TSM25-41. Deadpan by Richard Walter

October 13, 2025October 11, 2025Self Discovery Wisdom Podcast

Their Story Matters with Sara Troy and her guest Richard Walter, on air from Ocotber 14th

Screenwriter and bestselling author Richard Walter for his new book, Deadpan which is a funny novel about an unfunny subject: hate speech and bigotry. Providing gobs of entertainment, the satirical narrative delivers a body blow to prejudice. Deadpan follows the misadventures of a vaguely anti-Semitic West Virginia Buick dealer who wakes up one day to find himself transformed into the world’s most popular Jewish comedian. Steeped in magical realism, the narrative confronts the incandescent issue of our day: Identity, intolerance, and the value of free speech.

Deadpan‘s unfettered comical sensibility is a vivid testament to Mark Twain’s dictum “against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.” Set during the world-wide oil crises of the 1970s, the narrative alternates between locations in West Virginia, Las Vegas, Washington, Tehran, and Sinai, featuring characters as diverse as Sarah Palin, Mel Brooks, and the Shah of Iran. Walter’s phantasmagorical tour-de-force is not only a satirical takedown of antisemitism (and bigotry in general) but also a dazzling celebration of
human dignity, resilience, and humor.

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Richard Walter is a published author of bestselling fiction and nonfiction, and a screenwriter. As a professor at UCLA, he led the graduate program in screenwriting for decades. His titles for Penguin/Random House on screenwriting are in print now for thirty-five years and have sold over a hundred thousand copies. His most recent novel Escape From Film School (St. Martin’s Press) was a Los Angeles Times bestseller and saw multiple printings in cloth and trade paper. His blog posts and podcasts on Medium, Substack, Spotify and Apple Media have tens of thousands of followers, and his videos on YouTube have received over a million visits.

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https://www.richardwalterbooks.com

https://twitter.com/ProfWalter
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https://richardwalter.substack.com

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IG25-40. Stephen Chong’s Practical Divine Tools

October 6, 2025October 6, 2025Self Discovery Wisdom Podcast

Ignite your heart and soul with Sara Troy and her guest Stephne Chong, on air from October 7th

In this time of great turmoil and spiritual awakening, the discussion will explore is how individuals can recognize their self-worth and understand the power of thoughts, words, and deeds, which are ultimately revealed in life’s review. It will touch on the three inner saboteurs that prevent people from reaching their highest potential, along with a technique for releasing them. The conversation will also highlight the importance of following one’s highest purpose by asking reflective questions such as, What would love do next? What is needed to come closer to the light? Practical tools, including a meditation/visualization to connect with the divine source, will be shared. Emphasis will be placed on building persistence and resilience by reconnecting to core values, challenging unhelpful habits, and bringing the three pillars of life—relationships, money, and health—into balance. Together, these insights invite listeners to embrace a life of deeper clarity, purpose, and alignment.

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Stephen Chong M.Ed. is a Far North Queensland, Australian-based author who draws his inspirations from life’s themes that relate to us all – love, grief, struggle, overcoming obstacles. Culminating in his six inspirational novels, feature-film screenplays, and multiple short-stories, he has converted these ‘life themes’ into stories that we can all relate to. Stephen’s expertise of balancing modern work practices with personal life provides unique insights that make this life, and life in the hereafter, a much better place.

https://www.stephenchong.com.au

spchong10@gmail.com

www.instagram.com/stephenpchong

www.facebook.com/stephen.chong.

www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-chong-m-ed

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IG25-40 Margie Goldsmith on Becoming a Badass

October 6, 2025October 4, 2025Self Discovery Wisdom Podcast

Ignite Your Heart and Soul with Sara Troy and her guest Margie Goldsmith, on air from October 7th

In her new memoir, Becoming a Badass: From Fearful to Fierce Margie is a testament to the adage “no one is going to make your life for you.”
Her story is one of adventure and resilience. It’s about living life on your terms and living it fearlessly. She speaks to anyone looking to overcome a sense of powerlessness in any given situation, whether that’s a dysfunctional family, a marriage/relationship, or a career, and to anyone who has ever felt “less than.”

Coming from a family marked by deep struggles—her father’s suicide, incest, a sister battling schizophrenia, and parents coping with manic depression and alcoholism—her early life shaped much of who she became. After college, she moved to Paris, where she lived a glamorous life and married a blacklisted film director. Her passion for travel soon blossomed, leading her to become a travel writer who has explored 150 countries across seven continents, from Uganda, The Marquesas, South Korea, Laos, and Cambodia to Oman, Cuba, Tibet, Nepal, Borneo, Mauritius, Papua New Guinea, Easter Island, Croatia, Namibia, the Arctic, and Antarctica. The Outward Bound program also transformed her path, fueling her love of physical challenges: she has completed marathons and Olympic-distance triathlons, summited Mount Rainier, and climbed to Advanced Base Camp on The North Face of Mount Everest. Adding music to her many adventures, she learned to play the harmonica and even recorded two albums with America’s most award-winning blues band. Her resilience shines brightest in her survival of stage four pancreatic cancer and later, lung cancer—proving again and again her extraordinary strength and will to live fully.

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Margie Goldsmith is a New York City-based adventure, luxury, lifestyle and profile writer. She is a contributor to Business Jet Traveler, Wine, Dine & Travel and Food & Travel. Her articles appear in Forbes.com, Travel + Leisure, Robb Report, National Geographic Traveler, Coastal Living, Virtuoso, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, The Globe and Mail, Garden and Gun, Organic Spa, Ultimate Experiences and others.

She is the author of four books: Screw-Up; Alice Dalton Browne: Nocturnes and Diurnes; Masters of the Harmonica: 30 Harmonica Masters Share Their Craft (#1 bestseller on Amazon). Her newest book is her memoir, Becoming a Badass: From Fearful to Fierce. Her essays appear in Travelers Tales, The Walker Within, In Search of Adventure, National Geographic’s Spiritual Journeys, GoNomad’s London Reader, and Chance Encounters.

Goldsmith has won 101 writing awards including the coveted Lowell Thomas SATW Gold Award, Lowell Thomas Bronze Journalist of the Year Award, four Eddie and Ozzie Folio Awards, and multiple honors from ASJA, NATJA, the Solas Award, Travel Classics Award, and OWAA.

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https://margiegoldsmith.com

https://www.facebook.com/margie.goldsmith.7

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https://www.facebook.com/Mastersoftheharmonica

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SE25-35. Sue William Silverman’s Mercy of the Reader

September 1, 2025August 31, 2025Sara Troy

Sensual Expression with Sara Troy and her guest Sue William Silverman, on air from September 2nd

The award-winning voice behind Love Sick: One Woman’s Journey Through Sexual Addiction (which was adapted into a Lifetime movie) and How to Survive Death and Other Inconvenience now new book Selected Misdemeanors: Essays at the Mercy of the Reader, Sue Williams Silverman.

A master of metaphor and a longtime teacher of creative nonfiction, Silverman uses each essay in Selected Misdemeanors to reveal a kind of emotional misdemeanor—a misstep, a moment of contradiction, a wound we give ourselves while yearning for something more.

In this collection of flash nonfiction “misdemeanors,” she explores small yet shimmering moments where home and belonging weave themselves through life’s contradictions. The brevity of the flash form allows her to capture meaning with precision—each piece a distillation of memory, metaphor, and subtle irony. She chose this form for its ability to hold something so short yet resonant, a space where metaphor deepens the emotional truth and irony reveals the complexity of human experience. These stories often pivot on contradictions—those universal tensions we all contain—and invite readers to see themselves within them. As she says, “I never wanted to drink crème de menthe, I just wanted to admire it. Some things are better left imagined,” a line that reflects both the restraint and the richness at the heart of her storytelling.

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Silverman is best known for Love Sick: One Woman’s Journey Through Sexual Addiction, which was adapted into a Lifetime movie, and Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You, winner of the AWP Award for Creative Nonfiction. Her previous book, How to Survive Death and Other Inconveniences, won the gold Foreword INDIE Book of the Year Award and the Clara Johnson Award for Women’s Literature. She is also the author of the craft book Acetylene Torch Songs: Writing True Stories to Ignite the Soul, which won the IPPY Silver Award and was a finalist for two Foreword INDIE Awards.

Sue William Silverman is an award-winning author known for her fearless explorations of trauma, identity, and personal transformation. Her latest book, Selected Misdemeanors: Essays at the Mercy of the Reader, showcases her signature blend of lyricism, insight, and unflinching honesty. She co-chairs the MFA in Writing Program at Vermont College of Fine Arts and has appeared on The View, Anderson Cooper 360, and PBS Books.

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IG25-34. Laila Woozeer is Not Quite White

August 25, 2025August 25, 2025Self Discovery Wisdom Podcast

Ignite your heart and soul with Sara Troy and her guest Laila Woozeer, on air from August 26th

Laila Woozeer, author of the memoir, Not Quite White. Neither here, nor there; neither one, nor the other. What does it feel like to be an indescribable shade somewhere in between? Can you even exist in a binary world that seems so black-and-white? Why is there no easy way to describe someone who is a Welsh-French-Scottish-American-Indian-Mauritian?
Laila Woozeer, a mixed-race 28-year-old London-born writer and musician, shares a personal story of growing up in a rural white village in North Wales. Laila takes readers on a funny, vivid, and profoundly moving journey of discovering one’s own identity and belonging through her travels between Mauritius, the US and the UK, to make sense of the world and one’s place within it.

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This is the real-life story of Laila Woozeer trying desperately to understand how to exist, how to survive, and what it might mean to thrive. From childhood memories of self-discovery to an identity crisis of adolescence, to a misunderstood existence in adult life, Not Quite White charts Laila’s struggle to finally find a meaningful place in the world.

Laila Woozeer is a writer, musician, and performer, born and based in London. Laila’s work has been published in the Guardian, Mashable, and Stylist. Notable projects include producing and directing the award-winning contemporary music performance collective WOLF PACK and authoring the blog TAPE PARADE. Not Quite White is Laila’s first book.

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www.lailawoozeer.com.

https://www.facebook.com/lailawoozeer

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https://www.patreon.com/Lailawoozeer

https://open.spotify.com/playlist

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