Content warning - this episode contains discussions around suicide and also his diagnosis which may be a spoiler if you haven't read his new book 'The Search'

This episode explores resilience in the face of a life-shortening illness, as well as mountain rescue teams, search dog companion and being a casualty on a mountain too.

“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.” ― Marcus Aurelius

Paul Besley is a writer, outdoor enthusiast, and former Mountain Rescue team member whose new book, The Search, is out now with Vertebrate Publishing. The book focusses on his training and work with his search dog Scout, but ultimately is about so much more.

Paul began exploring the British countryside as a schoolboy in the 1970s, developing a lifelong fascination with the interaction between humans and the land. His writing delves into how the physical environment shapes us and how we, in turn, respond. Through his books, including Day Walks in the South Pennines, 1001 Walking Tips, and his new book The Search, Paul has inspired countless people to embrace the simplicity and joy of walking—whether in national parks, the urban landscape, or the countryside right outside their door.

But Paul’s story is about far more than walking. Diagnosed with a lifelong condition, he has faced significant personal challenges with remarkable strength. He’s also seen firsthand the fragility of life through his work in Mountain Rescue, encountering tragedies, while finding resilience in himself and his team.

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You can find out more about Paul Besley and his work

Website: https://paulbesley.uk

Instagram: @paulbesleywrite and @tricolourscout

Twitter: @paulbesleywrite

Buy his Book: The Search

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If you'd like to support the work that goes into making this podcast and get a weekly newsletter plus loads more content including behind the scenes of the podcast, please consider subscribing to the Substack page - Find out more at https://jenscotney1.substack.com

Resilience Rising Podcast is hosted by Jen Scotney @jenscotney

Find us at:

Instagram: @resiliencerisingpodcast

Website: www.jenscotney.com

Twitter: @ResilienceRPod

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Email: theresiliencerisingpodcast@gmail.com

"Sitting on my kayak, I felt brave. When filled with fear on a daily basis, feeling brave can be alien."

I first came across Anna Britton when she was in the Guardian feature, A Moment That Changed Me, talking about kayaking and her PTSD. She wrote;

Sitting on my kayak, I felt brave. When filled with fear on a daily basis, feeling brave can be alien. It takes courage to work against our fears, but there is always a little voice inside my head telling me that it can’t really be counted as bravery if you are doing things that other people don’t even think twice about.’ But that solitary moment was different. I had done something that other people would find challenging or even scary. I had been objectively brave.

Anna Britton is the author of recently published Close to the Edge, the second in the crime series from her debut novel, Shot in the Dark, which was out in 2023. She is an experienced freelance editor, loves mentoring other writers and is host of the podcast ‘Rejected Writers Club’. She writes crime thrillers and is currently working on the third in the Martin and Stern series.

She also self publishes Romance Fiction under the name Annie Bennet - https://anniebennet.co.uk/

Anna lives on the Isle of Wight, where she enjoys rambling walks with her chronically clumsy labrador and exploring rivers in her kayak.

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You can find out more about Anna Britton

Website: https://annabritton.co.uk

Romance Fiction: https://anniebennet.co.uk

Instagram: @brittonbookgeek

Twitter: @BrittonBookGeek

Buy her Book: Close To The Edge

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If you'd like to support the work that goes into making this podcast and get a weekly newsletter plus loads more content including behind the scenes of the podcast, please consider subscribing to the Substack page - Find out more at https://jenscotney1.substack.com

Resilience Rising Podcast is hosted by Jen Scotney @jenscotney

Find us at:

Instagram: @resiliencerisingpodcast

Website: www.jenscotney.com

Twitter: @ResilienceRPod

Facebook: Resilience Rising Podcast

Email: theresiliencerisingpodcast@gmail.com

Wendy Pratt is a poet, creative non fiction author and editor living on the North Yorkshire coast.

In this episode we talk about navigating the loss of her daughter, infertility, the sense of not belonging, nature and her journey as a working class writer.

Her non fiction nature/landscape memoir The Ghost Lake, was long listed for the Nan Shepherd prize in 2021. The Ghost Lake is inspired by paleolake Flixton, an extinct lake in North Yorkshire.

In the book Wendy brings the reader on a pilgrimage around the ghost lake, to locations that have acted as journey markers in her own life. While traversing forests and fenland, she reflects on the process of finding belonging in nature as a woman who exists in a series of liminal spaces – as a working-class writer, an infertile woman in a fertile world and a bereaved mother in a society focused on children.

Link to purchase the Ghost Lake here: THE GHOST LAKE

Wendy is the author of six poetry collections including When I Think of My Body as a Horse. Her next collection, Blackbird Singing at Dusk will be published by Nine Arches Press in 2024.

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You can find out more about Wendy Pratt and her work

Website: https://wendyprattauthor.com

Instagram: @wendycat1978

Twitter: @wondykitten

Buy her Book: The Ghost Lake

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If you'd like to support the work that goes into making this podcast and get a weekly newsletter plus loads more content including behind the scenes of the podcast, please consider subscribing to the Substack page - Find out more at https://jenscotney1.substack.com

Resilience Rising Podcast is hosted by Jen Scotney @jenscotney

Find us at:

Instagram: @resiliencerisingpodcast

Website: www.jenscotney.com

Twitter: @ResilienceRPod

Facebook: Resilience Rising Podcast

Email: theresiliencerisingpodcast@gmail.com

Do one day you feel like you are on top of the world, and yet one day feel overwhelmed by life and everything you are expected to deal with? Did you know that this when you are overdrawn in your emotional overdraft?

Andy Brown - the author of Amazon Number one bestseller, "The Emotional Overdraft: 10 simple changes for balancing business success and wellbeing” explains all on this not-to-miss episode.

We talk about:

What your emotional overdraft is and how it can deplete your resilience

Guilt as an impact on resilience

Change your resilience by changing habits - but don't worry, there are no 5am gym and journalling sessions here

How we can measure and spot habits in our emotional spending...

Why the Lone Ranger needed to delegate and sort out those systems..

Andy is also a podcast host, leadership coach and award-winning advisor with over 30 years’ experience.

Andy wrote his book after hundreds of conversations with leaders, entrepreneurs and founders – all of which pointed to the fact that every single one of them was – to some extent or another - subsidising their success at the cost of their own physical or mental wellbeing, what he calls their ‘emotional overdraft’. Andy believes the currency of an emotional overdraft is resilience. The longer and deeper you are overdrawn, the less resilient you become, which leads to stress, overwhelm and burnout.

Andy is here to help us get out of our overdraft and stay out of it more often!

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You can find out more about Andy Brown and his work

Website with resources we discuss in show: https://emotionaloverdraft.com

Instagram: @andybrownauthor

LinkedIn: Andy Brown

Buy his Book: The Emotional Overdraft

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If you'd like to support the work that goes into making this podcast and get a weekly newsletter plus loads more content including behind the scenes of the podcast, please consider subscribing to the Substack page - Find out more at https://jenscotney1.substack.com

Resilience Rising Podcast is hosted by Jen Scotney @jenscotney

Find us at:

Instagram: @resiliencerisingpodcast

Website: www.jenscotney.com

Twitter: @ResilienceRPod

Facebook: Resilience Rising Podcast

Email: theresiliencerisingpodcast@gmail.com

Listen to find out how to have your last bad day...

Michael O'Brien is a beacon of resilience and mindfulness in today's fast-paced world. As a qualified meditation teacher, executive coach, and endurance athlete, he embodies the transformative power of pausing, breathing, and reflecting.

Michael's journey is marked by a pivotal moment he calls his "Last Bad Day" - a near-death cycling accident that became the catalyst for profound personal growth. This experience, coupled with years of navigating the high-pressure corporate executive world, fueled his passion for helping others manage stress and achieve their goals through mindfulness.

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You can find out more about Michael O'Brien and his work

Website: https://www.michaelobrienshift.com

Instagram: @pausebreathereflect

LinkedIn: Michael O'Brien Pelotoncoaching

Buy his Book: My Last Bad Day: Shift

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If you'd like to support the work that goes into making this podcast and get a weekly newsletter plus loads more content including behind the scenes of the podcast, please consider subscribing to the Substack page - Find out more at https://jenscotney1.substack.com

Resilience Rising Podcast is hosted by Jen Scotney @jenscotney

Find us at:

Instagram: @resiliencerisingpodcast

Website: www.jenscotney.com

Twitter: @ResilienceRPod

Facebook: Resilience Rising Podcast

Email: theresiliencerisingpodcast@gmail.com

This episode explores resilience surrounding childlessness not by choice.

We discuss disenfranchised grief, the complex emotions of childlessness, as well how to support friends who may be on this journey.

Bindi talks about the importance of community, finding small moments of joy and how she began to process her feelings.

Bindi Shah is a meditation guide and writer. She worked in the corporate sector for several years, but After a visit to an Ayurveda retreat in India, she discovered how good natural health care felt, and it was the start of something new. She traveled back to India to study traditional Ayurveda techniques and ancient scriptures, along meditation, astrology, and yoga… Her life coaching has taken her to a centre for vulnerable young adults, guiding them in coping strategies and meditation.

In recent years, Bindi, as a result of her own childlessness, offers meditation classes and community for those who are involuntary childless. She is a People’s Champion for World Childless Week, and takes part in podcasts, and events including Storyhouse Childless in Chester.

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You can find out more about Bindi Shah

Website: https://www.bindishah.com/

Instagram: @letterstomysoul

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If you'd like to support the work that goes into making this podcast and get a weekly newsletter plus loads more content including behind the scenes of the podcast, please consider subscribing to the Substack page - Find out more at https://jenscotney1.substack.com

Resilience Rising Podcast is hosted by Jen Scotney @jenscotney

Find us at:

Instagram: @resiliencerisingpodcast

Website: www.jenscotney.com

Twitter: @ResilienceRPod

Facebook: Resilience Rising Podcast

Email: theresiliencerisingpodcast@gmail.com

If you were creating a practical and actionable guide to resilience what would you write? What would you leave out?

Sukhvinder Pabial has tacked just that with his book 'The Resilience Handbook'.

Sukh is a senior learning and development professional, with a masters degree in occupational psychology. He is a positive psychology practitioner, and speaker on emotional intelligence.

He is also the author of ‘The Resilience Handbook; a practical understanding of resilience’, which is out now.

Sukh believes that we all have the agency for growth and development, and we have plenty of research and evidence to guide our thoughts.

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Buy the book: The Resilience Handbook

Website: https://challengingfrontiers.com/book

Follow Sukh: LinkedIn

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If you'd like to support the work that goes into making this podcast and get a weekly newsletter plus loads more content including behind the scenes of the podcast, please consider subscribing to the Substack page - Find out more at https://jenscotney1.substack.com

Resilience Rising Podcast is hosted by Jen Scotney @jenscotney

Find us at:

Instagram: @resiliencerisingpodcast

Website: www.jenscotney.com

Twitter: @ResilienceRPod

Facebook: Resilience Rising Podcast

Email: theresiliencerisingpodcast@gmail.com

Grab a notebook and pen, and listen to Dr Robyne, the Resiliency Expert talk about what makes a resilient person, how we have to fall apart sometimes, and why stress is good.

Described as one of the most sought-after, engaging, thought-provoking and truly transformative international speakers and scholars in her field, Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe is a multi-award-winning education and psychology instructor, author, and resiliency expert. She specialises in resiliency, navigating stress and change, personal wellness in the workplace, and optimal performance - both personal and organizational. With nearly two decades of university teaching and research experience and as a two-time TEDx speaker, Dr. Robyne continues to create accessible and relatable materials while offering practical strategies that are realistic and sustainable.

Dr. Robyne and her team have developed innovative programming and open educational resources that are readily shared across a multitude of industries. While working alongside some of the most influential organizations across the world, she has delivered nearly 1,000 keynotes and workshops since just March 2020. Dr. Robyne expands upon this work in her online community Anchor Labs, where leaders can learn strategies for resilience. Dr. Robyne also co-hosts a weekly podcast with Juno-nominated singer and songwriter Peter Katz titled In Time, where the scientist meets the artist to explore big areas around showing up in every aspect of your life.

Dr. Robyne was named a 2022 Nautilus Award recipient with her debut book, Calm Within The Storm: A Pathway to Everyday Resiliency. Her second book, Stress Wisely: How to Be Well in an Unwell World was released June 20, 2023.

Website: https://drrobyne.ca/

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If you'd like to support the work that goes into making this podcast and get a weekly newsletter plus loads more content including behind the scenes of the podcast, please consider subscribing to the Substack page - Find out more at https://jenscotney1.substack.com

Resilience Rising Podcast is hosted by Jen Scotney @jenscotney

Find us at:

Instagram: @resiliencerisingpodcast

Website: www.jenscotney.com

Twitter: @ResilienceRPod

Facebook: Resilience Rising Podcast

Email: theresiliencerisingpodcast@gmail.com

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