Notes from the Edge

Latest Episodes:

Edge Note: What If They Mistook Disability for Inability? Oct 31, 2026

Show notes

What happens when other people decide what you’re capable of? After a spinal cord injury at 20, Ken Kunken returned to Cornell University in a wheelchair, only to find a campus without a single ramp or curb cut. The challenge wasn’t simply adapting to a different life. It was navigating a world that hadn’t made room for him.

Ken went on to build a career spanning more than four decades as a trial attorney, become a husband and father of triplets, and write his memoir, I Dream of Things That Never Were. We talk about disability, accessibility, depression, independence, asking for help, and why opportunity and inclusion matter far more than anyone’s assumptions about another person’s abilities.

In this episode:

02:38 | Adjusting to life after a spinal cord injury and redefining independence
05:50 | The importance of family, community, and meaningful support
08:03 | Returning to an inaccessible Cornell campus and pursuing a legal career
10:15 | Writing his memoir, navigating personal challenges, and building a family
17:45 | Self-confidence, disability stereotypes, and the importance of opportunity

Connect with Ken Kunken

Author of I Dream of Things That Never Were: The Ken Kunken Story

https://kenkunken.com

Connect with Lisa Lacy Inside the Edge:

Join us for exclusive weekly episodes, private monthly live conversations, and resources that encourage self-discovery, connection, and personal growth.

https://www.lisalacy.com/inside-the-edge

What did you perform in order to survive?

Welcome to the Edge.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What If Your Adoption Was Never Legal? Black Market Adoption with Patricia Knight Meyer Oct 31, 2026

Show notes

What if your adoption was never legal? Patricia Knight Meyer was handed over as an infant along a Texas hospital curb without an agency, a judge, or legal adoption paperwork. At 12, she discovered she had no birth certificate. At 47, she finally received one that reflected her true identity.

In this deeply personal conversation, Patricia joins Lisa Lacy to explore black-market adoption, adoption trauma, abandonment, people-pleasing, and the complicated emotions of reuniting with biological parents. She also shares the story behind her award-winning memoir, Wonderland: Memoir of a Black-Market Adoption, and why adoptee rights, identity, and family preservation deserve more honest conversations.

In This Episode:

02:43 – How adoption trauma, abandonment fears, and people-pleasing shaped Patricia’s childhood.
06:04 – Discovering her missing birth certificate and questioning whether she had been stolen.
09:19 – Reuniting with her biological parents and confronting the identity she thought she knew.
15:05 – Preparing for adoption reunions, managing expectations, and establishing healthy boundaries.
24:25 – Writing Wonderland, surviving devastating losses, and reclaiming her personal history.

Connect with Patricia Knight Meyer

https://www.myadoptedlife.com

Connect with Lisa | INSIDE THE EDGE

https://www.lisalacy.com/inside-the-edge

Go beyond the public podcast with exclusive weekly episodes, private monthly live conversations, and practical resources exploring identity, trauma, recovery, and personal growth.

What did you perform in order to survive?

Welcome to the Edge.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What If Being Strong Is Breaking You? Masculinity, Burnout & Leadership with Dave Rossi Oct 30, 2026

Show notes

What happens when everything you’ve worked so hard to achieve starts costing you your health, happiness, and sense of self? Dave Rossi built a multimillion-dollar business, had the homes, the money, and every outward sign of success. Behind it all, he was burned out, physically unwell, and deeply unhappy. What happens when everything you’ve worked for becomes the very thing destroying you?

Lisa Lacy and Dave Rossi explore the hidden costs of traditional masculinity, the pressure to perform, and why strength doesn’t have to mean sacrificing your health or happiness. From the alpha male mindset to Dave’s Omega Man philosophy, this conversation challenges what we’ve been taught about success, vulnerability, identity, and conscious leadership.

In This Episode:

02:18 – When having everything still feels like failure: Dave’s personal breaking point
06:29 – How ambition, discipline, and constant achievement become a recipe for burnout
19:54 – Alpha vs. Omega: redefining masculinity, strength, and the masks men wear
34:03 – Building the awareness muscle, breaking old patterns, and finding the power to choose differently
44:24 – Performing to be loved, letting go of approval, and why vulnerability is real strength

Connect with Dave Rossi

Website: https://www.daverossiglobal.com

Explore his books, Alphas Die Early and The Imperative Habit.

Connect with Lisa Lacy Inside the Edge:

https://www.lisalacy.com/inside-the-edge

Inside the Edge is a private membership featuring exclusive weekly solo episodes, monthly live virtual experiences, and practical resources for deeper conversations about identity, healing, personal growth, and the human experience.

What did you perform in order to survive?

Welcome to the Edge.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What If Trauma Could Be Released? Trauma Healing Methods with Dr. Judith Swack Oct 29, 2026

Show notes

What if healing from trauma didn’t have to take years? What if the patterns keeping you stuck weren’t just in your thoughts, but in your body? Biochemist, immunologist, and author Dr. Judith Swack joins Lisa Lacy to challenge how we think about trauma, emotional healing, and the unconscious patterns driving our behavior.

Dr. Judith introduces her Healing from the Body Level Up (HBLU) methodology, exploring energy psychology, the mind-body connection, and her approach to identifying and releasing emotional patterns. From betrayal and boundary violations to the relationship between trauma and physical health, this conversation asks whether healing could look very different from what we’ve been taught.

In This Episode:

03:30 – Why unconscious patterns keep us repeating the same behaviors and relationships.
11:20 – Energy psychology, tapping, and Dr. Judith’s approach to emotional healing.
19:50 – Loss trauma versus violence trauma and how both affect the nervous system.
23:35 – Fight, flight, freeze, bullying, and the impact of violated boundaries.
31:30 – Trauma, the immune system, chronic stress, and the mind-body connection.

Connect with Dr. Judith Swack

Learn more about her work, Healing from the Body Level Up (HBLU), and her book Clear Trauma Now.

https://www.hblu.org/

Connect with Lisa | Inside the Edge

Join Inside the Edge for exclusive weekly episodes, private monthly live experiences, deeper conversations, and resources for self-discovery and personal growth.

https://www.lisalacy.com/inside-the-edge

What did you perform in order to survive?

Welcome to the Edge.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What If Looking Fit Is Hurting You? Sustainable Men’s Fitness with Kevin Gomes Oct 28, 2026

Show notes

What happens when you look healthier than ever but feel worse than ever? Former competitive bodybuilder and men’s health coach Kevin Gomes knows that contradiction firsthand. After years of extreme training, restrictive dieting, and performance-enhancing drugs, he realized that looking strong and actually being healthy are two very different things.

Kevin joins Lisa Lacy for a thought-provoking conversation about men’s physical and emotional health, identity, perfectionism, and the patterns that keep us stuck. From our relationship with food to the pressure to prove ourselves, we explore why sustainable fitness requires more than discipline, and how real health begins when we stop chasing appearances and start paying attention to how we’re actually living.

In This Episode:

03:00 | When looking your best leaves you feeling your worst: Kevin’s bodybuilding wake-up call.
07:00 | Looking under the hood: bloodwork, hormones, energy, and the health markers we overlook.
12:00 | How identity, shame, perfectionism, and our relationship with food keep unhealthy patterns alive.
16:00 | Breaking autopilot: recognizing emotional triggers, stress eating, and building intentional habits.
31:00 | Dropping the mask of physical perfection, walking away from steroids, and redefining strength, health, and fatherhood.

Connect with Kevin Gomes

Founder, Pinnacle Coaching

Website: https://pinnacleprogram.co.uk

Instagram: @kevgomes_coach

Connect with Lisa Lacy Inside the Edge:

https://www.lisalacy.com/inside-the-edge

Go beyond the public podcast with exclusive weekly episodes, private monthly live experiences with Lisa, and practical resources for deeper self-discovery and meaningful human connection.

What did you perform in order to survive?

Welcome to the Edge.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What Is Your Voice Hiding? Vibrational Voice Healing with Heather Schmid Oct 27, 2026

Show notes

What if your voice is still carrying the pain you never had permission to express?

International recording artist, opera singer, and creator of Vibrational Voice Healing, Heather Schmid joins me to explore the connection between sound, trauma, emotional expression, and authenticity. Heather shares how an unexpected experience while filming her documentary Voice of the Earth transformed her understanding of her voice and herself.

We explore how childhood conditioning, perfectionism, and the need for approval can silence our authentic expression. From sound frequencies and nervous system regulation to spiritual awakening and releasing old identities, this conversation goes far beyond singing.

In this episode, we explore:

How an emotional experience at a waterfall in the Azores changed Heather’s life and documentary.
Why childhood criticism, judgment, and unresolved emotional experiences can silence our voices.
The differences between 432 Hz and 440 Hz, cymatics, and Heather’s perspective on sound and vibration.
How breathwork, humming, and somatic voice practices may support emotional expression and self-discovery.
Breaking free from perfectionism, external validation, and the identities we perform to survive.

Connect with Heather Schmid:

https://www.heatherschmid.com

Explore Vibrational Voice Healing and her documentary Voice of the Earth.

Connect with Lisa | Inside the Edge:

https://www.lisalacy.com/inside-the-edge

Join our private membership for exclusive weekly episodes, monthly live experiences, and resources exploring trauma, identity, recovery, and authentic living.

What did you perform in order to survive?

Welcome to the Edge.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Edge Note: Can Betrayal Trauma Change Your Brain? Oct 25, 2026

Show notes

What happens to your brain when the person you trusted most becomes the source of your greatest pain? Betrayal trauma doesn’t just break your heart. It can fundamentally alter how your brain processes safety, trust, relationships, and even your own reality. After spending more than a decade in a relationship marked by chronic infidelity, gaslighting, financial exploitation, and substance abuse, I walked away questioning everything, including my own judgment and identity.

In this deeply personal Edge Note, I explore the neuroscience behind betrayal trauma, how prolonged emotional manipulation impacts the nervous system, and why survivors often experience hypervigilance, anxiety, obsessive questioning, and profound self-doubt. I’ll share what it took to rebuild my identity from the ground up and how neuroplasticity offers genuine hope for recovery. If you’ve ever felt like you were losing your mind after betrayal, this conversation is about understanding what happened to you, reclaiming your sense of self, and learning to trust yourself again.

In this Edge Note, we explore:

How betrayal trauma affects the brain, nervous system, and body’s threat response.
Why gaslighting and chronic deception can destroy self-trust and distort your sense of reality.
The connection between betrayal trauma, hypervigilance, emotional dysregulation, and survival behaviors.
How prolonged psychological manipulation can erode identity, confidence, and the ability to make decisions.
The science of neuroplasticity and how healing can help you rebuild self-trust, establish boundaries, and stop abandoning yourself.

Connect with Lisa | INSIDE THE EDGE

Go beyond the podcast with exclusive conversations, private episodes, live gatherings, and a community exploring trauma, healing, reinvention, and everything that makes us human.

https://lisalacy.com/inside-the-edge

What did you perform in order to survive?

Welcome to the Edge.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Edge Note: What If Being Right Is Keeping You Stuck? Oct 24, 2026

Show notes

Why is saying “I don’t know” so uncomfortable? Australian osteopath, educator, and Uncomfortably Curious podcast host Aidan Mill joins Lisa Lacy to explore curiosity, cognitive bias, and why questioning what we believe might be one of the most powerful things we can do.

From the stories we tell ourselves to the labels we allow to define us, this conversation challenges certainty, explores how our experiences shape our perceptions, and examines what happens when we choose understanding over being right. Sometimes the most courageous thing we can do is admit we might not have all the answers.

In this episode:

Why we’re uncomfortable admitting we don’t know something
How personal experiences and assumptions shape our perception of truth
When diagnoses and labels become part of our identity
The difference between confidence, competence, and certainty
How curiosity, emotional openness, and better questions create opportunities for growth

Connect with Aidan Mill

Website: https://www.forwardosteo.com.au

Podcast, Uncomfortably Curious: https://rss.com/podcasts/uncomfortably-curious/

Connect with Lisa | INSIDE THE EDGE

https://www.lisalacy.com/inside-the-edge

What did you perform in order to survive?

Welcome to the Edge.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What If Your Personality Is a Survival Strategy? Trauma Anxiety Resolution with Cedric Bertelli Oct 24, 2026

Show notes

What if the anxiety, fear, or emotional patterns you’ve accepted as your personality are actually survival strategies from the past? Lisa Lacy sits down with Cedric Bertelli, founder of the Emotional Health Institute and co-developer of Emotional Resolution® (EmRes®), to explore why managing emotions and resolving recurring emotional patterns may be two very different things.

From Cedric’s experience masking anxiety while leading hundreds of employees to the ways our brains predict danger based on past experiences, this conversation explores trauma, emotional avoidance, and the body’s role in emotional processing. Lisa and Cedric discuss interoception, the emerging research behind EmRes, reconnecting with physical sensations, and why sustainable contentment may matter more than chasing constant happiness.

In this episode:

How anxiety, high performance, and emotional masking can become survival identities.
The difference between emotional regulation and Emotional Resolution® (EmRes®).
How past trauma, outdated brain predictions, and physical sensations influence recurring emotional responses.
Why avoiding uncomfortable emotions can reinforce patterns of fear, anger, and anxiety.
Reconnecting with the body, practicing Self-EmRes, and developing greater emotional awareness and contentment.

Connect with Cedric Bertelli:

https://www.cedricbertelli.com

Emotional Health Institute: https://www.emotionalhealthinstitute.org

Connect with Lisa | INSIDE THE EDGE:

https://www.lisalacy.com/inside-the-edge

What did you perform in order to survive?

Welcome to the Edge.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What if Staying Safe is Keeping You Stuck? Overcoming Self-Doubt with Carlene Marie Oct 23, 2026

Show notes

What if the version of you that once kept you safe is now keeping you stuck? Lisa Lacy sits down with Carlene Marie, Master Mindpower Coach and author of Enough Already, to explore how self-doubt, perfectionism, people-pleasing, and overachievement become survival identities, even for people who appear confident and successful.

From childhood beliefs about not being enough to major life transitions that challenge our identity, this thought-provoking conversation explores self-worth, burnout, emotional resilience, and rebuilding self-trust. Carlene shares practical strategies for setting healthy boundaries, recognizing unconscious patterns, rediscovering personal purpose, and learning to live authentically without constantly proving our worth.

In This Episode:

How childhood conditioning and unconscious beliefs create lifelong patterns of self-doubt and people-pleasing.
Why perfectionism, overachievement, and constantly proving your worth can lead to burnout and self-abandonment.
Rediscovering identity, purpose, and personal values through life’s major transitions.
Building self-trust through small daily wins, self-awareness, transformational coaching, and asking for help.
Setting healthy boundaries, communicating your needs without apology, and breaking free from survival identities.

Connect with Carlene Marie:

https://carlenemarie.com

Connect with Lisa | INSIDE THE EDGE:

https://lisalacy.com/inside-the-edge

What did you perform in order to survive?

Welcome to the Edge.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.