Lighten Up #106: Stephanie Tait

08/06/19 • 32 min

Hey welcome to episode 106 of Lighten up with Melanie Dale. BONUS ILLNESS EDITION. I know I said we concluded the Lighten Up with Illness series, and I'm well into working on our next series, Lighten Up about Friendship Over 40, but recently Stephanie Tait ran across my path and she has a new book called The View from Rock Bottom so, I mean, I was dying to talk to her about how she lightens up down there at rock bottom. Stephanie talks about her tenacious 15-year journey to getting diagnosed with Lyme Disease, what it's like living with Lyme, and how she learned to lighten up and let herself have a life in the midst of disability, instead of waiting indefinitely until everything was all better. She asked herself, "What if this is my life...what am I waiting for?" Stephanie is hopeful and real and I know you'll love hanging out with her as much as I did, so listen in and lighten up.

Links from the show:

The View from Rock Bottom
Check out Stephanie's website: www.stephanietaitwrites.com Find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Under Our Skin documentary
Glorious Weakness by Alia Joy, who was just on episode 105 of Lighten Up
Disability and the Way of Jesus
Light from Distant Stars by Shawn Smucker, who was on episode 43 of Lighten Up

Links from the show:

The View from Rock Bottom
Check out Stephanie's website: www.stephanietaitwrites.com Find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Under Our Skin documentary
Glorious Weakness by Alia Joy, who was just on episode 105 of Lighten Up
Disability and the Way of Jesus
Light from Distant Stars by Shawn Smucker, who was on episode 43 of Lighten Up

Previous Episode

Lighten Up #105: Alia Joy

Today for the finale to our series, Lighten Up about Illness, I'm talking with Alia Joy. You may remember her from episode 99, and now I'm happy to share that her new book, Glorious Weakness: Discovering God in All We Lack, is available now. Today we talk about her bipolar disorder, how it's impacted her life and her kids, and the unpredictability that comes with illness. She says, "I have to be okay with undone things." We talk about what she's learned from bipolar disorder, and Alia says, "Everybody goes through seasons. Mine are just more noticeable...Bipolar is like you're making sandcastles and they're just constantly being swept away." She shares about looking for beauty and wonder in places you'd never expect to find it, and the way she lightens up in the middle of everything is by raising funny kids. We talk about the amazing comedic timing of her kids and the blessings of having a funny family. Through her book and our conversation, Alia is teaching me so much, so grab a fuzzy blanket, get comfy, listen in, and lighten up.

Links from the show:

Check out Alia’s new book, Glorious Weakness: Discovering God in All We Lack
Find Alia on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Alia’s website
Listen to Alia's previous visit to Lighten Up Podcast, Episode #99
Alia’s essays:
The Atlas of Reds and Blues

Next Episode

Lighten Up #107: Elisha Beach

Today by popular demand, I'm starting a new series called Lighten Up about Friendship Over 40. Back when I wrote Women Are Scary, about finding mom friends during the early childhood years, I had women ask me when I was going to write a book about finding mom friends later in life, and finding mom friends when you have teenagers. My response was always, hold on lemme get there first. Well I'm here now and several of you have asked me about friendship over 40 so we're going to explore this over the next few weeks. I'm excited about this series because I've got some fantastic guests coming on to unpack all this with me. And this series is for everyone. If you're in your twenties and thirties, there's some relationship gold in here, so enjoy hearing people a little farther along prepare you for what's coming. If you're in your forties, you know what we're talking about, so pull up a chair and come help us solve all our problems. If you're out of your forties, send us all your thoughts and prayers and feel free to laugh at us behind our backs. Wherever you are in life, text a friend, grab a cup of coffee, and keep working hard at those relationships.

To kick us off, my friend Elisha Beach, founder of The Mom Forum, is joining me. Elisha and I met on the set of Moms Everyday, a TV show we were on several years ago, and I just love her. She's so easy to talk to and open and honest - so open and honest in fact that a photo she posted of herself nursing while on the toilet went viral a few years ago. I knew we had to be friends immediately. She was on the show all the way back on episode 27, back when I think we both were still in our thirties, in fact, so let's welcome her 40 year old self back on the show. And I'm so glad YOU'RE here joining us today, so get comfy, listen in, and lighten up.

Links from the show:

The Mom Forum

Find Elisha on social media:

Want more Elisha? She was on episode 27 of Lighten Up, too!

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