian Contemporary Artist Benny Bing Turned Grief Into Healing Through Art
This episode of How Did You Get Here with Verastic is one that truly touched my heart. I sat down with Benny Bing, a Toronto-based Nigerian contemporary artist whose story is as powerful as his paintings.We talked about grief, forgivene...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 2
•
1:33:25
“I Am More Than My Scars” — Kechi Okwuchi on Faith, Healing & Survival After the Sosoliso Plane Crash
In this deeply moving episode of How Did You Get Here with Verastic, I sit down with Kechi Okwuchi — one of only two survivors of the tragic Sosoliso plane crash of 2005.Kechi’s story is one of unimaginable pain...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 1
•
1:02:39
EP 29 How One Mom Is Raising Two Children On The Autism Spectrum ft. Lola Dada-Olley
The world is still learning about autism. And I, Vera Ezimora, know even less about autism. My first "real" experience with autism was when I got my first professional job after I graduated college. It was as a Service Coordinator, and I walked...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 29
•
1:23:14
EP 28: How To Save Money Even When You Think You Don't Have It ft. Ronke Odewumi
This pandemic needs to just go away. Am I right? Or am I right? A lot of things have changed permanently, thanks to the pandemic. For example, remote work, when possible, will probably always be the norm. Another thing is money: how much of it ...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 28
•
59:05
EP 27: IVF and Male Factor Infertility ft. Nonsi Martins
Infertility is one of the many taboo conversations in the African community. In the Christian African community, it's even worse. For starters, the bible says that there will be barrenness in the land, so both preachers and the congregation the...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 27
•
1:15:53
EP 26: Why I Had A Divorce Party ft Dr. Ikea Bello
Recently, a Nigerian woman, Dr Ikea Bello, went viral for doing what we (Nigerians/Africans) would consider the unimaginable. Not only did she file for divorce, but she also dared to celebrate it --- and she did it publicly. On social media. Wi...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 26
•
1:31:50
EP 25: Dating As A Divorced Dad ft. Goziem
My people! I am here to prove to you that divorced dads who are dating do exist! It took me so long to find a divorced dad willing to speak to me about his dating life. But then Goziem happened. He was introduced to me by a mutual friend, Eloka...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 25
•
1:11:37
EP 24: On Being An African Atheist ft. Ruth Marimo
Conversations are important, especially with people who are different from you. As a Christian girl, it was important for me to have this conversation with Ruth Marimo, an African Atheist - because at the end of the day, no matter who we serve ...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 24
•
1:56:03
EP 23: I'm Divorced. Now What? ft. Sade Curry
Divorce is like an onion; it has so many layers that need to be peeled, one after another. First, there's the layer where you realize you need to get divorced, and there are all the emotions that come with it. Then there's the layer where you g...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 23
•
1:45:02
EP 22: How To Be Confident AF ft. Msendoo
I used to not wear shorts. Wait, let's rewind. When I was younger, maybe between 12 and 17 or something like that, I loved my legs, and I remember how it started. I had heard my mom in a conversation with her friend who kept complimenting...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 22
•
1:10:10
EP 21: Why Africans Don't Have The Black Perspective ft. Dr. Uju Anya
This is one of the first topics I wrote down when I was dreaming about starting my podcast: why Africans don't have the African American perspective. From the moment I finally began to understand my African privilege and the struggles of my Afr...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 21
•
1:53:50
EP 20: What About Sex During Divorce? FT. Berry Dakara
Before I filed for divorce - in fact, before I even walked away from my marriage - I had never given a moment's thought to sex (or lack of it) during a divorce. I also...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 20
•
1:49:25
Season 2 Is Coming!
My Sweet Potatoes!Season two is upon us! Need I say more? The real question is are you ready? Or ARE YOU READY?BEFORE YOU GO, PLEASE RATE AND LEAVE A WRITTEN REVIEW ON
•
Season 2
•
6:06
EP 19: Can Women Be Divorced And Happy?
Can women actually be divorced and happy? For some reason, being divorced and happy, especially for a woman, seems like it's mutually exclusive. I will not make the claim that all women are divorced and happy, but I can confidently say that any...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 19
•
55:19
EP 18: Emotional Resilience: How To Deal With Not Being Included FT. Ruth Marimo
"Vera, you're so strong!"I've practically heard this for as long as I can remember. I heard it most when I left my marriage. People congratulated me for being s...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 18
•
1:43:11
EP 17: A Conversation With An Openly-Gay Nigerian Man FT. Edafe Okporo
"I believe in asking the difficult questions, starting the uncomfortable conversations, proposing outside-the-box solutions, and of course, shaking tables. No, breaking tables." Verbatim, these words are in the intro of the I Am Africa...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 17
•
1:18:10
EP 16: How Not To Say Yes When You Really Mean No
Even now, I'm wondering if How Not To Say Yes When You Really Mean No is the appropriate title for this. But it's too late to change it. The podcast has been recorded, edited, and published. Perhaps, what I really should have named it is How No...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 16
•
30:39
EP 15: Never Have I Ever [A Life Not Lived - Yet]
I played a game of Never Have I Ever on Zoom for Uju's birthday in April, and it got me thinking about a whole lot. Although I knew it before, this game became living proof that indeed I need to stop being so safe and live already. There is so ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 15
•
30:05
EP 14: On The Rape Culture In Nigeria ft. Omolara Oriye
Sweet Potatoes,So much is going on in the world right now. And I'm tired of starting sentences like this, but how can I be tired when some people have a worse fate? My fellow Nigerian women have been raped and killed with no repercussio...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 14
•
1:38:31
EP 13: Dear Africans, You're Black Too!
Today's episode is not a regular episode, and I am not a regular Vera today either. I was so angry recording this episode. When I was listening back to it, I felt bad for the Vera who recorded it. I was angry that some Africans still don't know...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 13
•
23:36
EP 12: On Patriarchal Cultural Norms That Don't Serve Women ft. Ola Bisi (Jopa's Daughter)
The longer I live, the more I learn. When I was a child, there were so many things that were normal to me. Now that I'm older and wiser, I know myself a lot better, and I realize that some of the things I thought were normal were actually patri...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 12
•
1:24:57
EP 11: On Remarrying After Divorce And Lessons Learned ft Mercedes Okwukogu
Mercedes Okwukogu is a woman to be admired. In the past three weeks, Nigerian Facebook has been greatly shaken. On Ola Bisi's Facebook wall, she started sharing stories of women who are divorced. She used the hashtag, #DivorceNotStigma, a...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 11
•
1:22:25
EP 10: Why Women Endure Bad Marriages
Last week, I shared my marriage and divorce story again on Facebook, on Ola Bisi's Facebook profile page, as part of her #DivorceNotStigna series. It's a series of sto...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 10
•
26:31
EP 9: But Our African Men Know Better
Before we go any further, let's just agree that our African men know better. That being said, last month, I wrote a post on this blog, titled, "20 Things...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 9
•
33:09
EP 8: The Mountain Is Smaller Than It Looks
Have you ever faced a mountain in your life that you thought was just going to take you out? Yeah, me, too. Sometimes, I sit back and remember when life was much simpler. Like when my biggest problem in life was that I did not own a cell phone....
•
Season 1
•
Episode 8
•
35:04