Her Story - Son Histoire à Elle

A year into this pandemic, we look ahead and we realize that there is still a long way to go. I can’t help to think about the front line workers and how much they’ve been carrying on their shoulders. If you’re anything like me you’ve been curious about how they’ve been coping, how they’ve been continuing on. I’ve wondered a lot about the situation in the long term care homes and how bad it actually is.
Melissa Carter joins me on the podcast this month. 

   She stepped up to the Quebec governments call to train new PAB’s or personal support workers in a very short period of time. Melissa talks about her experience working in these homes, and her experiences and stories literally brought me to tears. Her strength amazes me. So sit back and take this one in. 

   After listening back to our episode I am in deep gratitude to Melissa and everyone who’s out there doing their best to ease and lessen the blow of COVID-19.

In this episode I invited my dear friend Benita Bailey up to the mic and she stepped up brilliantly.  Benita is a an actor in theatre, film/tv and also the creator and host of a new show called Yell It! that is gaining momentum across Canada and Germany. I was so delighted to be able to have her on the show, nestled in between trips to Germany and mothering her two young children.  We talked relationships, the reality of parenting, trying to juggle it all but one of my favourite topics at the moment was about the healing nature of diverse representation not just on screen but across the board.  You're gonna fall in love with Benita's groundedness in this one and be astonished and inspired by everything she is doing and working for and towards.

www.benitabailey.com

Insta: @yell_it_from_the_mountain

I had so much fun in this one.  Dayane and Aiza Ntibarikure joined me and shared some wise life tips and how to live big celebrate the sh*t out of everything.  If you haven't heard yet singer/songwriter Aiza is pretty much a Canadian star in the music industry and Dayane has worked across Canada, onscreen and onstage as a director, actor and creator in many artistic mediums.  They are honest about their struggles and anxieties, especially during this time.  Dayane and Aiza share such a deep sisterly bond and realness and they are letting us in! Both on the podcast and on their IGTV show which is now in development with CBC.  I   laughed a lot in this one and came out of it supercharged and energized.  Their spirits are infectious.  This is a good one y"all.

DnA Unscripted IGTV Monday 7pm est

@aizabby

@dayaneKN

In certain lineages of Buddhism one important meditation is that if death.  Meditating on death can be an albeit peculiar way of appreciating this earthly life.  I’ve been wanting to talk more deeply about the subject for a very long time perhaps as a way to prepare for the inevitable, perhaps as a way to find some succour and beauty in the greatest mystery of all.  What better way to welcome in a new year than to contemplate death not alone but with other people who are around it and study it.  After speaking to my guests on the death series, I am reminded that we will never know what it is until we go through it, and we will go through it.  The dying remind us that under the layers and veneer of this mortal coil is a truth that we can access by opening our hearts, listening deeply and being present with one another.

This is something my last guest has practiced.

Amelie Villeneuve currently works in palliative care as a spiritual aid in a public hospital here in Montreal.  My talk with her was fascinating as someone who is surrounded by death everyday, but she also works with people who are healing or dealing with a loss but still have a lot of life to live.  It has definitely made her reflect on her own spirituality and what that means and how it changes, she tells me about what challenges her in the work but also the simplicity of connecting with someone, a stranger, who is dying and how intimate that is.  .  If you’re looking for answers, for life hacks, for the meaning of life, you won’t get it here but you will listen in on a very interesting. And intimate conversation

It reminded me that death is coming for me and that life is now.  Ok let that sink in.

You know when you've just sat down to have a conversation with someone and very shortly into the conversation you realize you're in the presence of someone so knowledgeable and really cool and you wonder where you put the cocktails cause you know the conversation is going to be mind-blowing?  Well, as soon as Shanice Nicole came in, I had a feeling we were going to go places.  Shanice is a black feminist educator, facilitator & writer and much of her work focusses on anti-oppression and anti-racism.  In this conversation we specifically talk about how to look at systemic oppression through the lense of sex.  And we talk about the vagina y'all.  We talk about the "Husband Stitch" -and yeah, it's as bad as it sounds- and so many other ways in which the typical conversation around sex is one-dimensional.  She shares with me her ideas on how to make the information on sexual health more inclusive...I mean who do we talk about when we talk about women?  Because in the archaic yet ever present sexual education we receive from a not so young age, so many people are left out.  Having a conversation with Shanice is like sitting down with your really really really smart friend who looks at everything from a different perspective anchored in compassion and inclusivity and challenges the status quo and who also has great nails and is a cool spoken word artist.  At the end we are treated with a piece of hers which encompasses so perfectly what we've explored together.  Shanice Nicole is an important voice in this city and it's our honour and privilege to hear her speak.

facebook.com/ShaniceNicoleSpeaks

www.advocatesforyouth.org

www.sexandu.ca

I had a very informative conversation with Jennifer Drummond aka JD who is the coordinator Concordia University Sexual Assault Resource Centre (SARC). The work that her and her colleagues are doing is elemental, especially in a university setting. She answered my questions on the kind of counselling they do for victims of sexual assault and harassment; how to deal with the grey areas of sexual aggression and violence and the impact our use of language has. She proposes new modalities of prevention and education that really should be implemented over the outdated suggestion that "women take self defence classes to not be sexually abused". The conversation switches directions when I asked JD about her research on sexuality and aging & disease. How do couples maintain a healthy sexual relationship when on of them is physically disable or terminally ill? How does a person with a visible disability celebrate their own sexuality? She gives beautiful and heartbreaking examples of people who are having intimate and sexual relationships in different ways. This is an intimate look at the highs and lows of being a sexual person in an over sexualized world fraught with taboos and abuse of power. We need people like JD out there on the frontline who educate & support. This conversation may be triggering for some listeners and may also be helpful to some.

SARC
Concordia University
Hall Building 6th floor, room 345
Jennifer Drummond ext. 3353
sarc@concordia.ca

Montreal Sexual Assault Crisis Line
514-933-9007

When I sat down with Dawn Mauricio, I thought: ''wow, I could just hang out with this woman forever.''  She's the type of woman with boundless energy but knows exactly where to direct it and how to harness it.  From a basketball playing bigger brother pleasing little girl to a woman who has built a business teaching yoga and meditation pretty much all over the world, sitting down with Dawn was like spending time with a wise, compassionate, cool best friend.  She tells us how she got to where she is now studying at the historic Spirit Rock Meditation Centre in California and in the spirit of the podcast she delves into what it means to bring the feminine into meditation practice.  You will love her true blue honesty about her own spiritual practice and the way that she explains it might even encourage you to practice meditation yourself.  We can all agree that Dawn brings a fresh perspective to meditation anchored in inclusivity, diversity, patience and compassion.  You're going to love this one!

www.dawnmauricio.com

www.spiritrock.org

instagram: @dawnmauricio

Cette semaine je parle avec Catherine Bérubé...oui!  LA Catherine Bérubé qui a joué dans Sophie Paquin, 19-2, District 31, Les Jeunes Loups, etc.  But we are not really talking about her illustrious career as an actor, we are broaching the less glamorous subject of being a new mother and the seesaw ride of wanting to be at work but also needing to be near her daughter.  Dans cet épisode, Catherine est franche et ouverte avec à propos de son expérience en tant que maman, elle nous explique comment le fait d'être un parent a changé la game pour elle en tant qu'actrice.  Catherine Bérubé is brilliant and sparkling and grounded and honest.   It was such a pleasure to have a conversation with her.  

Ceci est le premier épisode de la série de la fête des mères.  Durant le mois de mai je parlerai avec des mamans de tout les âges. 

On this episode I sat down with Alba Gil, filmmaker, yoga teacher, mother to a 4 year old boy.  Alba created the successful Family Yoga program at Naada Yoga in Montreal's Mile End.  We talk about her immigration to Canada from Mexico and the cultural differences of raising a child.  She lets us in on the daily challenges of being an entrepreneur and mother and generously shares her traumatic birth experience.  Le désir d'Alba est de créer une communauté dans laquelle les parents et enfants peuvent partager une pratique commune.  Perhaps listening to this episode we can all take from Alba to be ok with what is uncomfortable, to listen to our intuition and remember the importance of friends and community especially during the early years of parenthood.  

Cet épisode de déroule en anglais.

You can find Alba at: 

www.naadayogafamily.ca

instagram & facebook @naadayogafamily

I really want you to listen to this one.  Pour your bevvie of choice, lay/sit down, and listen up!  Liz has some stuff to stay and it is empowering, inspiring and surprisingly optimistic.  Liz is a writer, director, producer, & founder of Dépanneur Films.  She also works with a local social organization doing street work with youth.  I was blown away by Liz's articulate take on being a female filmmaker in the "impossible" movie industry.  She told me about her time in LA & how she made a movie by breaking all the rules.  Listening to her, it is clear that her work is political, whether that is her intention or not.  Liz has an incredibly strong and important voice for our times and it is our privilege to listen to it! 

In this episode I speak with Joy Ross Jones.  Besides being a theatre educator, performer, activist she is incredibly eloquent, intelligent and nuanced.  Her Venezuelan upbringing gives us first hand insight on the crisis and how growing up in Venezuela has influenced her creative process.  Joy was beautifully vulnerable about the notions of beauty and the depths of her emotional life.  Although I had nowhere near enough time to ask her all the questions this episode is both uplifting and reflective.  After listening you'll want more Joy.  Stay tuned...there just might be a Joy Ross Jones ep. 2.0

Cet épisode se déroule uniquement en anglais.   

We go madly off in all directions in this one...Katharina is a force!  From the moment we begin to the end, Katharina speaks candidly about her career as a model and model booking agent.  She gives us a glimpse into the fashion world that can sometimes seem so confounding but Katharina is honest and refreshing.  We veer off into topics like bullying, memories we hold as children, & the ways in which the fashion industry is changing.

Katharina Kent nous parle de son rôle en tant que maman, de son récent divorce, elle nous dévoile ses insécurités de manière honnête et rafraichissante. 

 Katharina is so much fun and demands you keep up with her...I dare you to!   

If you need a little inspiration and encouragement on how to stay motivated and inspired in an artistic career, this episode is for you.  Dayane Ntibarikure talks about her mentorship work, trusting yourself and being ok with not being ok.  

 Elle partage avec nous ses habitudes de vie qui la gardent bien ancrée et positive.  La conversation a aussi traité de la mort et du deuil, les choix irrationnels qui nous mènent souvent vers quelque chose de grand.  

I spoke with actress, creator and trans-rights activist Pascale Drevillon. We talked about her experience with body dysphoria as a young child and adolescent to how she got to where she is now.  Her trajectory is anything but ordinary.  Pascale nous raconte son expérience à Cannes, et pourquoi c'est important pour elle d'explorer l'au-delà de sa feminité à travers son oeuvre.

*notez que cette conversation se tient généralement en anglais

*note that this conversation is held mainly in English.