One of the best things about hosting this podcast, has been giving myself the permission to set aside an hour or two to catch up with some of the best people I know and catching up. You would think that this pandemic and COVID lockdowns would have given me tons of time to reconnect with old friends, but it’s actually done the opposite.
Thanks to the flexibility of my guests, and their patience to put up with my scrambling, we have managed to record our fourth episode of the ‘Choose Your Own After’ podcast. Dr. Jen is one of our regular contributors to the blog and she brings great knowledge on wellness and all things naturopathy. But that isn’t why I wanted her on the show.
We realized in recording this that we have known each other for nearly 35 years! Jen is one of my sister’s best friends and we went to high school together. I have always known her to be a warm, beautiful and funny gal (in a younger-dork sister kind of way), but it has come as no surprise to have seen her grow into the awesome woman she is today.
My cousin Michelle joined me in our conversation and we had a lot to talk about to work our way through all the years to understand how Jen came to be a naturopath while overcoming some health and self-esteem challenges along the way.
Click here to listen to Episode 4 of Choose Your Own After with Dr. Jen.
Links to References Made in this Podcast
Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine
Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History Podcast:
Episode: The Dog Will See You Now
If you would like to see Dr. Jen’s contributions to the Willowjak blog, you can read “How Accepting a Compliment Improves Your Health” , “Making Friends With Food”, “Why I Became a Naturopathic Doctor” or “Lessons From My Quirky Kid”.
Just for fun, here’s some cute extras that Jen told us about that never made it to the podcast:
“When I’m in a bad mood, I probably lean into it with my music choices – I’m really enjoying I Know the End by Phoebe Bridgers. But will often go old school with something like Pictures of You by the Cure. Gonna Make You Sweat by C and C Music Factory will get me dancing every. single. time. The song that makes me think of you is “Lucky Little Cricket” because your sister and I used to sing it non-stop with all the hand motions, just to drive you bonkers.”
Click here to listen to Episode 4 of Choose Your Own After with Dr. Jen.
As a post-script, you may have been indirectly introduced to Winnie the Pug and Rosie the Retriever in today’s episode. Thank you for your understanding of our quirks and glitches. As promised, we’ll never be perfect, but we’ll always be real. Episode 3 of today’s podcast was:
Directed and hosted by Stacey Haley, with help from Michelle D.
Special Guest: ‘Dr. Jen Parsons, ND.’
Sound Effects – William Haley
Production – Liza McClelland
You can connect with Jen:
FB: Dr. Jen Parsons, ND
Insta: jenparsonsnd
Website: drjenparsonsnd.com
Email: hello@ drjenparsonsnd.com
I’m Stacey—writer, family caregiver/autism consultant, solo parent of three, and founder of Willowjak Services (aka your favourite chaos coordinator). This work? It’s my lifeline, born from lived experience and middle-of-the-night “there has to be a better way” moments. I cut through red tape, decode jargon, and help fellow caregivers find their footing in the mess.
I show up real, raw, and a little unfiltered—sharing my own hurdles and heartaches so you know you’re not the only one yelling “WTF?” into your coffee at 2 a.m.
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