Choose Positive Living with Sara Troy and her guest Dr Marni Hill Foderaro, on air from May 24th
Dr. Marni Hill Foderaro is passionate about handling life’s challenges with honesty, love, compassion, research and self-discovery. Like most of us, her journey has been that of peaks and valleys with many life lessons learned along the way. Staying true to your values and following your passions can help you overcome adversity and live a more fulfilling, self-actualized life. Marni found her survivor voice midlife, after experiencing significant losses as a result of her choosing to leave unhealthy and abusive relationships and doing the inner work to reclaim her life. Our voices and conversations matter because they can inspire others to rise above their challenges to encourage them on their own road to self-discovery.
Dr. Marni Hill Foderaro is an award-winning author, speaker and educator. She earned her doctorate in education from Northern Illinois University and completed postdoctoral studies at Harvard after a very successful and rewarding 35-year career as a high school special education teacher, with 12 years as a university adjunct graduate school professor. Marni’s life was forever changed after experiencing numerous trauma-induced STEs-Spiritually Transformative Encounters, which led her to write her 2020 Best Books Award Winning Spiritual fiction “God Came to My Garage Sale”, which is endorsed by James Redfield, best selling author of “The Celestine Prophecy” series of books. Marni’s latest prominently endorsed 5-book series is entitled: “True Deceit False Love” addressesDomestic Violence, Narcissistic Abuse, Parental Alienation and Intergenerational Family Trauma. Foderaro is a contributing author to numerous anthology books. In January 2022 Marni was inducted into the Bestselling Authors International Organization.
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Ignite your heart and soul with Sara Troy and her guests Renier Jooste & Kathryn Woolf, on air from May 24th
We’ve both taken our journey inward, and what we found is oneness.
We all have a story. The form it takes does not matter. For Renier it was anger. For Kathryn it was not good enough. What matters, is that we remember the truth of who we are.
We practice Self-Love so we can remember to experience this oneness, and in doing so share it with the world.
Love is one.
When we forget, life is hard.
We fight, we force, we project, we fear and we hurt.
We both want our own growth and our own healing more than anything else, and so we teach Self-Love to help us remember.
In our own consistent practice of showing up for ourselves, we remind you of something you already know, but just forgot.
Paqarina was founded by Renier Jooste and Kathryn Woolf. After each studying an obsessive range of spiritual and personal development modalities, they found A Course in Miracles: a pure non-dualistic teaching of Love.
about us
Our Story
If the journey back to our freedom was easy, everybody would have done it. The road seems surely long, and the distractions around us, very real, leaving us searching in all the wrong places; weary and weak.
Deeply entrenched in the patterns and conditionings of our lives, there are many shackles that keep us bound to chains we don’t even realise we drag behind us.
But there is another way and it doesn’t have to be so hard.
Inspired by a powerful message of Love and healing, the two founded the company as a platform dedicated to teaching another way to live, love and do life. Their mission is to simplify the information age, and help people transcend the intellectual understanding to experience the experience for themselves; undoing the blocks to the awareness of the presence of Love within each of us.
After each travelling a deep journey of personal transformation they combined their 40+ years of experience, to shine a light on the blocks to the awareness of the presence of Love within each of us, together with a formula to outsmart the ego, and accelerate the process.
They practice Self-Love as a way to remember an experience of oneness, and in doing so share it with the world.
Today they help powerful women experience peace and joy through Self-Love in 90-days.
renier jooste
Renier Jooste is a certified Transformational Coach, NLP Master, experienced mediator and anger management specialist. Renier’s study of neuroscience, human behaviour and holistic healing began in 2004 and developed into an unshakable dedication to his own transformation. After experiencing unimaginable changes in his life, Renier made a commitment to help others transcend the struggles of the human condition.
He is known for the integrity and openness with which he works, and having developed a powerful awareness for observation, he is able to facilitate profound personal development.
Kathryn Woolf
A born teacher, Kathryn immersed herself in the world of personal development and spirituality with a passion to be the best possible version of herself and challenge the boundaries and expectations of what the world considers ‘normal’.
Driven by a strong desire to make a positive impact in this world, she has a unique skill of cutting through the BS (belief systems) that shackle us. She has dedicated her life to living and sharing truth, teaching the world how giving and receiving happens at the same time.
All of our shows/interviews are done by donation, if you enjoyed this show please support us here with either a one-time donation or subscribe and support on Patreon.
I came done with 2 viruses and then bronchitis, which means I had to cancel a few shows last week and reschedule them for another time. I hate having to do that, but life happens and sometimes is out of our control, and that is ok.
So this week with a husky chest and splutter nose I did 6 shows, and that also ok, for again life happens and we do our best with what we have. WE PUT SO MUCH PRESSURE ON OUR SELVES TO DO IT ALL AND WHEN WE CAN’T WE BARATE OURSELVES. NOT GOOD, FOR TRYING TO LIVE UP TO AN IMPOSSIBLE EXPECTATION WILL ONLY LET US DOWN.
It is OK to say no, to change appointments, to take time to heal, to reschedule, no one will think bad of you, and if they do, then don’t do business with them. We have to pace our selves, lay out the priorities and sometimes say no to things if there is something else you need to do. I have a dream that I wish to see through, will I make it? I don’t know but I am going to try and achieve it, I just have to schedule my self into trying. If I don’t get there, that is ok, for I am proud of what I have achieved thus far, and what ever is to come, will be.
Some times we need to take a step back and ask ourselves if we are going in the right direction or can we redirect, re-prioritize and not let others expectation dictate our way for us. What ever it is, it is ok to say no, I can not, need to reschedule and re look at our own balance of life.
Take the time for you to be you, not just what you are doing, but being.
All of our shows/interviews are done by donation, if you enjoyed this show please support us here with either a one-time donation or subscribe and support on Patreon.
Ignite your heart and Soul with Sara Troy and her guest Ann. K. Frailey, on air from May 24th
OldEarth Melchior Encounter, an epic sci-fi saga about humanity’s survival in a hostile alien world.
A.K. Frailey became a widower seven years ago, left to raise her eight children on her own. She knows what it is like to have to navigate through challenges and find a way to survive and thrive. This sense of self-reliance filters into her fantastical books, in particular, her successful science fiction tales. Her newest book, the fifth in a series, OldEarth Melchior Encounter, has received strong reviews since it was released this fall.
In this interview, A.K. will talk about:
How she explores humanity’s search for a creator and the meaning of existence
Why she shows the conflict between humanity’s need for God and our desire to be God
The price of evil in family and society. What truly defines family?
Examines marriage, parenthood, and the purpose of our vocation. Is our role in life something we choose — or are we born into it?
What inspires her to write a whole new world, with its very existence on the line
How she balanced a writing career while raising eight children on her own
A. K. Frailey, an award-winning author of a historical sci-fi and science fiction series, short story collections, inspirational non-fiction books, a children’s book, and a poetry collection, has had 15 books published in the past decade. Her novels expand from the OldEarth world to the Newearth universe—where deception rules but truth prevails. Her non-fiction work focuses on the intersection of motherhood, widowhood, practicing gratitude, and rediscovering joy. As a teacher with a degree in Elementary Education, she has taught in Milwaukee, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Wood River, and was a teacher trainer in the Philippines for The Peace Corps. She earned a Masters of Fine Arts Degree in Creative Writing for Entertainment from Full Sail University.
Ann has won two course director’s awards in Episodic & Serial Writing & Film Screenwriting and was Valedictorian when she received her Master of Fine Arts Degree in Creative Writing. She made finalist in the Tuscany Press Writing Contest, was a two-time winner for the Catholic Writer Seal of Approval, received an Honorable Mention in the Hollywood Book Festival, and was made runner-up in an Indie publishing contest. A widower, Ann home-schooled all eight of her children. She manages her rural homestead with her kids and their numerous critters. In her spare time, she serves as an election judge, a literacy tutor, and secretary/treasurer of her small town’s cemetery. She resides in Fillmore, Illinois.
Ann’s work ranks among the best.” — Movie Director and Producer Cary Solomon
“Blending of historical fiction and science fiction…Frailey creates compelling characters.” — Publishers Weekly BookLife
“Frailey writes in a crisp, lean, and richly detailed style, building a fascinating, absorbing world.” — Blue Ink Review
“In the tradition of some of the greatest stories in the genre, Frailey takes a page from our current world issues and weaves it into an intriguing story of global and personal conflict.” — NB Thrilling Films 2 Inc. 2nd Assistant Director Ben Hrkach
“Epic trials forge epic heroes,” says Frailey. No, she wasn’t talking about herself, but about the themes in her books, where people of ancient times struggle to find meaning in a world dominated by evil choices. While managing their own conflicts, aliens fight for their place in human events.
To check out her stories, novels, inspirational books, and her film and television scripts, please visit
All of our shows/interviews are done by donation, if you enjoyed this show please support us here with either a one-time donation or subscribe and support on Patreon.
Mental Health Awareness with Sara Troy and her guest Shanell Parrish-Brown, on air from May 24th
GIFTS IN BROWN PAPER PACKAGES,AN EMOTIONALLY HARD-HITTINGCOMING OF AGE STORY BASED ONHER REAL LIFE TRIUMPH OVER ADVERSITY
The Narrative’s No Holds Barred ThemesOf Domestic Violence Tie In PerfectlyWith the Author’s Dedicated Work OnBehalf of The Safe Center of Long Island (TSCLI),A Non-Profit Serving Nassau County, NY
Drawing courageously from painful experiences of her childhood while embracing and sharing her hard-won self-truths for the first time, author S.P. Brown’s powerful debut novel Gifts in Brown Paper Packages has earned out of the box acclaim and success – including debuting at #1 in three categories on Amazon within the first 72 hours of its Christmas week release.
Driven by the powerful, often harrowing but ultimately life affirming and triumphant narrative of 17-year-old protagonist Kyrie, the emotionally impactful book ended its second day at #38 in the highly competitive “New Releases Coming of Age” category and #1 “Musical Reference” due to the author’s inclusion of both old school and contemporary artists (from Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell to Deniece Williams, Lauryn Hill, Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars) as the soundtrack to Kyrie’s experiences. Currently, it is also ranked on the Kindle Store’s Black & African American Christian Fiction list.
Evoking some difficult experiences from her own childhood growing up in Harlem, Brown uses the fictional character of Kyrie as a vehicle to reflect on her ability to overcome the trauma of domestic abuse and somehow, miraculously, turn her physical and emotional survival into a triumphant and thriving life. The New York based author wrote the hard-hitting, flashback driven coming of age narrative over the course of one year while working her demanding high profile job as Vice President, Employment Counsel for a major entertainment conglomerate, often in quiet stolen hours in the middle of the night after her three children (now ages 14, 17 and 23) were in bed.
The breathtaking journey chronicled in Gifts in Brown Paper Packages hinges on a single question. In the wake of another emotionally and physically abusive episode with the person she refers to as “Man,” should she take the leap through her bedroom window into the unknown? Leaving her mother and young brother behind, she has no idea if she can make it on her own, but choosing the risk of the streets seemed like a better option than staying. With no plan but survival, Kyrie’s story is driven by strength, personal growth, a journey to self-awareness and ultimately acknowledging her deepest truths.
The theme of Gifts in Brown Paper Packages ties in perfectly with Brown’s dedicated involvement with The Safe Center of Long Island (TSCLI), a non profit agency comprehensively serving the needs of victims of domestic violence and inner personal trauma in Nassau County – and the only organization in the county providing free services to child and adult victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse and human trafficking. In addition helping to raise funds for a Capital Campaign project to build an expanded new safe house facility, she has served on the nominating committee for the past two years, with the goal of helping to identify diverse talent for TSCLI’s Board of Directors; she is currently their only African American Board Member. In 2020, Brown was named Vice President of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors. She has agreed to become President of the Board in May 2022.
“For many years, I felt a lot of guilt and shame associated with those stories and felt like sharing them in my professional circles as a lawyer and even in my social circles wouldn’t engender real respect,” Brown says. “Eventually I realized my truth and that every part of my background, including the terrible, painful memories, served a purpose and informed what I consider this fabulous end product. That strength and resilience came from my path. It’s not necessary for readers to know the real life experiences versus the instances where I employed creative license or drew from other’s real life experiences.
“The point of the book,” she adds, “is to inspire readers to look at their lives with the proper lens, and allow those hard knocks and terrible experiences to ultimately work towards defining greatness in them as opposed to defeat. Those lessons don’t always show up beautifully adorned. Sometimes you have to dig through the ugly wrapping to discover the strength within the package. Everyone experiences difficult trials in their lives. The difference between a person who rises above them and succeeds and the one who doesn’t is perspective.”
S.P. Brown’s out of the box acclaim and success with her first novel Gifts in Brown Paper Packages is stunning proof that wherever we may be in our life’s journey, it’s never too late to embrace, share and inspire the world with our inner truths – no matter how raw and painful they may be and how vulnerable they make us feel.
Drawing from some difficult experiences of her own childhood growing up in Harlem, the author uses the fictional character of 17-year old Kyrie as a vehicle to reflect on her ability to overcome the trauma of domestic abuse and somehow, miraculously, turn her physical and emotional survival into a triumphant and thriving life. The New York based author wrote the hard-hitting, flashback driven coming of age narrative over the course of several years while working her demanding high profile job as Vice President, Employment Counsel for a major entertainment conglomerate, often in quiet stolen hours in the middle of the night after her three children (now ages 14, 17 and 23) were in bed.
In the first 72 hours of its Christmas week release, Gifts in Brown Paper Packages debuted at #1 in three categories on Amazon, including ending the second day at #38 in the highly competitive “New Releases Coming Of Age” category and #1 in “Musical Reference” due to her dynamic inclusion of both old school and contemporary artists (from Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell to Deniece Williams, Lauryn Hill, Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars) as the soundtrack to experiences. Currently, it is also ranked on the Kindle Store’s Black & African American Christian Fiction list.
Of the dozens of five-star customer reviews posted so far, perhaps this says it best about the book’s enduring impact on its readers: “I truly enjoyed following Kyrie’s journey through life and how she was able to overcome everything that life threw at her. Reading this story and enjoying every page as much as I did has reconnected me with my love for reading. I cannot wait for more from S.P. Brown.”
The breathtaking journey chronicled in Gifts in Brown Paper Packages hinges on a single life changing question. In the wake of another emotionally and physically abusive episode with the person she refers to as “Man,” should she take the leap through her bedroom window into the unknown? Leaving her mother and young brother behind, she has no idea if she can make it on her own, but choosing the risk of the streets seemed like a better option than staying. With no plan but survival, Kyrie’s story is driven by strength, personal growth, a journey to self-awareness and ultimately acknowledging her deepest realities.
Kyrie’s experiences are sometimes amusing, often shocking and so real and intense that it almost reads like a memoir rather than fiction. Along the way, she learns how to embrace the life lessons (gifts) that strife, struggle, perseverance and the tackling of overwhelming challenges can ultimately grace us with, if only we’re open to seeing life’s hardships that way.
The theme of Gifts in Brown Paper Packages ties in perfectly with Brown’s dedicated involvement with The Safe Center of Long Island (TSCLI), a non-profit agency comprehensively serving the needs of victims of domestic violence and inner personal trauma in Nassau County – and the only organization in the county providing free services to child and adult victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse and human trafficking. In addition to helping to raise funds for a Capital Campaign project to build an expanded new safe house, she has also served on the nominating committee for the past two years, with the goal of helping to identify diverse talent for TSCLI’s Board of Directors; she is currently their only African American Board Member. In 2020, Brown was named Vice President of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors. She recently agreed to accept the role of President of the Board beginning May 2022.
Brown laid the foundation for her emergence as an influential first time novelist back in 2009, when she began writing fantasy fiction at night to, as she says, “assuage an undeniable creative itch to write something other than corporate policy and emails chock full of legal advice.” Her choice of genre was inspired by her childhood passion for books, and particularly stories that took her mind far from the day to day dark reality. She wrote seven chapters in six months and received incredible encouragement from her long ago literature professor at Hunter College, where Brown earned her BA in Human Communications. But then, for whatever reason, she got a crippling case of writer’s block and shut down.
As a person of deep faith, the author has come to trust that God sets us on certain paths for specific, sometimes mysterious reasons. In Brown’s case, her creative output was on the back burner for years until a lawyer friend who was running a program at the DA’s office for youth development and community reentry of former felons, invited her to audit a writing program – some of whose attendees were formerly incarcerated felons. Though she attended as an observer, she felt challenged when the facilitator asked, “What is your ‘Day One’ story if you had to talk about a specific time in your life? What is the lightbulb moment your life was changed?’”
She felt prompted to share some of her experiences with the group, and the sense of catharsis she felt led her to write what ultimately became the first chapter of Gifts in Brown Paper Packages that night on the plane en route to a conference. After she had written four or five entries, Brown made the decision that she would develop it into a novel written from a third person perspective, telling parts of her story, with fictionalized elements, through Kyrie’s eyes. For a time, she was concerned about writing explicitly about the domestic violence she endured in her youth, but ultimately decided that the narrative could have tremendous impact on others. She felt it was an important part of her life, even though her life had not historically been defined as a domestic violence survivor.
“For many years, I felt a lot of guilt and shame associated with those stories and so felt like sharing them in my professional circles as a lawyer wouldn’t engender real respect,” Brown says. “Eventually, I realized that my truth is characterized by every aspect of my background, including the terrible, painful memories, which served a purpose and informed what I consider this fabulous end product. I acknowledged that strength and resilience came from my path. It’s not necessary for readers to know the real life experiences versus the instances where I employed creative license or drew from other’s real life experiences.
“The point of the book,” she adds, “is to motivate people to look at their lives through the proper lens, and allow those hard knocks and terrible experiences to ultimately work towards cultivating greatness in them as opposed to defeat. Those lessons don’t always show up beautifully adorned. Sometimes you have to dig through the ugly wrapping to discover the strength within the package. Everyone goes through difficult trials in their lives. The difference between a person who rises above them and succeeds and the one who doesn’t, is perspective.”
“I am proud of the story I tell in Gifts in Brown Paper Packages, and the way I was able to put it together,” the author says. “In line with all the musical references, I truly feel there is a melody in the way it was written. What will make me the happiest is if the book is exposed to the masses and people get something out of it and feel inspired. I am so grateful for all the wonderful feedback I have received thus far, and I want to put myself in the position where I have more opportunities to speak to people who need to hear it. I want Kyrie’s story – and ultimately my own – to touch people and make an important difference in their lives.”
All of our shows/interviews are done by donation, if you enjoyed this show please support us here with either a one-time donation or subscribe and support on Patreon.
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