Joining Janeane on 2/4 at 9:30am - Stacie Aamon Yeldell, MA, MT-BC, AVPT - board-certified music therapist and Mental Health Specialist for Project HOPE

About Stacie Aamon Yeldell

Stacie is a board-certified music therapist and Mental Health Specialist for Project HOPE, and has been instrumental in Project HOPE’s shift from immediate relief to addressing the long-term mental health and psychosocial needs of communities affected by last January's wildfires. 

Using music therapy, she has helped bring comfort and connection to children, caregivers, frontline workers, and historically underserved groups still navigating trauma a year later. Stacie is part of our team of creative therapists who work to create moments of calm, expression, and connection in non-clinical environments when words alone aren’t enough.

LISTEN  to today's show featuring Stacie


 Stacie talks about:

• Supporting LA wildfire survivors a year after the fires through music and art therapy
• The importance of non-clinical creative therapies for survivors of natural disasters/traumatic events
• An overview of Project HOPE and their mission
• Plans for 2026 to continue supporting LA wildfire-affected communities

ProjectHope.org

Family & Philanthropic Legacy: The Ziskends

On this week's show, Janeane shared her grandmother's stories of Project Hope and some special memorabilia her grandmother gave her.

Madeline Ziskend, Janeane's late grandmother:

• First New England Chairman of the Hope Cotillion and Ball, an annual fundraising event supporting Project HOPE.
• Traveled internationally—including Tunisia and other countries—visiting staff and patients as part of her involvement with the organization.
• Leadership role highlighted her commitment to global health, humanitarian outreach, and community service.
• Mr. and Mrs. William Ziskend were active participants in the Hope Cotillion and Ball and in supporting Project HOPE.
• Represented the family’s dedication to philanthropy and community engagement in New England and beyond.

The Ziskends’ involvement reflects a family tradition of leadership, service, and engagement with international humanitarian causes. Their participation in the Hope Cotillion and Ball contributed to fundraising and awareness for Project HOPE, a global health organization dedicated to improving health systems and saving lives worldwide.

 

Coming up 2/4 at 9:00am - Trauma therapist Maggie Nick, author of GOOD KIDS: Why You Suffered in Silence and How to Break the Cycle

LISTEN 
to today's conversation
with Maggie Nick

Trauma therapist and parenting expert Maggie Nick, author of GOOD KIDS: Why You Suffered in Silence and How to Break the Cycle (Sheldon Press/Hachette UK; on sale 1/27/26)

In GOOD KIDS, Nick reveals an inconvenient truth: children praised for being “easy,” mature, and well-behaved often grow into adults who struggle with perfectionism, people-pleasing, emotional suppression, and an intense fear of failure. These “good kids” don’t act out — they internalize.

Nick offers compassionate, research-backed insight into how well-meaning parents can unintentionally create long-term emotional harm and helps parents use supportive approaches that nurture confident, self-assured kids.

Discussion topics include:

• How “good parenting” can still result in traumatized “good kids.”
• Why a child’s good behavior isn’t a reliable measure of emotional health
• Signs discipline may be rooted in shame or control — and how to course-correct
• Why adult “good kids” struggle to ask for help or express needs
• How recovering “good kids” can reparent themselves with self-compassion

"An old soul" ... "a delight to have in class" ... "so mature for your age"

If you grew up as a Good Kid, you probably heard these words a lot. And you were good. Quiet. Easy. Responsible. So disciplined, you basically raised yourself. You’re the one everyone counts on — and you wear it like a good star.

But nobody ever checks on you. And you’re exhausted from proving your goodness by being an overachieving, people pleasing, perfectionist, pushover, and shape-shifting chameleon.

Good Kids is about the invisible trauma and cost of always being “good” — a lifetime of bottling your emotions, performing calm while constantly scanning everyone around you for the slightest sign of upset or disappointment and the crushing fear of being “a burden.” Oh, and always worrying that you’re in trouble.

Maggie Nick was a Good Kid too — the one who “never caused trouble” and always made sure everyone else was okay (even when she wasn’t). Now a trauma therapist, parenting expert, and cycle breaking mom, she’s here to help you heal from the fallout of being easy to raise and show you how to support the good kids in your life through those same messy, human moments you weren’t allowed to have.

This book answers the questions you’ve been asking yourself for years, like:
Why do I feel crushing guilt when I say no?
Why do I replay conversations for days, convinced I did something wrong?
Why do I feel like I’m “too much” and “not enough”?

With raw honesty, deep compassion and grounded research, Good Kids gives you the clarity and validation you’ve been searching for your whole life and the handbook for how to heal and break the good kid cycle for your children.

About GOOD KIDS:

Anyone who grew up as a “good kid” likely heard constant praise from the adults around them: “a delight to have in class,” “an old soul,” “so mature for their age.” Quiet, responsible, disciplined, and easygoing, these children are what many parents strive to raise—and when they succeed, both parent and child are rewarded with approval.

But because these “good kids” appear so self-sufficient, few people think to check in on them. While they may seem to raise themselves, many are quietly struggling with perfectionism, overachieving, people-pleasing, and hyper-vigilance.

In GOOD KIDS: Why You Suffered in Silence and How to Break the Cycle (Sheldon Press/Hachette UK; on sale 1/27/26), trauma therapist and parenting expert Maggie Nick explores how these children often grow into anxious, self-doubting adults. Through an accessible exploration of relational shame trauma, Nick reveals why “good kids” learn to bottle their emotions, seek constant approval, and fear being a burden—patterns that can persist well into adulthood.

A recovering “good kid” herself, Nick understands firsthand how this pressure builds over time—and how it can be unlearned. Drawing on research and years of clinical experience counseling countless recovering “good kids,” she offers practical tools for parents and adult “good kids” alike to identify harmful patterns, break generational cycles of toxic parenting, and cultivate self-compassion, emotional safety, and authentic connection.

About Maggie Nick:

Maggie Nick is a licensed clinical social worker, trauma therapist, and parenting expert. She founded Camp Lovable, a self-compassion–focused healing community and is widely known for her popular Instagram and TikTok accounts, @maggiewithperspectacles. She holds a Master’s in Social Work from Indiana University and lives near the beach in Florida with her husband, two children, and beloved dogs.

The Notebook will make its Costa Mesa premiere at Segerstrom Center for the Arts from January 27 – February 8, 2026. Connor Richardson, who plays Johnny, called into this week's show to chat with Janeane! If you missed the live show, listen to podcast link below.

Everyone knows The Notebook- whether a fan of the best-selling novel by Nicholas Sparks or iconic film, now it takes on a new life as a Broadway musical!

The Notebook will make its Costa Mesa premiere at Segerstrom Center for the Arts from January 27 – February 8, 2026.

On Wednesday, January 28th, Janeane spoke with Connor Richardson, who plays Johnny.

LISTEN
to today's show
featuring Connor Richardson

Read Janeane's show review on KUCI 88.9fm

“THE NOTEBOOK is ultimately a celebration of life, love, and the power of memory,” said producers Kevin McCollum and Kurt Deutsch. “Audiences first fell in love with this timeless story as a novel, then as an iconic film, and now they can experience it anew as a moving musical event. 

With multi-platinum artist Ingrid Michaelson’s unforgettable score and Tony Award nominated Bekah Brunstetter’s beautifully crafted book, THE NOTEBOOK comes to life on stage in a way that will resonate deeply with audiences across North America.”

Allie and Noah, two people from different worlds, share a lifetime of love despite the forces that threaten to pull them apart. “Full of butterfly-inducing highs and beautiful songs” (Entertainment Weekly), THE NOTEBOOK a deeply moving portrait of the enduring power of love.

Allie and Noah are each played by three actors- Chloë Cheers as Younger Allie, Alysha Deslorieux as Middle Allie, Sharon Catherine Brown as Older Allie, Kyle Mangold as Younger Noah, Ken Wulf Clark as Middle Noah, and Beau Gravitte as Older Noah.

ABOUT

The Notebook is a new hit musical based on the best selling novel that inspired the iconic film. Allie and Noah, both from different worlds, share a lifetime of love despite the forces that threaten to pull them apart, in a deeply moving portrait of the enduring power of love.

The Notebook is “full of butterfly-inducing highs, stunning performances, and beautiful songs” (Entertainment Weekly). Chris Jones of The Chicago Tribune says The Notebook is “absolutely gorgeous, not to be missed,” and The New York Daily News calls it “a love story for the ages.”

The Notebook is directed by Michael Greif (Dear Evan Hansen, Next to Normal, RENT) and Schele Williams (The Wiz, Aida) and features music and lyrics by multi-platinum singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson, book by Bekah Brunstetter (NBC’s This Is Us), and choreography by Katie Spelman.

Livi, a UC Irvine student and Campus Ambassador for the Peace Corps, sat down to share details on this wonderful opportunity for all ages

From the Peace Corps website:

Peace Corps Volunteers put their purpose, passion, and skills to work in partnership with host communities in 60+ countries.

LISTEN to my conversation
with Livi on today's show!

Powering human connection

Peace Corps Volunteers and host community partners advance and embody our mission, values, and three goals in communities around the globe. We invite you to learn more about the Peace Corps and how we promote human connection across cultures and make a lasting impact.

The Goals of the Peace Corps:

1. To help the countries interested in meeting their need for trained people.

Volunteers exchange skills and knowledge with community members to help create sustainable change through work in six sectors—Agriculture, Community Economic Development, Education, Environment, Health, and Youth in Development.

2. To help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.

Through their service, Volunteers share America and its values and also learn about local cultures, opportunities, resources, and people in their host countries.

3. To help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.

Volunteers immerse themselves in local cultures and share their experiences when they return home with family, friends, and the public. This helps promote cultural understanding, volunteerism, and public service.

Learn more: www.peacecorps.org

Jessica Hauser, Alex Pretti's final nursing student, pens a heartbreaking tribute to her mentor, writing that "caring for people was at the core of who he was."

Hauser writes: "I was Alex Pretti’s final nursing student. He was my friend and my nursing mentor. For the past four months, I stood shoulder to shoulder with him during my capstone preceptorship at the Minneapolis VA Hospital. There he trained me to care for the sickest of the sick as an ICU nurse. He taught me how to care for arterial and central lines, the intricacies of managing multiple IVs filled with lifesaving solutions, and how to watch over every heartbeat, every breath, and every flicker of life, ready to act the moment they wavered. Techniques intended to heal.

Alex carried patience, compassion and calm as a steady light within him. Even at the very end, that light was there. I recognized his familiar stillness and signature calm composure shining through during those unbearable final moments captured on camera.

It does not surprise me that his final words were, “Are you okay?” Caring for people was at the core of who he was. He was incapable of causing harm. He lived a life of healing, and he lived it well.

Alex believed strongly in the Second Amendment and in the rights rooted in our Constitution and its amendments. He spoke out for justice and peace whenever he could, not only out of obligation, but out of a belief that we are more connected than divided, and that communication would bring us together.

I want his family to know his legacy lives on. I am a better nurse because of the wisdom and skills he instilled in me. I carry his light with me into every room, letting it guide and steady my hands as I heal and care for those in need.

Please honor my friend by standing up for peace, preferably with a cup of black coffee in hand and a couple of pieces of candy in your pocket, just as he would. He would remind you that caring for others is hard work, and we must do whatever it takes to get through the long shifts. Step outside with your dog, breathe in the world, hike or bike as he loved to do, and let yourself find peace in the quiet moments within nature. Stand up for justice and speak with those whose views differ from your own. Hold your beliefs with strength, but always extend love outward, even in the face of adversity.

Take one step, no matter how small, to help heal our world. Through these acts, carry his light forward in his name. Let his legacy continue to heal.

According to the American Psychological Association, swearing can make you stronger. Swearing boosts performance by helping people feel focused, disinhibited, study finds. &*^% Yes!

According to the American Psychological Association swearing can make you stronger.

Swearing might feel impulsive, but research suggests it can actually make you stronger.

A new APA study finds using swear words during physical challenges can boost endurance, increase focus, and help people push past mental limits.

Read more: https://at.apa.org/7e5dd2

Coming up 1/21 9:30am - Val Walker, author of '400 Friends and No One to Call', is releasing a new book 'Healing Through Wonder' on January 8th, sharing her journey of healing from trauma and loss

LISTEN
to today's 
show featuring Val Walker

Healing Through Wonder:

How Awe Restores Us After Trauma and Loss

Back in 2020, Val joined me on my show when I interviewed her about her book,
400 Friends and No One to Call. 

Now, she has a new book out with Bloomsbury Publishing January 8th called Healing Through Wonder: How Awe Restores Us After Trauma and Loss.


Dedicated to survivors of trauma and loss, Healing Through Wonder shows us how our sense of wonder can be a vital source of resilience, hope, and connection.


If I had the opportunity for an interview, I'd like to share inspirational moments of awe that changed the lives of people profiled in my book. I can also provide encouraging neuroscience research about how awe and wonder help us through trauma and grief. Finally, I offer my own story of a breathtaking moment with a blue heron when I was close to ending my life by suicide decades ago--and how my sense of wonder has given me the will to live ever since.


"Val Walker's profound journey through trauma and spiritual exploration is both heart-wrenching and inspiring. This book beautifully captures the resilience of the human spirit and the transformative power of connection and awe."--Shari Botwin, LCSW, Keynote speaker, Media Contributor and Author of Thriving After Trauma: Stories of Living and Healing, and Stolen Childhoods: Thriving After Abuse.

"Healing Through Wonder is a powerful work — urging readers to draw upon their own resilience, particularly a sense of wonder as they cope with loss. This book is a gift to anyone who is bereaved." — Kenneth J. Doka, PhD, Senior Vice-President for Grief Programs, The Hospice Foundation of America, Author, Disenfranchised Grief, Grief Is a Journey, When We Die



BOOK DESCRIPTION

Val's story of healing began in her darkest moment.

Homeless, running from a violent partner, and battling suicidal depression, she found herself sitting by a river holding a bottle of pills in one hand and a bottle of red wine to wash them down in the other. Out of the twilight sky a majestic blue heron circled and landed just a few feet away. Something in the heron's piercing eyes caused her to stop swallowing the pills. In that moment, she realized that there was just too much beauty and magic in the world to give up.

Thus began a decades-long quest to understand how wondrous encounters can spark healing from trauma and grief. This inspiring guide shares stories of profound, transformational experiences from four profiles alongside her own, and unpacks the neuroscience that explains how wonder helps our brains and bodies heal.


TALKING POINTS FOR HEALING THROUGH WONDER
Even brief moments of awe can reduce rumination and worry, calm and ground our bodies, and shift our focus to the present moment--and neuroscience shows us how this happens.Awe and wonder emotions have been mostly underappreciated and underexplored until very recently, so most of us underestimate the power of awe: 

A moment of being awestruck by something amazing and meaningful gives us resilience and hope for the future.

Shared experiences of awe have a remarkable way of breaking us out of isolation and loneliness. 

We feel less lonely when we share a story of an awe moment of something amazing that took our breath away (such as hearing a song that gave us chills, seeing a magnificent sunset or solar eclipse, spotting a cardinal landing near you, or waking up from a dream with a powerful message.

We can share our awe and wonder stories in person as well as through writing, videos, photos, and other media.Awe and wonder moments can be invited into our daily lives, not only in nature, but through music, groups of people at concerts, arts, and sports events, signs and synchronicities, epiphanies, immersive art, wondrous poetry, and much more.Keeping our minds open and curious is a gateway to awe and wonder experiences.

ABOUT 

Val Walker received her MS in rehabilitation counseling from Virginia Commonwealth University and is a rehabilitation consultant, speaker and writer. She is a contributing blogger for Psychology Today and the Health Story Collaborative. Walker is the author of The Art of Comforting (Penguin/Random House, 2010) which won the Nautilus Book Award, and 400 Friends and No One to Call (Central Recovery Press, March 26, 2020.) She deeply believes we can break through the barriers that isolate us by building community, friendships, and a sense of belonging.

www.valwalkerauthor.com