Author: Salima Jadavji

Rishma unveils a heart-wrenching story about losing her husband to cancer and the journey through being his caregiver and knowing that their time together was limited. She described and detailed her husband’s character viewed by many — he was a magnet towards all people. She portrays that her personal grief journey is like that of peeling and unravelling of an onion, with each grief layer looking unalike, and therefore she embraces ‘grieving with gratitude’. She speaks about what it is like to grieve during the global pandemic, there were no traditional rites and rituals performed or known gatherings of family, friends, not being able to receive hugs from her heart connections, and how she had to run a completely different course than what was familiar to her. She takes time to open up her story to share aspects of the grief journey which she has not openly shared before and made some poignant connections with grief literacy. Rishma converses about the multi-roles that she played beyond being a wife and mother, she jumped into advocacy and detective hats to ensure that there was no compromise to her husband’s wellbeing and quality of life. She has learned the importance of soft skills and connecting with empathy. Her key message to the listeners is that: lots of people go through this alone — you don’t have to; be sure to reach out to someone; “reach out to me”; find resources, there are many in the community; each person has their own story filled with their own pain and loss — you are not alone.

Guest Bio: Change agent, Rishma Govani, is a seasoned strategic communications professional with 20+ years of experience in media relations and public affairs in environments with high profile issues and complex stakeholder relations. She is currently the Head of Communications for Global News and Corus Radio, a robust portfolio that includes 55 leading media brands across Canada. As a dynamic, empowered and passionate professional, she is committed to creating real positive change especially in areas of diversity, inclusion and acceptance.

In September 2020, she lost her beloved husband and partner, Aly, to cancer. He is her true north guiding her in the afterlife. She is passionate about normalizing grief, enhancing grief literacy and allowing people to feel comfortable (and even find humour) around topics that are not easy. She is the proud mama of Khalil, Mila and her new fur- baby, Hero, aptly named after his dad. She dares to believe.

Passionate about: Hope House Hospice; Princess Margaret Hospital 

Asante opens up about a childhood that is filled with instability, lack of response, lack of support, and coping in survival mode. He shares his learnings about how life is not linear, it is unpredictable, filled with disappointment and triumphs. He talks about his story through the lens of race, equity, understanding problems and looking for solutions. Asante describes the hope he represented to his family as he had many gifts and talents, how it fell apart when there was no one there to pay attention to his needs and parent him, and how he used his determination to persevere through tremendously difficult odds, including working through serious mental health challenges, caretaking for his mother who had mental health challenges and even other difficulties that she tried to hide from her children. He let his guard all the way down as he spoke with vulnerability to share the emotional turbulent world he lived through, what it was like to feel all alone, confused, nowhere to turn, feeling that anyone he could talk to wouldn’t have any semblance of what he felt. He turned to writing hip-hop lyrics and basketball as a way to process anger and regulate other emotions, he later found courage to talk to friends about what was going on, and much later in adult years he was able to reach out and trust the supports provided by professionals. His key message to the listeners is that: never give up; all pain is temporary — whether it is for a minute, one week, one year, or ten years, it does end; go to therapy and you can launch your rocket.

Guest Bio: Asante is a mental health advocate devoted to changing the world. He is focused on amplifying the stories of everyday people to illuminate gaps in the system while working to build bridges between community members and policy makers in order to find solutions to challenges together. Asante is the co-founder of the Reach Out Response Network, an organization advocating for non-police led mobile crisis emergency response. Asante is also a 2x TEDx speaker and a CAMH (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health) Difference Maker, awarded with the distinction of being one of the top 150 mental health influencers in Canada.

When Asante is not speaking and advocating, he is designing, managing and facilitating peer support training programs at Stella’s Place, a youth mental health service agency in Toronto and hosting the web show, Cypher, which turns peer support stories into original songs by Juno nominated musicians. Young at heart, silly, self-deprecating and able to find a sports analogy for virtually anything, Asante tries not to take himself too seriously despite being engaged in the serious work of change-making!

Passionate about: Pathways to Education; Stella’s Place; The Community Healing Project/City of Toronto

Kelly talks about what it was like to grow up in an extremely patriarchal environment, where women were supposed to be a certain way, where they needed to come across as nice, to be not outspoken, to be educated, but to also be geared towards marriage and children as the completion of what all is meant to be for a woman. She shares how it’s hard to constantly be fighting to be acknowledged and to pave her individual path on her own terms. Kelly shares how initially she was studying medicine at first and later quit medical school when she was exposed to the idea that she can have a life of her own on her own terms. She speaks about how there is no sexual education taught in public schools, that teachers would tear pages out of teaching books, and this led her to her own curiosity of erotic literature and sexuality. She speaks about suffering from depression and going through some dark moments and expressed the gratitude for being able to have the resources to overcome it. Her key message to the listeners is that: mental health looks differently for each person, what you need will look different from one person to another; friends and family can be there to support you but not fix you; not matter what the struggle is, get professional help; don’t follow a path because someone wants you to do it — do it because it’s something that sparks passion and curiosity inside you.

Guest Bio: Erotic Expert and Health Coach Kelly Swartz has been working in the areas of sexuality and expression for more than a decade. A published author and graduate of the Institute of Integrative Nutrition’s program in Holistic Health Coaching, she holds a master’s degree in Critical Theory and is a PhD Candidate in Erotic Literature. She is a seasoned speaker who appears on many media platforms, sharing her knowledge and educating others on topics like self intimacy, self-seduction, and erotic literature. Kelly is originally from Mexico City and lives in Toronto, where her health coaching practice lives while she has the ability to serve clients around the world.

Passionate about: www.awokenbeauty.com

Sheliza dives into a conversation where she explores what it is like to consider both surviving and thriving in order to make it in the world. She delves into internalized emotions that she endured along the way like, sadness, anxiety, shame. She balanced many competing identities related to social identities, racial trauma and imposter syndrome. She shares denying her own roots, rejecting her identity, and her big coping mechanism was to shove her experiences aside or hide behind them. She accounts for what imposter syndrome manifested within her, and that knowing she was well put together and looked put together to the outside world, but what she had to do in order to stay put together really came at a cost. She explores what it was like under pressure to please others; the unhelpful concept of othering others; unwilling for years to acknowledge the colour of her skin, the sound of her name, and fear associated with being ‘brown’. Through her journey, she has been able to contribute to social justice work, personal growth, and be given opportunities that she can choose to share learnings with other women of colour, and mentor other young women. Her key message to the listeners is that: be kind and compassionate with yourself; each person is a learning and growing being, so keep learning; listen to yourself –physically, mentally, emotionally; think about the resilience of ancestors; and keep working to love yourself.

Guest Bio: Sheliza Jamal is the founder of Curated Leadership, a coaching firm that fosters partnerships with leadership teams, non-profits, and corporations to develop their knowledge in the areas of equity and diversity to build inclusive communities. As an Equity and Inclusion facilitator and Ontario certified educator, Sheliza brings over a decade of experience in designing and implementing training and development programs aimed at addressing inequitable outcomes for underserved communities. She has a background in arts education and often uses theatre-based techniques to develop embodied empathy to engage participants in dialogue about oppression. Sheliza uses a calling in approach to bring people together to listen and learn with empathy.

Sheliza is a graduate of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and is currently completing her PhD at Ontario Institute of Studies in Education, University of Toronto in the Department of Social Justice Education with a research focus on anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism in Teacher Education Programs.

Passionate about: YWCA – mentorship program https://ywcavan.org

Clubhouse Group Name: Curated Conversations

As Nadia begins to tap into her story, she shares that leading up to her university graduation ceremony, she was feeling incredibly sick for 4-6 weeks, going in and out of medical clinics without any answers, until she made a visit to the local emergency room at age 24, this is where she learned of the cancer diagnoses. She described this part of her story as her degree coming with a diagnosis. Nadia shares the power in her faith to overcome the cancer, firmly planted in the roots of her faith and of a higher power — she speaks about choosing to take the pain and transforming it into an influential, positive purpose. She learned the true art of taking a challenging situation, embracing it, and then transforming it into a beautiful journey. Nadia is clear that though she was never defeated by fear, there were moments where she was scared, where she was numb, where she was restless, however, she found a way to bring herself to deep reflection, and writing about her challenges, acknowledging them and creating a new perspective and narrative on what she would choose to internalize. Her key message to the listeners is that: we cannot always choose our circumstances, but we can always choose our perspectives; feel your feelings fully; show yourself some compassion; choose ‘you’ to believe in yourself; it’s in your nature to be able to rise over and over and over again.

Guest Bio: Nadia is a cancer survivor, resilience speaker and high school science and drama teacher. Her high-energy talks, drama-based workshops, and personal brand ‘Choose I Can’ have been designed to inspire individuals to transform limiting beliefs into empowering opportunities. Driven by the principles that “challenges are stepping stones to our GREATNESS!” and “I CAN is not the future – it’s NOW!” she has transformed her personal struggle into a powerful system of change. Her compelling story and strategies inspire others to unleash their infinite potential, CHOOSE I CAN and STEP INTO THEIR GREATNESS.

Passionate about: Canadian Cancer Society https://www.cancer.ca

Mr. X speaks about the initial struggles that his family endured when his family first immigrated to Canada, and as his story unfolds, he unveils what it was like to grow up with being a recipient of both physical and verbal abuse. He shares about how all the emotional pain churned inside him, leaving him confused and second guessing his actions and pursuits in life. Mr. X shares how his upbringing shaped and influenced his later life when he got married and resulted in his first marriage to dissolve. He openly walks us through his journey through dating in what seemed like a ‘new world of dating’, learning about himself as he explored the world through meeting others, connection, having unfamiliar conversational topics, and then meeting and marrying his true love. Mr. X highlights how he went through a period of self-discovery as he turned to meditation, found a community where he was able to find a sense of true belonging, and shares that he awoke energy from within his core. His key message to listeners is that: have faith, seek help, no need to feel embarrassed; surround yourself with positive people; your experience is not ‘your’ fault; believe in yourself, no one can take that from you; if you want something badly, than you need to be up for the full throttle to do the necessary; be your own saviour.

Barbara authentically shares what it was like growing up with severe learning difficulties, having no known diagnosis at the time. She was pressed to carve and navigate her own path through feeling that she couldn’t fit in, feeling that going to school was meant to ‘feel stupid’, feeling ashamed that she couldn’t learn what others could, that at times it got so emotionally and mentally unruly that she had to fake illness so she could get out of going to school. She never told a soul what she had experienced, endured, and suffered through for decades. Barbara presented with exceptional strengths, so it was easy to mask the true struggle. Barbara shares with vulnerability emotions that emerged — hopelessness and despair, questioning how she could be successful when she often found herself guessing the answers — at times she was right and other times she was not. She expresses that what she endures had no logic in her world, unable to decode language, whether it be in reading, writing or comprehension of verbal communication. Through perseverance, she worked her process and overcame her learning difficulties when she immersed herself into the science of neuroplasticity and created meaningful work, that is her life’s work today. Her key message to listeners is that: there are solutions; there is hope and optimism in every situation if you look, so test it out and challenge what you know; never give up; keep investigating, ask questions, get curious; there is no one size fits all answer.

Guest Bio: Barbara is the founder of the Arrowsmith Program, which is an assessment process and a suite of cognitive exercises designed to stimulate and strengthen weak areas of cognitive functioning that underlie a range of learning difficulties. Her program has been delivered for 40+ years throughout the world. Her vision is that all students struggling with learning will have the opportunity to benefit from cognitive programs utilizing the principles of neuroplasticity, programs that change the brain’s capacity to learn and open to these learners a world of possibilities. 

The genesis of the Arrowsmith Program’s cognitive exercises lies in Barbara’s journey of discovery and innovation to overcome her own learning disabilities. She has written an international best seller, titled, ‘The Woman who Changed Her Brain’, she is also the recipient of the 2019 Leaders and Legends Innovation Award from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto for her contributions to education.

Passionate about: www.arrowsmithprogram.ca

Ross shares that his story began when he was just 5 years old, when his father was arrested for a white-collared crime, and though Ross was witness to this, he has no recollection of this time in his life. Ross openly talks about how this experience manifested into a multitude of emotions and behaviours as a young child. He talks about dysregulated emotions where he would act out physically, destroying all his belongings, developed a speech impediment, and though he was a high performer as he progressed on the academics’ side, he discloses that he was bullied and struggled throughout elementary school and high school. Ross came to heads with what he knows now as ‘depression’, is not what he knew at the time when he began university. In this interview, he pours into details about the various emotions he experienced like, sadness, anger, confusion and self-blame. With courage, support and loved ones, he has been able to journey though it all, and now contributes to the mental health field and hopes his contributions make it a better place for others. His key message to listeners is that: just start to open up and reach out to one person, people deserve more credit than you might be willing to give, but if you do — it can really help. It’s all about reaching out and starting with just one person.

Guest Bio: Ross from Burlington, Ontario, is a new father to a 4-month-old son and married to an incredibly supportive wife. Professionally he has worked in corporate health and wellness for the past 11 years, just recently taking a new role to help lead and implement a mental health strategy at Sobeys. Ross has lived with depression since before he even knew what it was. He joins us to talk about how mental illness has impacted his journey, through struggles to the greatest successes of his life.

Passionate about: Morneau Shepell; https://www.morneaushepell.com/

Amy tells her full journey filled with turmoil and shares what she endured that
culminates the story of loss, unknowingly becoming the sacrificial lamb of the family, a marriage filled with uncertainty, battling cancer twice, and reeling in with all her might walking away to start a new beginning. She spoke about how perfectionism kept her stuck in a domestic situation where she endured verbal, emotional and physical abuse, and how she leaned in with bravery to find herself, find her inner strength, and looked in the mirror to gain clarity with what she was prepared to do so she could live on her own terms. Amy came to terms with her position and says that she has owned up to her own role in her demise. She learned to embrace her inner child, give herself the love she needed, and worked through the many difficult emotions that showed up throughout her journey. Her key message to listeners is that: shedding the exterior of an old shell is possible; it’s not about the diagnosis, it is about the experience; start to acknowledge your hurt and your pain, and you will understand the deeper layers of yourself and your true wisdom.

Guest Bio: Amy Syed is a Kinesiologist and Rehab Professional and she is also a serial entrepreneur who believes significant impact can be made through intentional business concepts that foster resilience and sustainability. She is the Founder and CEO of FindyourHCP.com and started Amy Syed Enterprises Inc. as the teaching arm of her business to teach others how to use their experiences and genius to create a successful business and career.

Amy is the Host of a podcast named, Calm After the Storm and has been cast on The Social Movement — airing on Apple TV and Amazon Prime in 2022. She is a Humanist and an advocate for the global protection and annihilation of violence against vulnerable women and children and a proud Canadian who is headquartered in Toronto. Amy lives with her 5 children and partner, Amir.

Passionate about: WomenattheCentrE www.womenatthecentre.com

Mary takes the plunge and dives right in to speak about what it is like to go through an already long journey of her and her partner to be together, and then to be hit with a curveball when she least expected. She shares about how she quickly went from being newlyweds with exciting new beginnings, to becoming a 24/7 caregiver to her husband. Mary talked about the devastation of her husband’s illness, and how nothing could stop her from doing whatever it took to fulfill her duties as a partner, and in doing so, not realizing that she put every other aspect of her life on hold, physical, emotional, mental and spiritual needs. Mary admitted that it took her a while before she recognized how her self-care routine was in the negative, she started to recognize that it is okay to receive help, take breaks, and keep her stance to help her partner fight his health battle by also looking after her basic foundational needs. She openly shares about all the mix of emotions she experienced, like how nervous and anxious she became and needed to control the situation in any way that she could, to feeling scared and frightened about what is to come, and what she eventually turned to, in order to regain new fuel. Mary’s key message to listeners is: Be strong and choose to be resilient; choose to shift your mindset; get up when you fall; put things into perspective; self-care matters; letting go actually makes it better; and trust the systems.

Guest Bio: Mary works in the healthcare field, with earlier days in administrative roles — she has worked her way upwards and now holds the ‘Quality Improvement Manager’ position at Southlake Family Health Team in Newmarket, ON. Mary holds a Bachelor’s in Health Sciences with Minor in Psychology. In her current role, she continuously looks for improvement opportunities in the healthcare sector including the delivery of patient programs to adapt to the current times, such as pandemic planning — without impairing quality of service delivery.

Mary is hardworking, caring and often likes to lend a helping hand to anyone who needs it. She gives back to the community in various ways, such as donating blood and other volunteering endeavours. If Mary is not spending time with her family or husband, she can be found playing retro video games like Nintendo, experimenting new recipes, shout-singing to pop music, going to concerts and travelling she so she can experiment and taste new foods. She is also an adrenaline seeker who has skydived, done the CN Tower EdgeWalk and is always looking for a new adventure.

Passionate about: Canadian Healthcare Systems, Canadian Blood Services, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.