It’s Both — Navigating Life’s Gray Areas & Messy Moments

Youth Group Stories: Faith, Fear & Found Family in the Messy Middl

Have you ever felt both connected and conflicted by the place you came from? In this episode of It’s Both, host Nikki P sits down with longtime friend Thomas Edmonds for authentic conversations about the emotional complexity of growing up in youth group—where found family and creativity lived alongside fear-based teachings and shame.
Through honest storytelling, they explore spiritual deconstruction, faith and identity, and what it takes to hold multiple truths: gratitude and grief, belonging and doubt, reverence and rebellion. Now a mental health professional and artist, Thomas shares how he’s learning both/and thinking, building emotional resilience, and redefining community on the other side of religious pressure.
If you’re questioning, reconnecting, or somewhere in between, this conversation offers language, validation, and companionship for navigating life’s gray areas—without toxic positivity. It’s a grounded look at non-toxic faith journeys, the intersection of mental health and spirituality, and how we rebuild meaning while keeping what’s good.
Because life isn’t either/or—it’s both.
Resources & Links:- Subscribe, rate, & review It's Both on Apple Podcasts
- Join the Courageous Living Group Transformation
- Sign up for Hungryroot and get $50 off your first box
- It's Both on Instagram & Youtube

Career + Motherhood: Emotional Complexity Without the Guilt

What does balance look like when career and motherhood both matter? In this episode of It’s Both, host Nikki P and guest Heather Neisen have authentic conversations about parenting in the gray—the messy middle where emotional complexity is real and tidy answers don’t exist.
Through honest storytelling, they explore both/and thinking: ambition and nurture, pride and guilt, capacity and limits. Heather shares her personal transformation—naming the mental load of motherhood, shifting identity, and the role of community support—while Nikki offers practices for self-compassion and building emotional resilience without toxic positivity.
If you’re feeling the tug-of-war between work and home, navigating working mom burnout, or learning to hold multiple truths, this conversation offers language, validation, and simple tools for navigating life’s gray areas—so you can make decisions from clarity, not shame.
Because life isn’t either/or—it’s both.
Resources & Links:- Subscribe, rate, & review It's Both on Apple Podcasts
- Join the Courageous Living Group Transformation
- Sign up for Hungryroot and get $50 off your first box
- It's Both on Instagram & Youtube

Navigating Grief — Holding Multiple Truths in the Messy Middle

Crisis support: If you’re thinking about suicide, in crisis, or need to talk, call or text 988 (U.S.) or visit the 988 Lifeline.
Have you ever felt joy rise in the middle of heartbreak? In this episode of It’s Both, host Nikki P and guest Annie Paraison share authentic conversations and honest storytelling about grief’s emotional complexity—where sorrow and laughter can coexist. They explore the messy middle of loss, naming how love, anger, gratitude, and devastation can all be true at once.
Annie offers real stories of being human after losing several loved ones—how community, ritual, and reflection supported her emotional resilience. Together, they practice both/and thinking and self-compassion, reminding us that healing isn’t linear. You’ll hear simple ways to feel your feelings without shame, notice glimmers of joy, and ask for support when you need it.
If you’re grieving a person, a version of yourself, or the life you imagined, this conversation offers language, validation, and companionship for navigating life’s gray areas—without toxic positivity.
Because life isn’t either/or—it’s both.
Resources & Links:- Connect with Annie
- Subscribe, rate, & review It's Both on Apple Podcasts
- Join the Courageous Living Group Transformation
- Sign up for Hungryroot and get $50 off your first box
- It's Both on Instagram & Youtube
 

Childhood Friends, Adult Lives — Honest Stories of Connection & Change

What does it look like to stay close when life pulls you apart? In this episode of It’s Both, host Nikki P sits down with longtime friends Lacey and Audrie for authentic conversations about long-distance friendships, growing apart, and the quiet grief that can follow. Through honest storytelling, they explore the emotional complexity of adult friendship—how you can miss someone and love your independence, cherish the past and still evolve.
Together, they name the messy middle of connection: how to hold multiple truths, set gentle boundaries, and practice self-compassion when rhythms change. You’ll hear small rituals for staying present across distance, ideas for reconnecting after silence, and ways to honor seasons of space—without shame. It’s companionship for navigating life’s gray areas in relationships, grounded in care instead of toxic positivity.
If you’re navigating friendship transitions, remembering childhood roots, or learning to love people across time zones, this conversation offers language, validation, and hope—because friendship, like life, isn’t either/or.
Resources & Links:- Subscribe, rate, & review It's Both on Apple Podcasts
- Join the Courageous Living Group Transformation
- Sign up for Hungryroot and get $50 off your first box
- It's Both on Instagram & Youtube

Motherhood & Mental Health: Self-Compassion in the Messy Moments

Are you stretched thin—showing up for everyone else while losing touch with yourself? In this solo episode of It’s Both, host Nikki P offers honest storytelling about motherhood and mental health, naming the emotional complexity of carrying the invisible load and the courage it takes to pause.
Through authentic conversations with herself, Nikki practices both/and thinking: love and exhaustion, gratitude andgrief, ambition and depletion. She shares simple check-ins to feel your feelings without guilt, gentle boundaries that protect capacity, and ways to rebuild emotional resilience by softening—not striving.
If you’re in the messy middle of overwhelm, parenting in the gray, or navigating identity alongside care work, this episode offers language, validation, and companionship for navigating life’s gray areas—without toxic positivity. It’s a reminder that healing isn’t linear and you don’t have to choose a single narrative to be okay.
Because life isn’t either/or—it’s both.
Resources & Links:- Subscribe, rate, & review It's Both on Apple Podcasts
- Join the Courageous Living Group Transformation
- Sign up for Hungryroot and get $50 off your first box
- It's Both on Instagram & Youtube

Fatherhood in the Gray: Modern Masculinity & Emotional Vulnerability

What does strength look like when it includes softness, care, and tears? In this episode of It’s Both, host Nikki P sits down with Devon Neisen, a stay-at-home dad, for authentic conversations about modern masculinity, fatherhood, and the emotional complexity of raising kids while raising yourself.
Through honest storytelling, Nikki and Devon explore both/and thinking—provider and nurturer, confident and unsure—and how to hold multiple truths in daily family life. Devon shares the mental load of caregiving, the disconnect between traditional masculinity and expression, and practices that build emotional resilience: naming feelings, setting gentle boundaries, and doing inner-child healing to show up with presence.
If you’re navigating parenting in the gray, questioning old scripts, or seeking language for the messy middle of identity and care, this episode offers validation, tools, and companionship for navigating life’s gray areas—without toxic positivity. Because real strength includes tenderness.
Because life isn’t either/or—it’s both.
Resources & Links:- Listen to The Imperfect Dads Podcast
- Subscribe, rate, & review It's Both on Apple Podcasts
- Join the Courageous Living Group Transformation
- Sign up for Hungryroot and get $50 off your first box
- It's Both on Instagram & Youtube

When the Truth Unravels: Marriage, Identity, & Faith Deconstruction

What do you do when the life you built no longer fits who you’re becoming? In this episode of It’s Both, host Nikki P sits with Janice Holland, The Trauma Teacher, for authentic conversations and honest storytelling about marriage, identity, and faith deconstruction. Janice shares the moment everything unraveled—when her husband came out as gay—and how cultural expectations, perfectionism, and spiritual ideals shaped (and strained) her story.
Together they explore the emotional complexity of endings that are both loss and liberation—the true messy middle of letting go, grieving a future you imagined, and rebuilding a self that feels aligned. You’ll hear how to hold multiple truths (sacred and misaligned, devotion and departure), practice self-compassion, and build emotional resilience while you navigate an identity shift and a non-toxic faith journey.
If you’re in a faith shift, relationship change, or any major transition, this conversation offers language, validation, and companionship for navigating life’s gray areas—without toxic positivity. Because life isn’t either/or—it’s both.
Resources & Links:- Get Connected with Janice Holland, The Trauma Teacher
- Subscribe, rate, & review It's Both on Apple Podcasts
- Join the Courageous Living Group Transformation
- Sign up for Hungryroot and get $50 off your first box
- It's Both on Instagram & Youtube

Parenting Young Kids: Honest Conversations on the Mental Load

Have you ever felt parenting pull you in every direction—joy, guilt, connection, frustration—all at once? In this episode of It’s Both, host Nikki P is joined by friends Amy Merritt Campbell and Hannah Wohltjen for authentic conversations on the emotional complexity of raising young kids.
Through honest storytelling, they explore parenting in the gray: how to hold multiple truths—fulfilled and depleted, bonded and overwhelmed—while tending to identity, work, and the mental load of parenting. You’ll hear practical ways to feel your feelings without rushing to fix them, co-regulate with kids during meltdowns, and build emotional resiliencein everyday chaos.
If you’re in the messy middle of toddlerhood, redefining what a “good parent” looks like, or learning to set gentler boundaries with yourself, this episode offers language, validation, and companionship for navigating life’s gray areas—without toxic positivity. Because healing isn’t linear, and family life rarely is either/or.
Resources & Links:- Learn more about Elevate Consulting
- Subscribe, rate, & review It's Both on Apple Podcasts
- Sign up for Hungryroot and get $50 off your first box
- Join the Courageous Living Group Transformation
- It's Both on Instagram & Youtube

Body Image in the Messy Middle: Identity, Shame & Self-Compassion

Have you ever looked in the mirror and felt gratitude and criticism at the same time? In this episode of It’s Both, host Nikki P and guest Heather Lefebvre share authentic conversations and honest storytelling about the emotional complexity of body image—how media, childhood messages, and parenting shape the way we see ourselves.
Together, they practice both/and thinking in the messy middle: confidence and insecurity, acceptance and doubt. You’ll hear practical ideas for self-compassion, sitting with shame without spiraling, and learning to feel your feelings while you rewrite unhelpful narratives. They also explore body neutrality vs. body positivity, representation, and the invisible pressure many caregivers carry.
If you’re on a personal growth journey—reclaiming your body story, navigating identity, or parenting in a culture obsessed with appearance—this episode offers language, validation, and companionship for navigating life’s gray areaswithout toxic positivity. Because healing isn’t linear, and your body’s wisdom belongs at the center.
Because life isn’t either/or—it’s both.
Resources & Links:
- Get connected to Heather Lefebvre
- Subscribe, rate, & review It's Both on Apple Podcasts
- Join the Courageous Living Group Transformation
- Sign up for Hungryroot and get $50 off your first box
- It's Both on Instagram & Youtube

Holding the Tension: Divorce, Identity & Parenting in the Gray

Have you ever felt joy and anxiety at the same time? In this opening episode of It’s Both, host Nikki P shares honest storytelling about family conflict, divorce, and the emotional weight of mental health and motherhood. She names the emotional complexity of becoming—where gratitude and grief, strength and tenderness, past and future all coexist.
Through authentic conversations (with herself!) Nikki practices both/and thinking—a framework for navigating life’s gray areas without toxic positivity. You’ll hear simple ways to feel your feelings, hold emotional tension, and build emotional resilience in real time: gentle check-ins, capacity-based boundaries, and permission to be a work in progress.
If you’re in the messy middle—parenting in the gray, rebuilding identity after loss, or just trying to do hard things—this episode offers language, validation, and companionship. Because healing isn’t linear, and your story doesn’t have to fit a neat box to be true.
Because life isn’t either/or—it’s both.
Resources & Links:- Subscribe, rate, & review It's Both on Apple Podcasts
- Join the Courageous Living Group Transformation
- It's Both on Instagram & Youtube