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Host (0:00): Hi everyone! This is Her Own Words, a podcast dedicated to amplifying the voices of everyday women through stories of love, resilience, adventure, and everything in between. I’m your host, Yennifer Pedraza.

If you’ve been with me since the beginning, I apologize for the delay. It took me longer than I hoped to get back to you, but I’m so excited to start 2025 with another season. 

So often, the start of a new year comes with high expectations. Everyone and everything is telling you to set goals, meet metrics, and push forward at full throttle. It can be easy to feel behind before you’ve even had a chance to start. But there is no right or wrong way to be YOU. Despite what others may say, you can’t fail at your own life. 
The women you’ll meet this season are daring to live life on their own terms – pushing past expectations, grief, abuse, disability, and societal norms. Over the next six weeks, I’ll sit down with another, incredible six women. 

Guest 1 (01:02):  I don’t have to behave a certain way. Too many people view aging as something out of control and scary, which it can be, but by clinging tightly to old ways, as rigid and unbending as arthritic joints, they make it even harder.

Guest 2 (01:12): I was not ready to live there yet, but comforted in knowing it was there. I needed to touch my past to give me strength to sustain me in the present.

Guest 3 (01:24): The memories are what I choose to take with me, along with my framily. I choose to leave behind the blueprints and strategies to embrace more laughs, tears, epiphanies, and authentic moments.

Guest 4 (01:36): Very slowly, that desire for unconsciousness gave way to a willingness, eventually even an eagerness—despite the everlasting anguish—to rise and begin my day.

Guest 5 (1:48): Perhaps now, with the ability to truly hear, I, too, would finally be heard.

Guest 6 (1:55): Looking back on the spring of 2013, I know now that letting go was the strong thing. It was a brave thing. 

Host (02:03): I’m honored to share their stories and even more grateful to have you join us. Episodes will air every Tuesday, starting on January 7. Welcome to Season 2 of Her Own Words!

Episode Transcript