Shows
SPARK, A Mother-Daughter JourneyMoving from loneliness to connectionIn this episode, Sophia and I discuss the epidemic of loneliness, which millions are suffering from around the world.We open with the surprising detrimental effects that loneliness has on our mental and physical health, like how it rewires our brains and increases inflammation markers.What's tricky about loneliness, however, is that we often can't just go out and remedy the issue, because it's contingent on our social skills, the nature of our communities and the proximity of loved ones. Complicated right? What we didn't speak about is how much more prevalent loneliness is i...
2023-12-2230 minSPARK, A Mother-Daughter JourneyRepair and Recovery: The key to lasting relationshipsThis stellar conversation is the fourth and final episode (for now) with our champion guest speaker, Sophia's Dad, and my hubby, Blair Abbass. We begin with updates on our lives since we chose to postpone our pod to give our chat with Cindy Thompson from A Resilience Project Podcast its full moment in the sun. It was a difficult one, but a beautifully honest chat on our journey and how we're doing post trauma. If you haven't listened yet, visit: We also had the honor of speaking with Nancy Regan on The Canadian Love Map, about our mother-daughter r...
2023-11-1035 min
A Resilience Project99: Jenny & Sophia Kierstead - We Are All Warriors & HeroesSend us a textIf you reflect on some of the major adversities in life, who are the people who picked you up and encouraged you to carry on? Whether it is friends, family or significant other, having someone walk you through is critical for bouncing back. But what if it isn’t easy to connect with others?Amid the early challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Kierstead family, like many others, were simply trying to navigate these uncertain times. Little did they know that they were about to face a profound and life-altering tra...
2023-10-1646 minSPARK, A Mother-Daughter JourneyLet's talk about our red flags...ft Blair AbbassIn this third episode of our four part mini series on relationships with therapist, mindfulness teacher and educator, Blair Abbass, we discuss everything from dysfunctional relationships and red flags to healthy connections and green flags. We each share three red flags that arouse a sense of caution in us, such as addiction, criticism and lack of accountability. Given that Blair is my husband and Sophia's dad, we all found this conversation enlightening as we learned something we didn't know about each other. We invite you to have this conversation with your family members too, which might lead t...
2023-10-0935 minSPARK, A Mother-Daughter JourneyFoster Healthy Relationships with the Law of AttractionIn this touching and informative family conversation, we discuss the popular phrase 'law of attraction' with regards to attracting partnerships. I start off by reminding us that our intimate relationships are the most important choice we'll ever make, so it's worth our time and reflection. Our guest, Blair Abbass (my husband and Sophia's father), shares about his conditioned attraction to blond haired, blue eyed women because of his catholic upbringing and the loving nurse that cared for him as a child, which he had to dismantle this in order to recognize the soul connection he felt with me....
2023-09-2126 min
Canadian Love MapSparking Conversations and Change: Jenny and SophiaThis love story belongs to the mother-daughter duo, Jenny Kierstead and Sophia Rae, a remarkable mother-daughter duo who are bridging the intergenerational gap.They're also co-hosts of a podcast called Spark, A Mother-Daughter Journey, where they have open-hearted conversations and engaging discussions with special guests. Together, they pave the way for healing and understanding, forging connections that transcend age and experience. Spark was created from a place of profound loss and global isolation. After Jenny's sister Lisa tragically lost her life in the Nova Scotia mass casualty, and as the world grappled with the challenges of the p...
2023-09-2139 minSPARK, A Mother-Daughter JourneySummer 2023 Wrap up- Camp highlights, Epiphanies, Meeting the Prime Minister....Join us for our Summer 2023 Wrap up and Reflection!The practice of 'recapitulation' is a meaningful way of closing any experience, or season. Reflecting on the last season helps us to deepen our insight and savour the goodness we've enjoyed. This is what Sophia and I discuss in this episode, as we share:1. A peak experience2. A lesson learned3. A funny memory. Neither one of us knew what story we were going to share so it was a fun surprise.Tune in for an insightful, honest and hilarious conversation about our...
2023-09-0741 minSPARK, A Mother-Daughter JourneyMini series: Let's chat about intimate relationships- an introductionIn this episode with our repeat guest, the one and only Blair Abbass, we share a surprisingly serious and deep conversation about intimate relationships. After 22 years of being together, we continue to refine and define our partnership, and we share the details of our winning formula. As a witness to our relationship, and a participant within the family unit, Sophia has unique observations and insights that she also contributes, like our relentless willingness to return to love and let the past go.This episode of SPARK is the introduction to a three part series on intimate relationships...
2023-07-2023 minSPARK, A Mother-Daughter JourneyUnveiling the Truth about Self HarmIn this moving and emotional episode, Sophia and I have a very real conversation about the prevalence of self-harm (TW).We want to be clear that we discuss this topic in it's broadest sense, not by what is presented in the DSM-5, which describes self-harm as:Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), is defined as the deliberate, self-inflicted destruction of body tissue without suicidal intent, which includes behaviors such as cutting, burning, biting and scratching skin.We chose to discuss this topic through the lens of any coping mechanism that causes harm...
2023-07-0628 minSPARK, A Mother-Daughter JourneyMusicians, Meaghan Smith and Jason Mingo, on success in the industry and in parenting.In this exciting SPARK episode, we chat with the one of a kind duo, singer/songwriter Meaghan Smith and her producer husBAND, Jason Mingo. It's fascinating to hear about them starting out, living and working in LA with the likes of renowned producer Greg Kurstin (who also worked with Pink and Tegan), and how Jason found inspiration in his modest recording set up that still enabled him to produce stellar work. Jason's work recently earned him the ECMA Musician Achievement Award.But aside from the easy topic of success, Jason also speaks candidly about the complication of b...
2023-06-231h 01SPARK, A Mother-Daughter JourneyHow to Think Big and Pursue Your Deepest DreamsIn this moving and frankly, inspiring conversation, this mother-daughter duo discusses the challenges and rewards involved in pursuing your own passions, even and especially when they lie outside of the cultural norm. This topic arose from Sophia's first big keynote speech that she did for the Mental Health Symposium in NB a few weeks ago (at the age of 17).I share about my difficult, yet fascinating journey of traveling to India to discover yoga and mindfulness and how my life, Sophia's life and thousands of others would be so different had I not taken that leap...
2023-06-0835 minSPARK, A Mother-Daughter JourneyThree Generations- A Mothers Day SpecialIn this very special Mother's Day episode, we chat with Emily Kierstead, my (Jenny's) mother, Sophia's grandmother and a woman who's lost three of her four children. The three generations discuss Mom's early years when she bravely left NB to attend theological college in Toronto, which women didn't commonly do back then, and how that experience shaped her career in ministry and teaching. She speaks tenderly about her first child, Jennifer, who was stillborn at full term and the faith in a happier future that enabled her to not only try again, but again, an...
2023-05-1143 minSPARK, A Mother-Daughter JourneyThe Courage To ChangeIn this beautiful conversation on the sometimes frightening yet necessary experience of change, we open with our stories of change and how important they were for our personal growth and alignment of our true path.We then reference and unpack the beloved Jewish, Austrian psychiatrist and nazi concentration camp survivor, Dr. Victor Frankl, who once said “Everything can be taken from a person but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” We suggest a three step process for embarki...
2023-04-2734 minSPARK, A Mother-Daughter JourneyInto the Mind of a Teen- two conversations, a year apart.In this crazy amazing episode, Sophia and her bestie, Mylene Cormier, share two different conversations, a year apart. The first one is when they were both 15 and the second one was recorded a year later. In these chats, they openly discuss friendship, motivation, body image issues, depression, anxiety and perfectionism and more.Despite their youthful ages, they speak with clarity and wisdom about the struggles of being a girl and a female athlete in today's world. If you have teens in your life, this is a must listen. If you are a teen, yo...
2023-04-1345 minSPARK, A Mother-Daughter JourneyThe three forbidden C’s: Conflict, Confrontation and CommunicationIn this episode, this mother-daughter duo discusses the uncomfortable, yet necessary topic of conflict and confrontation. Sophia starts us off with a quote from the Guardian: “Confrontation is the willingness to address difficult topics, while conflict is the willingness to engage in tense interpersonal relationships” We discuss our relationship with conflict and confrontation and marvel at the generational differences in how we react to them (hint, Sophia’s great with confrontation, Jenny’s preference is avoidance). Jenny suggests that our relationship with conflict might be a spectrum, where on the far left we find the conflict seeker and on th...
2023-03-2325 minSPARK, A Mother-Daughter JourneyThe silent devastation of living with an eating disorderHappy International Women's Day everyone! In this episode, we begin with the IWD mandate: Imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that's diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. Together we can forge women's equality. From there, we springboard into our topic of eating disorders, which we've chosen because these life threatening disorders affect 1 in 12 Canadians today and there's a 2 year wait list for treatment.We also chose this topic because Jenny almost lost the battle to anorexia in her teens and miraculously recovered...
2023-03-0835 minSPARK, A Mother-Daughter JourneyWe're Back!....and Sophia took the Accutane LeapThey're back!!! After a short hiatus from podcasting, this mother-daughter duo comes back together to update you, our listeners, on their lives now. Sophia candidly shares about her struggle to come to the decision to take accutane, the hefty acne medication, and what it was like being on it. She bravely speaks about her experience with therapy and how it supported her journey through this very challenging period in her life. The conversation then shifts to Mom, where Jenny shares about her 10 mth Women of Light Wellness Program that she designed and led, in the midst of t...
2023-02-2330 minSPARK, A Mother-Daughter JourneyBeloved educator and member of the 2SLGBTQ+ community gets real- A convo with Colleen ShannonIn this podcast episode, Jenny and Sophia chat with beloved educator Colleen Shannon.Colleen is an extraordinary educator who commands a lot from her students and gives a lot in return. Sophia knows this well because she was taught by Colleen in grade 9. Colleen shares how yoga changed her perspective on what's possible in the classroom, which spurred her on to do her second Masters in Counselling. Jenny clearly remembers Colleen's Yoga Teacher Training and Girl on Fire Training, because it was during these experiences that Colleen discovered she was gay. Colleen speaks with honesty and authenticity about her...
2022-07-141h 14SPARK, A Mother-Daughter JourneyThis 14 year old sees dyslexia as a gift- A convo with Bella RoseThis very special episode, recorded on Mother's Day, is a candid conversation between hosts Jenny and Sophia AND Sophia's younger sister, Bella Rose. After a few minutes of awe inspiring details of Bella's cooking creations, Bella bravely shares about her dyslexia diagnosis. What for many would be a life changing setback, she's learned to view her learning disability as a quality that makes her unique. Bella reminds us not to let our struggles define us and offers concrete strategies for thriving in life at any age.In a world where girls' relationships are often mired i...
2022-07-0844 min
The New England TakePre-apprenticeship Program in HealthcareA. J. speaks to a panel from Dartmouth Health’s Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and CCSNH's ApprenticeshipNH on their piloting of a pre-apprenticeship program for high school students interested in pursuing careers in healthcare and the impact it will have on students and the New Hampshire healthcare industry. Learn more about Dartmouth Health’s Dartmouth Hitchcock Workforce Readiness Institute at https://dhwri.org. Learn more about the high school apprenticeship programs at https://apprenticeshipnh.com/highschool
Panelists included
Jenny Macalauy, Manager of Workforce Strategy for Dartmouth Health
Mary Ann Gaschnig, Community College System of New Hampshire (CCSNH...
2022-05-0334 minSPARK, A Mother-Daughter JourneyWay of the Peaceful Warrior- with bestselling author Dan Millman*Potential Sensitive Content Warning*We are thrilled to introduce Dan Millman, who’s been transforming humanity for over 40 years, with his dedicated work on personal development and human potential. Author of PEACEFUL HEART, WARRIOR SPIRIT: the True Story of my Spiritual Quest, Dan is a former world trampoline champion, Stanford University gymnastics coach, martial arts instructor, and college professor. His 18 books are published in 29 languages and his first book, Way of the Peaceful Warrior, was adapted to film in 2006. As we mark the 2-year anniversary of the April 18-19th mass shooting in NS, we...
2022-04-2135 minSPARK, A Mother-Daughter JourneyThe Olympic Dream- with 3x Olympian Karen FurneauxIn this episode, Sophia and Jenny share reflections on their public speaking to a school in NB, and have a good chuckle at Jenny’s rather intense approach to health and healing with grade eights. They discuss the training opportunities coming up with Women of Light and Girl on Fire Empowerment, and share some excitement about their upcoming visit to California. The conversation with Strong Beauty author, Karen Furneaux begins with the acknowledgment of what a generous and kind person Karen is and how much light she shines into the world. She then describes her journey as a you...
2022-04-0149 minSPARK, A Mother-Daughter JourneyLife after TragedyAs the Public Inquiry into the mass shooting of April 18-19th was approaching, the Mass Casualty Commission asked the public how the massacre has affected their lives?Sophia shares honestly about how unrecognizable she was right after the events. She withdrew from socialization for a year and a half and dealt with her feelings of hopelessness and fear by micro-managing her environment with A LOT of OCD tendencies. We talk about big picture questions, like "Why now, with the girls so young (they were 11 and 13)?" and "Why us, why our family?" Sophia expresses how imp...
2022-03-1737 minSPARK, A Mother-Daughter JourneyA Bootlegger's Son - From Trauma to ResilienceIn this episode, we interview my husband and Sophia's Dad, Blair Abbass. He's an award winning educator, therapist and mindfulness expert whose survived a trainwreck and many other close calls, leaving him convinced that there is a greater purpose to his life.Blair candidly shares the challenges he faced growing up with a Dad who lived with untreated PTSD from fighting in World War 2, which led to alcoholism in the family. He shares how he developed resilience at an early age and the profound life teachings he's passed on to thousands of students.In this v...
2022-03-0359 minSPARK, A Mother-Daughter JourneyTeen Success - with actress Simone MillerWhat's it like to be a rising celebrity? In this episode, Jenny and Sophia chat with Simone Miller, an actor in shows such as CBC Detention Adventures and Run the Burbs. Sophia fell in love with Simone's debut single, Dry Eyes, that was featured in the CBC Searchlight competition. Sophia just had to know where this teen gets her drive and confidence. Simone shares her key secret's to being a highly effective teen (time management and purposeful social media usage being a few). She talks about her parents support and how her Mom pushed Simone into acting to...
2022-02-1723 minSPARK, A Mother-Daughter JourneyQ&A: Get to know your Mother-Daughter Duo!In this episode, we start off with a Q&A so you can get to know us a little better…and with these high octane questions, that’s exactly what happens. We discuss our fears, our dreams, the blocks in the way and somehow, Jenny’s perfectionistic tendencies come into the light.We invite you to curate your own questions or use ours as a framework. After listening to our honest conversation, perhaps you can spark up your own with a loved one. Good luck, stay close and let us know how it goes...
2022-02-0436 min
SPARK, A Mother-Daughter JourneyTRAILERWelcome Everyone to SPARK, A Mother-Daughter Journey.This title just seems to fit with our vision because it ties in so well with the Girl on Fire Empowerment program that I (Jenny) wrote when Sophia was 8. But right now it’s really important to us because we're on a grief journey after losing my sister, and Sophia's Aunt, in the mass shooting here in NS last April. Since the massacre, I've been pretty lost, so this podcast and the process of working with Sophia has sparked a light in me that I wasn’t sure I...
2022-02-0302 min
The Soul BoothA Conversation with Jenny KiersteadIn May of this year, Nova Scotia was rocked by the worst mass killing in Canadian history. We were already experiencing unprecedented fear and confusion because of the global Pandemic and resulting lockdown. Then, Colchester County became the epicentre of terror when 22 innocent people (including one pregnant woman) were murdered by a twisted gunman. The whole province was thrown into a state of grief, but for the families of those killed it was a true nightmare. Jenny Kierstead knows that all too well. Her beautiful sister Lisa McCully - a beloved teacher, and mother of two young children - was...
2020-11-011h 17