The Life Shift shares real and honest conversations about the moments that change us. Host Matt Gilhooly sits with guests as they tell true stories of life-changing events, unexpected challenges, and quiet awakenings that shaped who they are today.
Each episode offers meaningful and candid storytelling about grief, healing, resilience, identity, and growth. These are the personal stories that remind us what it feels like to be human. These are the turning points that stay with us.
If you are drawn to personal growth, emotional well-being, or stories of how people rebuild after loss, this show offers a gentle place to land. Listeners come for the life changes. They stay for the connection.
New episodes every Wednesday and Sunday.
For more information, please visit
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The Hero's Journey: Finding Yourself in the Story You Already Lived
Season 5 · Episode 256
Sunday, June 14, 2026 • Duration 53:14
Maybe you've spent years showing up as a slightly different version of yourself depending on who was in the room. Maybe you learned early that being liked was safer than being known. If any of that lands, this conversation is for you.
Peter Bailey grew up carrying something heavy: the feeling that something in his family was broken, and that it was somehow his job to fix it. That inherited sorrow shaped him into a kid who crossed the outside of a bridge over a six-lane highway just to feel like he mattered. It shaped him into someone who drank and people-pleased and performed his way through his twenties, until one night, sitting at a typewriter with a beer beside him, something in him finally said, this is going nowhere.
What happened after that, including sobriety, Joseph Campbell's hero's journey, 45 years of leadership work across 50 countries, and a new book called The Epic of You, is a story about what becomes possible when you stop running from your own chapters and start reading them differently.
What You'll Hear:
How Peter inherited his family's sorrow as a young child, and how that shaped his relationship with approval and identity
The moment at a typewriter that became his rock bottom and his turning point
How discovering Joseph Campbell's hero's journey gave him a map for every season of his life, past and future
The difference between surviving and thriving, and how we often spend years in the closet looking for the light
Why he teaches "don't fix, don't judge, don't steal" as a way of showing up for others without taking the light off them
What it looks like to treat your own life as a heroic journey, even the ordinary parts
Guest Bio:
Peter Bailey is the President of The Prouty Project, a strategic planning and leadership development firm based in Minneapolis. He is also the author of the newly published book The Epic of You- Reframe Your Past to Navigate Your Future.
Bailey’s personal story — from challenges to triumphs, travel to transformation — becomes a living example of how obstacles can shape our identity and fuel our growth. Whether you’re standing at a crossroads or simply wondering “What now?”, The Epic of You helps you see your past with fresh eyes and your future with fresh purpose. Book and Ted-x website: www.peter-bailey.com Prouty Project website: www.proutyproject.com
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sobriety journey, hero's journey, people pleasing recovery, self-esteem and identity, Joseph Campbell transformation, leadership and vulnerability, emotional intelligence, disease of comparison, reclaiming your story, life shift moment
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Start Here: What Is The Life Shift?
Season 5
Friday, June 12, 2026 • Duration 01:21
Hi, I'm Matt Gilhooly and I host The Life Shift – a podcast about the moments that change everything.
When I was eight years old, my life flipped upside down. For a long time, I didn't know how I would ever process it. That's a big part of why I created this show.
Each week, I sit with someone and talk about one specific moment – the kind that splits a life into before and after.
Loss. Trauma. Identity shifts. The quiet unraveling that nobody sees coming.
We talk about how they moved through it without pretending there's a clean finish line.
If you've ever felt like your story doesn't fit the script, I hope you'll listen.
Search The Life Shift wherever you get your podcasts – or find me at the links below.
🌐 thelifeshiftpodcast.com
📬 thelifeshiftpodcast.beehiiv.com
📱 @thelifeshiftpodcast
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Grief, Ancestors & Cuba: Finding Your Mother Again
Season 5 · Episode 247
Wednesday, May 13, 2026 • Duration 58:18
Maybe you know this feeling. Someone died and you kept going, because that was what you were supposed to do. You stayed busy, you stayed capable, and somewhere along the way you convinced yourself that you had handled it.
Rebe Huntman lost her mother to cancer at 19. The grief counselors told her to move forward. So she did, with discipline and determination and a full, successful life. But 30 years later, on the edge of turning 50, she realized she had never actually let herself miss her. Not really.
This episode follows Rebe's pilgrimage to Cuba, a country where the dead are not gone, where ancestors are spoken to daily and the veil between worlds is treated as thin and navigable. What she found there, in the dances, in the drumming, in the quiet workroom of a spiritist in El Cobre, was not magic for its own sake. It was permission. Permission to stop moving past her grief and start staying in it.
What You'll Hear:
How Rebe mastered the art of moving forward and the cost it quietly carried
The moment in Cuba when her understanding of death, grief, and ancestry completely shifted
What it felt like to reimagine the hospital room scene she had been carrying for 30 years
How a country with a different relationship to death gave her a new way to love her mother
The small, daily rituals she brought home from Cuba and what they have meant for her healing
Why showing up fully as yourself can become a quiet gift to everyone around you
Guest Bio:
Rebe Huntman is a writer, former Latin dancer, and choreographer who has spent her career at the intersection of movement, storytelling, and spirit. She spent decades running a professional dance company and teaching college and high school before turning her full attention to writing. She splits her time between Delaware, Ohio and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Her debut memoir, My Mother in Havana: A Memoir of Magic and Miracle, was published in 2025 and chronicles her transformative pilgrimage to Cuba in search of her mother and herself. Find her at rebehuntman.com and on Instagram @rebehuntman.
Listen and follow: www.thelifeshiftpodcast.com/follow
Subscribe to the newsletter: https://thelifeshiftpodcast.beehiiv.com/
grief after mother's death, ancestral healing, Afro-Cuban spirituality, pilgrimage and transformation, learning to talk to the dead, disenfranchised grief, mother loss, life after 50 identity, Santeria and healing, memoir of magic and grief
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Heritage: Reclaiming What Was Always Hers
Episode 185
Tuesday, June 3, 2025 • Duration 58:56
What if the moment you learned who you really are changed everything?
Leyla King grew up in a vibrant family surrounded by food, faith, and love, but she did not have the language or clarity to name her Palestinian identity. In this episode, Leyla shares how a high school film screening shifted everything, leading her to reclaim her heritage, record her grandmother’s stories, and write Daughters of Palestine: A Memoir in Five Generations.
This conversation explores the power of generational storytelling, the intersection of faith and culture, and the deep responsibility of telling stories that were nearly lost.
You’ll hear about:
• Discovering her Palestinian identity as a teenager
• Recording her grandmother’s oral history in 2002
• How passing as white shaped her understanding of privilege
• The role of faith in survival, resilience, and storytelling
• Why she’s sharing her family’s truth with the world now
Guest Bio:
Leyla K. King is a Palestinian American Episcopal priest and the author of Daughters of Palestine. She’s a founding member of Palestinian Anglicans and Clergy Allies and serves as the Canon for Mission in Small Congregations for the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas.
More from Leyla:
Website: thankfulpriest.com
Book info & essays: thankfulpriest.com
Groups: palestiniananglicans.org, smallchurchesbigimpact.org
Resources: To listen in on more conversations about pivotal moments that changed lives forever, subscribe to "The Life Shift" on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to rate the show 5 stars and leave a review! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Access ad-free episodes released two days early: https://patreon.com/thelifeshiftpodcast
Subscribe to The Life Shift Newsletter: https://www.thelifeshiftpodcast.com/newsletter/
The Life Shift was just named one of the top 60 life-changing podcasts by FeedSpot: https://podcast.feedspot.com/life_changing_podcasts/
Connect with me:
Instagram: www.instagram.com/thelifeshiftpodcast
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thelifeshiftpodcast
YouTube: https://bit.ly/thelifeshift_youtube
Twitter: www.twitter.com/thelifeshiftpod
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thelifeshiftpodcast
Website: www.thelifeshiftpodcast.com
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy
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Chantal Watts Returns: What’s New Since Her Life Shift Story?
Sunday, June 1, 2025 • Duration 27:42
Chantal Watts joins me again to dive into what’s changed since her first appearance on The Life Shift podcast. We get real about the impact of sharing her story, especially how it resonated with her former teacher and classmates.
Chantal reflects on the healing power of being open about her past and how it helped her connect with those who once knew her. It's all about the significance of vulnerability and how our stories can touch others, creating community and support. This bonus episode is a reminder that sharing isn’t just about us; it’s about the connections we forge along the way.
The Life Shift RewindI’m excited to share bonus episodes from Patreon, where I revisited past guests to discuss what has changed and the value of sharing their stories. Since I currently only have the lower tiers available, I wanted to make these conversations accessible to the public feed. If you'd like to support the show directly, please consider joining the $3 or $5 tier on Patreon – www.patreon.com/thelifeshiftpodcast.
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy
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In Case You Need This: Thought You Were Over It and You're Not? It's Okay If It Still Hurts
Wednesday, May 28, 2025 • Duration 03:01
Healing isn’t linear. Just when you think you’ve moved on – from heartbreak, betrayal, or someone who broke your trust – something small can bring it all back. A song, a post, a memory. And suddenly you're asking yourself, “Why does this still hurt?”
That doesn't mean you’re broken.
It means you cared.
It means you trusted.
And it hurt.
This short reflection reminds us that healing has no perfect timeline. Even if it’s been months or years, it’s okay if the sting still shows up. It doesn’t mean you’re stuck – it means you’re still healing.
If an old wound is still lingering, this is your permission slip to feel it without shame, to honor the ache without rushing it away.
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Parenthood: When Your Child Is in Pain
Episode 184
Tuesday, May 27, 2025 • Duration 56:06
What happens when your child whispers, “It hurts everywhere, Mama”?
When the unthinkable becomes your reality, how do you show up — not just for your child, but for yourself? Laura DeKraker Lang-Ree shares the moment her world split in two with her daughter’s cancer diagnosis, and the extraordinary path it put her on.
Here’s what Laura’s story reveals:
• How trusting her intuition led to a life-saving diagnosis and years of fierce advocacy
• The power of creating a new “normal” when the old one shatters overnight
• Why she turned her pain into purpose, writing the guidebook she so desperately needed
From redefining resilience to honoring the lessons that only come with time, Laura opens up about what she learned through crisis — and how she’s turning that knowledge into a lifeline for others.
In this episode, we talk about:
• The night Laura's daughter told her she hurt “everywhere” — and how that changed everything
• What it feels like when you hear “your child has cancer”
• Stepping into the role of advocate without a manual
• The mental load and emotional weight of caregiving
• Finding community with other parents — and facing survivor’s guilt
• The moment a stranger handed her a lifeline in the hospital hallway
• Choosing not to live in the trauma for three years straight
• How a simple monologue unearthed a deeper calling to write her book
• Collaborating with her daughter’s oncologist decades later
• Why she believes parents need options, not just hope
More About Laura DeKraker Lang-Ree
Website: cancerparentshandbook.com
IG/FB/LinkedIn: @cancerparentshandbook
When Laura DeKraker Lang-Ree’s 3-year-old daughter, Cecilia, was diagnosed with leukemia, she was thrown into the chaos of childhood cancer—only to realize there was no guide, no roadmap, no expert to turn to. Determined and terrified, she became a crash-course “cancer expert,” uncovering the emotional, logistical, and relational challenges parents face.
Her book, The Cancer Parent’s Handbook: What Your Oncologist Doesn’t Have Time to Tell You, is the guide she wishes she’d had—practical, no-nonsense, and packed with strategies to help parents move beyond paralyzing stress and grief. Laura teaches families how to ask for help, build support systems, and advocate fiercely for their children while holding their own lives together.
Now an author, speaker, and advocate, she equips parents to navigate the relentless world of pediatric cancer and chronic illness with strength, clarity, and a solid plan. She lives in Los Gatos, California, and travels nationwide to support families, medical teams, and advocacy groups.
Resources: To listen in on more conversations about pivotal moments that changed lives forever, subscribe to "The Life Shift" on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to rate the show 5 stars and leave a review! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Access ad-free episodes released two days early: https://patreon.com/thelifeshiftpodcast
Subscribe to The Life Shift Newsletter: https://www.thelifeshiftpodcast.com/newsletter/
The Life Shift was just named one of the top 60 life-changing podcasts by FeedSpot: https://podcast.feedspot.com/life_changing_podcasts/
Connect with me:
Instagram: www.instagram.com/thelifeshiftpodcast
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thelifeshiftpodcast
YouTube: https://bit.ly/thelifeshift_youtube
Twitter: www.twitter.com/thelifeshiftpod
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thelifeshiftpodcast
Website: www.thelifeshiftpodcast.com
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In Case You Need This: Outgrowing Who You Used to Be? It's Okay If You Have
Wednesday, May 21, 2025 • Duration 03:09
Sometimes, the life you built no longer fits who you are becoming. The old habits, the roles you played, the way you showed up in the world – it might feel familiar, but also a little tight, a little scratchy, like a favorite sweatshirt that doesn't quite belong to you anymore.
That’s not failure. That’s growth.
This short reflection explores what it means to feel the tension between who you were and who you're becoming. It's a quiet invitation to honor your past self – the version of you that got you this far – and gently let them go.
If you’ve been feeling the itch to evolve, the tug to shift, this is your permission slip to keep growing. You don’t have to stay the same to prove your worth.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In Case You Need This: Feel Like a Beginner Again? It’s Okay If You Do
Wednesday, May 21, 2025 • Duration 03:09
Starting over is never easy. Whether you're in a new job, a new city, a new relationship, or simply facing a new season of life, there's a part of us that resists feeling new.
It whispers things like, "I should have figured this out by now," or "I shouldn't feel this lost."
But feeling like a beginner isn't failure – it's growth in disguise.
This short reflection offers a gentle reminder that the discomfort of starting over is also an invitation:
"You’re not behind – you’re becoming."If you're fumbling your way through something unfamiliar right now, you're not alone. You don't have to have it all figured out. It's okay to be new at this.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In Case You Need This: Still Grieving After Years? It’s Okay If You Are
Wednesday, May 21, 2025 • Duration 03:57
Grief doesn’t follow neat timelines – and it doesn’t mean something’s wrong with you if it still shows up years later.
Whether it’s been a decade or just a season, grief can return in a song, a memory, a smell, or even a YouTube clip that catches you off guard. That ache isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of what mattered.
In this short reflection, we explore why grief that lingers is part of love that lasts. You’ll hear a gentle reminder that:
“Grief isn’t a problem to solve. It’s part of a love that stays.”If you’ve ever thought, “I should be over this by now,” this is your permission slip to stop trying to fix it.
It’s okay if it still aches.
It’s okay if you’re still carrying it.
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