AK25-47. Age of Consent by Mark Thompson

November 24, 2025November 22, 2025Self Discovery Wisdom Podcast

Authors Kiss with Sara Troy and her guest Mark Thomson, on air from November 25th

Age of Consent is a daring, tender novel that challenges assumptions about romance, power, and the boundaries of first love—its risks, its sweetness, and its lingering imprint. Mark Thompson delivers a story that resists easy judgment and stays with you. As Sonia Pilcer notes, the book moves not through scandal but through humanity—where desire, conscience, and vulnerability collide.

M.J. Moore adds that this is no “Mrs. Robinson” trope but an unorthodox, mythic love story set in the experimental seventies, where kindred spirits meet beyond stereotype.

A provocative coming-of-age romance, Age of Consent follows fifteen-year-old Rusty Rasmussen and 24-year-old Carla Levy, whose bond over music and social justice evolves into a clandestine relationship once Rusty turns sixteen—the legal age of consent. Their connection raises enduring questions about responsibility, authenticity, and the rules we impose on love.

Reminiscent of One Day and Call Me By Your Name, Thompson offers a raw male perspective on taboo love and asks:
– Can infatuation grow into something real?
– Can such a relationship survive judgment?
– How do we recognize a first love that lasts?
– What role should age differences play—then or now?

Bold and emotionally honest, Age of Consent explores how love defies boundaries. “When love carries a power imbalance, we are playing with fire,” Thompson says. “That fire can destroy or illuminate.” Drawing from his own experience loving an older woman, he notes, “True romantic love can overcome any boundary or obstacle.”

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Mark Thompson is the author of two novels, Age of Consent and What Makes A Man Run. He is a triathlete who began competing in high school in the late 1970s while growing up in Connecticut. Formerly a competitor for Team USA Intermediate, Thompson has participated in more than 20 marathons and triathlons, winning age group awards in many.He also plays accordion with The Zydeco Hogs, a nationally-recognized band that brings the music of southwest Louisiana across the United States. He has performed with artists including the Grammy-nominated Basin Brothers and the late, legendary D.L. Menard.Thompson, 63, is retired after working for two decades as a physical therapist assistant. He graduated from Keene State University, studying business management. Born in Chicago, his family moved to Weston, CT, where he grew up. Thompson now lives in Mamaroneck, NY and Sag Harbor, NY with his wife, author Catherine Hiller.

AMAZON

www.markthompsonauthor.net

https://www.facebook.com/mark.thompson.9828456

https://www.instagram.com/mark_thompson_runs

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25-47.Knowingness in Business

November 24, 2025November 22, 2025Self Discovery Wisdom Podcast

Sara’s View of Life with Sara Troy, on air from November 25 th

Last night, I gave a talk on Knowingness in Business, reminding us how far we’ve drifted from trusting our instincts in a world driven by rules, data, and pressure. I shared how knowingness — the soul’s wisdom moving through the heart, speaking through the spirit, and giving the mind clarity — is our most reliable guidance system. When leaders listen to it, decisions come faster, stress drops, partnerships align, and unnecessary drama fades.

I talked about the difference between data that informs us and wisdom that transforms us, and how the body signals truth through expansion, ease, and breath, while contraction and tension reveal misalignment. Knowingness follows a simple rhythm: feel first, know second, act third. It requires alignment of heart, mind, soul, spirit, and body, and flourishes when we pause, breathe, and create moments of stillness.

I also shared the cost of ignoring intuition — burnout, misaligned partnerships, lost peace — and offered ways to strengthen knowingness: journaling yeses and nos, stepping back before committing, allowing timing to unfold, and honoring what feels right even when it defies logic.

To bring it home, I shared my own story of losing everything through misplaced trust, only to be guided into podcasting — the path I was meant to walk. That journey taught me resilience, patience, courage, and absolute faith in my internal compass.

Today, I am fully aligned with my knowingness, and because of that, doors are opening naturally and effortlessly. I encouraged everyone to trust that same inner wisdom — because when we honor it, clarity rises, stress falls away, and life becomes beautifully peaceful.

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AMAZON

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PowerPoint on Knowingness

Our Knowingness in Business presentation Download

The Knowingness Poem

Knowingness isn’t loud.
It doesn’t argue, debate, or insist.
It rises — quietly — from the deep places where your soul, heart, spirit, and mind meet.

It’s that gentle click inside you when something is true.
The warmth in the chest when something is aligned.
The tightening in the gut when something is off.
The stillness in the mind when the next step is simply known.

Knowingness is your internal compass:
steady, ancient, endlessly guiding.

It speaks before logic catches up.
It whispers before the mind constructs its reasons.
And it reveals clarity at the exact moment you need it — no sooner, no later.

When you tune into it…
your choices sharpen,
your path steadies,
and life stops pushing against you and begins moving with you.

Knowingness is the soul’s intelligence
flowing through the heart,
igniting the spirit,
and delivering clarity to the mind.

It’s not magic.
It’s not guesswork.
It’s the truth that already lives within you —
waiting for you to listen.

By Sara Troy

TSM25-47. The Brushy Ridge Militia by Roger Chiocchi

November 24, 2025November 22, 2025Self Discovery Wisdom Podcast

Their Story Matters with Sara Troy and her guest Roger Chiocchi, on air from November 25th

“If you’re drawn to politically charged thrillers that reveal the human cost of policy decisions, this is a must-read.” — Literary Titan.
In this wrenching political novel, a school shooting turns suburban parents into federal criminals, raising the urgent question: How long can grieving parents be ignored? — BookLife, Editors Pick
The Brushy Ridge Militia is about how the intersection of grief and helplessness leads a group of parents to become so enraged after a mass shooting to conclude that enough’s enough, compelling them to commit a major act of civil disobedience. It’s the fictional version “A Civil Action” meets “The Trial of the Catonsville Nine.’

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Roger Chiocchi graduated from Ithaca College and then the Wharton School (MBA) with distinction. He spent over 25 years as a senior executive on Madison Avenue as a Senior Vice President at Young & Rubicam and then as President of Y&R subsidiary, The Lord Group where he worked on advertising campaigns for Advil, ATT, Verizon, Bell Atlantic, USAA, Kraft Foods and many others. Throughout his life, Chiocchi has had a passion for writing. In his spare time, he wrote the fictional ghost story Mean Spirits, which rose to number one in its genre on Amazon and Baby Boomer Bust? How the generation of promise became the generation of panic, which addresses the impact of the 2008/2009 recession on that generation. In 2019, he published Time Framed, a sci-fi paranormal thriller to critical acclaim. Chiocchi regards himself as a perpetual student, constantly scouring YouTube for lectures on astrophysics, quantum mechanics, human consciousness, politics and whatever else suits his fancy. The Brushy Ridge Militia is his latest novel.

AMAZON

www.brushyridgemilitia.com

https://www.facebook.com/RogerChiocchi

https://www.facebook.com/groups

https://www.linkedin.com/in/roger-chiocchi

https://www.instagram.com/rogerchiocchi

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BB25-46. Matt Rouse – Will AI Take My Job?

November 17, 2025November 17, 2025Self Discovery Wisdom Podcast

Building Your Business with Sara Troy and her guest Matthew M. Rouse, on air from November 18th

When I started doing research for my own company, I found out that AI was going to potentially kill our business if we didn’t make changes soon… very soon! So we pivoted our business (so far so good) but also I found that no one in the business world was seeing what I was seeing, so I wrote the book, Will AI Take My Job?

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Matt is the host of the Digital Marketing Masters Podcast and author of eight books on topics important to small businesses and business owners. He is the co-founder of Hook DM and Hook DM Canada, SMB Autopilot.

Matt started out decades ago working for several Fortune 500 organizations, contracting in IT for marketing groups at companies like Intel, Nike, and Shaw Communications. After crowdfunding his first book, Crush SEO, he followed that up with several Amazon Category Bestsellers, including his first two AI-related books of the same name, “Will AI Take My Job?”.

AMAZON

https://matthewrouse.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattmrouse

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YH25-46.”Pro-Grace”Pregnancy with Kimberly Jackson

November 17, 2025November 29, 2025Self Discovery Wisdom Podcast

Your Health is Your Choice with Sara Troy and her guest Kimberly Jackson, on air November 18th

At Crossroads Pregnancy Centre, the heart of our story is our unwavering commitment to women and families in Nanaimo. We exist to fill a critical gap in the system by offering free, confidential, and compassionate support during some of life’s most vulnerable moments. In a world that often presents complex challenges around pregnancy, our “Pro-Grace” approach ensures every individual feels valued, heard, and empowered to make informed decisions. We’re here because every woman deserves to navigate her unique journey—whether facing an unexpected pregnancy, experiencing the profound grief of loss, or entering early parenthood—with comprehensive emotional and practical support, fostering resilience and hope in our community.

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My career journey began in the medical field, driven by a deep desire to help people, particularly from a supportive, administrative perspective. I thrived behind the scenes, ensuring the teams who worked face-to-face with patients had everything they needed. During that decade, raising two children shifted my focus. I sought a career that allowed me to contribute meaningfully to the community while offering the flexibility to be more present for my family. This led me from the corporate medical world to the non-profit sector. In 2023, I joined Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Vancouver Island, an organization that beautifully prioritizes families—both those they serve and their staff. This role allowed me the freedom to integrate my work schedule with my family’s needs, creating a powerful motivation to excel in a role that serves the greater good. In 2025, the board of Crossroads Pregnancy Centre approached me with the Executive Director opportunity. This felt like the perfect, rooted next step, allowing me to fully dedicate my passion to an organization that profoundly impacts the well-being of women and their families. It’s an honor to lead CPC, filling a massive systemic gap, and I am incredibly excited for this new chapter.