Some stories take a lifetime to find their voice.
In this engaging and heartfelt episode of Spirit Talk Show: Bedtime Stories for Grown-Ups, Doyle sits down with author Jean Burgess for a conversation that spans decades of storytelling—from childhood performances in the living room to a late-in-life journey into fiction writing.
With over 40 years in theater as a performer, director, and educator, Jean brings a rich and deeply human perspective to storytelling. Her work blends personal experience with imagination, creating what she calls “retro fiction”—stories set in the 1970s and 80s that explore identity, courage, and the search for one’s authentic voice.
Her newly released novel, That Summer She Found Her Voice, captures the journey of a young woman coming into her own during a time of cultural change, music, and self-discovery. In this episode, Jean shares the inspiration behind her writing, the real-life experiences that shape her characters, and the powerful themes woven throughout her work—including feminism, stigma, and the courage to choose your own path.
The conversation moves between laughter and reflection, touching on theater, teaching, creativity later in life, and the evolving role of storytelling in a changing world. Along the way, Jean reminds us that it’s never too late to begin again—and that every voice matters.
Whether you’re a writer, a dreamer, or someone still searching for your place in the story, this episode offers something real, thoughtful, and deeply human.
Explore Jean’s work and connect with her at:https://jeanburgessauthor.com
Spirit Talk Show – Bedtime Stories for Grown-UpsHosted by Doyle Follow Spirit Talk Show on social media:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spirittalkshowInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/doylespirittalkshow/X: https://x.com/doylespirittalk Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/spirittalkshow www.spirittalkshow.info  If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and share it with someone who might need it.

What if confidence isn’t something you earn—but something you remember?
In this inspiring, funny, and deeply affirming episode of Spirit Talk Show: Bedtime Stories for Grown-Ups, Doyle and producer Howie welcome Simone Knego—international speaker, two-time TEDx presenter, bestselling author, podcast host, and the voice behind The Extraordinary Unordinary You and the upcoming book Real Confidence.
Simone’s story doesn’t begin on a stage. It begins at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro—far from home, far outside her comfort zone, and face-to-face with a question many of us carry quietly for years: Am I enough? With six kids waiting back home, a full life already in motion, and a long history of self-doubt, Simone chose to climb—not to prove anything to the world, but to finally believe herself.
From summiting Africa’s tallest mountain to navigating international adoption, parenting neurodiverse children, building a global speaking career, and learning how to silence the “what-if whisperer” in her own head, Simone shares her journey with humor, honesty, and zero pretense.
In this conversation, we explore:
Why confidence is a skill—not a personality trait
The moment her daughter stopped her mid-self-criticism—and changed everything
How discomfort builds belief from the inside out
The messy middle between doubt and self-trust
Her REAL Method: Respect yourself, Embrace failure, Ask what you want, Live without limits
Why leadership often happens around the kitchen table, not the boardroom
Along the way, Simone reads from her work—sharing stories that move effortlessly between laugh-out-loud moments and quiet revelations. As always, Spirit Talk Show weaves in a tribute poem and story, honoring not just Simone’s achievements, but the courage it takes to meet yourself honestly and choose differently.
This episode is a reminder that you don’t need to become someone new.You need to stop being cruel to the person you already are.
Settle in. You might recognize yourself in this one.
Spirit Talk Show: now go tell a story worth telling.
Spirit Talk Show – Bedtime Stories for Grown-UpsHosted by Doyle Follow Spirit Talk Show on social media:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spirittalkshowInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/doylespirittalkshow/X: https://x.com/doylespirittalk Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/spirittalkshow www.spirittalkshow.info  If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and share it with someone who might need it.

History tells us who mattered.Stories tell us who lived.
In this sweeping and deeply illuminating episode of Spirit Talk Show: Bedtime Stories for Grown-Ups, Doyle and producer Howie welcome Cinda Gault, an acclaimed novelist whose work resurrects the lives of women history barely paused to record—women who crossed oceans, paddled into wilderness, defied expectation, and claimed meaning on their own terms.
Cinda is the author of Everything I Hope For, A Small Compass, and This Godforsaken Place—historical novels set across the Orkney Islands, Quebec, the Canadian frontier, and Toronto in the 1970s. Her characters are not symbols or slogans. They are complicated, determined women navigating constraint, risk, love, disappointment, and self-knowledge in eras that offered them very little room to maneuver.
Drawing from a lifetime of work in psychology, criminology, prison systems, women’s crisis advocacy, and academia—including a PhD analyzing Canadian women’s literature—Cinda brings extraordinary insight to the lives she reimagines. Yet she resists activism on the page. Her goal is not to lecture history, but to listen for the women hidden in its margins and let them speak again.
In this conversation, we explore:
How forgotten women reveal themselves through footnotes and silence
Why courage is not a modern invention
Freedom, risk, and responsibility across generations of women
What the 1970s taught us about identity, marriage, and autonomy
Why meaningful lives are built through choice, not permission
Throughout the episode, Cinda reads extended passages from Everything I Hope For, offering listeners moments of intimacy, tension, and recognition that linger long after the final sentence. As always, Spirit Talk Show weaves in a tribute story—honoring not just Cinda’s work, but the women whose lives she carries forward.
This episode is an invitation to slow down and remember:History is not a parade of great men.It is a long corridor filled with women who moved anyway.
Settle in.
Spirit Talk Show: now go tell a story worth telling.
Spirit Talk Show – Bedtime Stories for Grown-UpsHosted by Doyle Follow Spirit Talk Show on social media:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spirittalkshowInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/doylespirittalkshow/X: https://x.com/doylespirittalk Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/spirittalkshow www.spirittalkshow.info  If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and share it with someone who might need it.

Some people search for miracles.Others trip over them daily—and laugh while doing it.
In this joyful, funny, and deeply thoughtful episode of Spirit Talk Show: Bedtime Stories for Grown-Ups, Doyle and producer Howie sit down with Kirsten Rudberg—author, screenwriter, podcaster, spiritual explorer, and self-described panentheist who believes the divine is not somewhere else, but everywhere, all at once, including squirrels, spilled coffee, and awkward public moments.
Kirsten grew up across continents—from Guyana to Pakistan—immersed in a childhood where cultures, languages, and faiths coexisted naturally. That global upbringing shaped a worldview rooted in curiosity, compassion, humor, and sacred wonder. Whether she’s walking the Camino alone through brutal weather, caring for family through life’s hardest transitions, or hosting her podcast Bite-Sized Blessings, Kirsten brings the same question to everything: What if nothing is ordinary?
In this conversation, we explore:
Why miracles might be constant—and we’re just distracted
Panentheism explained without incense, robes, or gatekeeping
Creativity as a nagging muse that refuses to be ignored
Walking the Camino without training (and trusting anyway)
Boundaries, kindness, and why small gestures matter more than grand ones
Why humor might be one of the most spiritual tools we have
Along the way, the episode unfolds into playful radio-style scenes, improvised scripts, laughter, deep reflections, and a powerful spoken-word monologue about “small lights” that quietly stitch the world back together.
This is an episode that doesn’t just talk about magic—it models it. Through wit, warmth, and radical attentiveness, Kirsten reminds us that blessings aren’t rare. They’re bite-sized, persistent, and waiting to be noticed.
Settle in.Laugh a little.And keep your eyes open.
Spirit Talk Show: now go tell a story worth telling.
 
Spirit Talk Show – Bedtime Stories for Grown-UpsHosted by Doyle Follow Spirit Talk Show on social media:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spirittalkshowInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/doylespirittalkshow/X: https://x.com/doylespirittalk Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/spirittalkshow www.spirittalkshow.info  If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and share it with someone who might need it.

Some people don’t speak loudly.They speak deeply.
In this reflective and quietly powerful episode of Spirit Talk Show: Bedtime Stories for Grown-Ups, Doyle and producer Howie welcome Joseph Bolton—a former Army officer, folklorist, and creator of the richly imagined Old Grandmother’s Tree series, a body of work rooted in ancestry, myth, and the enduring wisdom of story.
Joseph spent 25 years in the U.S. Army, including time at West Point and a deployment to Afghanistan—experiences that shaped his understanding of mortality, meaning, and what it truly means to live with intention. After loss, grief, and retirement, he turned inward—and then outward—toward storytelling as a way of honoring those who came before him.
At the heart of his work is Marie-Mette Owaugwe, a 17th-century Algonquin ancestor whose life, loss, dignity, and resilience became the living trunk from which an entire story-world grew. Through folklore-styled narratives, trickster figures, creation myths, and hundreds of hand-illustrated pages, Joseph tells stories that feel ancient and strangely familiar—like something you almost remember.
In this conversation, we explore:
How ancestry can become a living presence, not just history
Why folklore speaks truths modern language can’t
Storytelling as a sacred act of remembrance
Loss, brotherhood, and carrying family forward
Why some stories are meant to be grown, not written
Joseph reads from Dance of Creation, the latest volume in the series, offering listeners a creation story that feels both cosmic and intimate—one that reminds us that every life begins with a unique dance, and every person carries gifts meant to be seen.
This episode unfolds like sitting beside a fire under old stars—slow, grounding, and full of wonder. It is a conversation about roots, memory, imagination, and the quiet courage of listening long enough for meaning to rise.
Settle in.Some stories don’t ask to be consumed.They ask to be remembered.
Spirit Talk Show: now go tell a story worth telling.
Spirit Talk Show – Bedtime Stories for Grown-UpsHosted by Doyle Follow Spirit Talk Show on social media:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spirittalkshowInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/doylespirittalkshow/X: https://x.com/doylespirittalk Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/spirittalkshow www.spirittalkshow.info  If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and share it with someone who might need it.

What if dyslexia isn’t a learning disability — but a differently wired brain that’s been taught the wrong way?
In this powerful and thought-provoking episode of Spirit Talk Show: Bedtime Stories for Grown-Ups, Doyle sits down with Russell Van Brocklin — known as “The Dyslexic Professor” — whose journey from a first-grade reading level to law school sparked a mission to transform how we teach reading and writing.
After being failed despite excelling in a New York State Assembly internship, Russell refused to accept the limits placed on him. What followed was groundbreaking dyslexia research, a state-funded intervention program, and a structured writing method that has helped students move from the lowest percentiles to grade level — and beyond — often in a matter of months.
In this conversation, Russell explains:
• Why dyslexia is not simply a reading problem• What brain scans reveal about how dyslexic minds process language• How specialization unlocks confidence and rapid growth• The simple sentence framework that begins organizing chaotic thinking• Why traditional remediation often fails• How advanced writing tools like “warrants” can elevate students to college-level work• Why this approach may even prepare students for the AI-driven future
This episode is bold, technical, and deeply hopeful. If you’re a parent, educator, student, or someone who has ever been told you “just can’t learn,” this conversation offers a new lens — and real possibility.
Learn more and download Russell’s free guide at:https://dyslexiaclasses.com
Spirit Talk Show – Bedtime Stories for Grown-UpsHosted by Doyle Follow Spirit Talk Show on social media:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spirittalkshowInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/doylespirittalkshow/X: https://x.com/doylespirittalk Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/spirittalkshow www.spirittalkshow.info  If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and share it with someone who might need it.

Why do so many books disappear—while a few quietly change lives?
In this candid and thought-provoking episode of Spirit Talk Show: Bedtime Stories for Grown-Ups, Doyle and producer Howie sit down with Doug Crowe, founder of Author Your Brand and a strategist who has helped hundreds of leaders become bestselling authors—often without writing a single word themselves.
Doug isn’t interested in vanity metrics, viral hype, or chasing attention. He’s interested in what lasts.
Together, they explore the uncomfortable truths most authors avoid:
Why nobody actually wants a book—and what they want instead
The difference between being a writer and being an author
Why most memoirs fall flat (and how story becomes useful, not just interesting)
How legacy is built through service, not self-promotion
Why attention is overrated—and giving attention changes everything
From losing everything in the 2008 crash to rebuilding a business rooted in story, strategy, and human insight, Doug breaks down how books can become tools for influence, partnership, speaking, and long-term impact—far beyond sales rankings or bestseller badges.
The conversation moves effortlessly between storytelling, business, philosophy, and truth-telling, touching on ghostwriting, AI, authorship, ego, confidence, and the quiet power of being genuinely useful in a noisy world.
This episode isn’t about writing faster.It’s about writing smarter—and understanding why stories matter long after the algorithm moves on.
Spirit Talk Show: now go tell a story worth telling.
Spirit Talk Show – Bedtime Stories for Grown-UpsHosted by Doyle Follow Spirit Talk Show on social media:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spirittalkshowInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/doylespirittalkshow/X: https://x.com/doylespirittalk Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/spirittalkshow www.spirittalkshow.info  If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and share it with someone who might need it.

What does it mean to leave something behind that truly lasts?
In this deeply uplifting episode of Spirit Talk Show: Bedtime Stories for Grown-Ups, Doyle and producer Howie welcome author, speaker, and podcaster Dom Brightmon, a self-described Positive Thought Catalyst whose life’s work centers on one powerful idea: advance others so they can advance themselves.
From becoming the youngest Area Director in Toastmasters at just 23, to writing bestselling books like Going North and Stay the Course, to hosting over 1,000 conversations with authors and leaders on the Going North Podcast, Dom’s journey is a masterclass in intentional growth, mentorship, and joyful leadership.
This episode drifts effortlessly between laughter, insight, and imagination. Together, the trio explores:
How mentorship can accelerate a life
Why libraries are sacred community spaces in a digital world
What it means to create your own “piece of immortality” through words and ideas
How humor, hydration, and preparation can quietly transform your days
And why acknowledging strangers might be one of the most powerful acts we have
As always, Spirit Talk Show weaves in a signature tribute story, a spoken-word poem, and an original narrative—turning conversation into something closer to a shared fireside moment. What emerges is not just an interview, but a reminder that leadership doesn’t have to be loud, success doesn’t have to be lonely, and positivity—when practiced daily—can ripple farther than we ever expect.
Settle in. Listen closely.This is a story about connection, courage, and the quiet work of lighting the way for others.
Spirit Talk Show: now go tell a story worth telling.
Spirit Talk Show – Bedtime Stories for Grown-UpsHosted by Doyle Follow Spirit Talk Show on social media:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spirittalkshowInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/doylespirittalkshow/X: https://x.com/doylespirittalk Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/spirittalkshow www.spirittalkshow.info  If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and share it with someone who might need it.