#146 - Have you ever gotten so lost you can't think clearly?

#146 - Have you ever gotten so lost you can't think clearly?

Author: Suzanne Andora Barron December 15, 2025 Duration: 4:45
That was me this morning. I was driving to meet family for a holiday breakfast about an hour away. The roads were covered in snow – from last night’s storm – and the visibility wasn’t great. I missed a few turns, and it felt like I was driving in circles as the GPS tried to autocorrect. Panic set in, and my heart rate picked up. But before i could go too far into story, I paused and reset knowing I would be okay. Here's the cool part - the reset came from something I did thi...

Life has a way of stretching us, often in directions we never anticipated. Finding Joy in the Hard, hosted by Suzanne Andora Barron, is a weekly space that meets you right there, in that stretch. This isn't about bypassing pain or forcing positivity; it's about the honest, often quiet work of navigating grief, personal growth, daily struggles, and those sudden turns that leave us reeling. Each episode offers a grounded conversation with your own experience. Suzanne's solo minisodes provide candid reflections intertwined with gentle nervous system awareness and simple, embodied practices-tools to help you find a steadier footing when the ground feels anything but solid. The podcast also features conversations with guests who have walked their own difficult paths, people who have discovered genuine light in dark places and, yes, found joy in the hard. It’s a resource for anyone looking to cultivate resilience not as a concept, but as a felt sense in the body and mind, exploring the intersection of mental and physical well-being through a lens of compassionate realism. You'll hear a blend of personal narrative, practical wisdom, and supportive dialogue, all aimed at making the challenging parts of being human feel a little more manageable and a lot less lonely.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

Finding Joy in the Hard
Podcast Episodes
#164 Right place at the Right Time? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 4:24
What if that interruption in your day can actually make way for meeting someone you never expected? What if, rather than looking at it as an annoyance, we question what might be possible? That’s the experience Suzanne sh…
#163 Saying your quiet thoughts out loud [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:29
In this episode, I shared what I’m learning from taking part in a 21-day storytelling challenge on Instagram—and what it has been like to say some of my quieter thoughts out loud. I talk about sharing my struggle with fe…
#162 What Aqua Zumba Taught Me About Myself [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:45
A simple Aqua Zumba class had me take a look at some things I don't like about myself. In this episode, I share what happened when I found myself in a class where everyone else seemed to know what they were doing—and wha…
#161 Finding Peace When it Feels So Hard [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:57
Today is the anniversary of my son Christopher's death, and I'm out walking the path across the street from my house — the same path we used to bike together. In this episode, I share how peace can be found more often th…
#160 Is Impatience Getting the Best of You? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:00
Do you find that you're feeling more impatient lately? Have you ever asked yourself where are you rushing to? In today's episode, Suzanne shares a story of waiting in line at a French café and how she found herself getti…
#159 Finding Magic in the Ending - It Starts with That First Step [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:10
Is there something you're yearning to do — a dream that maybe others think is a little crazy, but you know you have to do it anyway? In this episode, I share how to go for it, using an example of my own: the beginning an…
#158 The Yes that Changed Everything [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 13:08
What led you to say yes? Recently a mentor asked me – what was it that had you say yes to living in Seoul, Korea when it wasn’t common to do so. Fun? Curiosity? Intuition? A call? For me, it started with a high school in…
#157 Are you putting yourself first? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:23
Are You Putting Yourself First? If that question made you cringe, this episode is for you. I share a small but revealing moment from my own week — a meeting, a 15-minute ask I wouldn't let myself make, and what happened…
156:  Always a Sibling – An Interview with Annie Sklaver Orenstein [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:50
When Annie lost her brother Ben to a suicide bomber in 2009, she went to a bookstore looking for a book about sibling grief. She couldn't find one. So she wrote it. Always a Sibling: The Forgotten Mourner's Guide to Grie…
#155 Would you ever talk that way to a friend? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:42
Would You Talk That Way To A Friend? You know that voice in your head — the one that says "that was so dumb" or "you said too much." But would you ever say that to a friend? In this episode, Suzanne walks you through a s…