How Do You Get From Mental Hellness and Torment to Mental Wellness?

On August 31, 2011, David Woods Bartley tried to kill himself but was saved by the connection a police officer made with him on the bridge. Hope ensued, and the 14-year (and counting) journey that has resulted, away from mental “hellness” and into the space of mental wellness, is what David shares in this interview.

David Woods Bartley is an award-winning mental health advocate, three-time TEDx speaker, and suicide attempt survivor. Drawing from lived experience, he delivers powerful talks on suicide, trauma, leadership, and human connection. Having spoken to over 1,000 audiences—including the U.S. military, NATO, NASA, and major healthcare systems—David believes connection creates hope, and hope saves lives.

David Woods Bartley is a globally recognized mental health advocate who has delivered over 1,000 presentations across four continents. A three-time TEDx speaker and Steinberg Institute mental health champion, David shares his journey from mental "hellness" to mental wellness, inspiring diverse audiences to transform their approach to mental health. His mission is to bring conversations about mental health into the open, offering hope and practical strategies for individuals and organizations.

 

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Overview of David Bartley's Work

• Recognized mental health advocate, speaker, and survivor of childhood trauma and near-fatal suicide.
• Focuses on transforming mental “hellness” to wellness through storytelling and authentic engagement.
• Delivers over 1,000 presentations globally to military, healthcare, corporate, academic, and community audiences.
• Recognized as 2025 Speaker of the Year and a mental health champion.

Key Themes in His Presentations

• Sharing personal trauma to deepen understanding of mental health, suicide, and male sexual trauma.
• Promoting empathy, communication, resilience, and leadership built on vulnerability.
• Inspiring honest conversations and practical tools to foster hope and human connection.
• Emphasizing that caring acts can save lives, especially in professional caregiving roles.

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• Praise for authentic vulnerability, impactful storytelling, and creating safe spaces for discussion.
• Noted for inspiring change, increasing awareness, and enhancing workplace and community support.

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How Do You Face An Unthinkable Tragedy and Choose To Stand Back Up

A POSITIVE STORY....IN NEGATIVE TIMES

When rising college soccer coach Scott Martin was struck by a rare, flesh-eating infection that took both hands and parts of his feet, doctors told him he was lucky to survive. But survival was not enough. Overnight, the man who lived for the game had to relearn how to move, teach, and live—without the very tools that once defined him. 

From hospital beds and courtroom battles to the touchline of a dusty youth-league field, Martin’s twenty-five-year journey is one of heartbreak and rebirth. He rebuilt his body, lost—and found—his purpose, and, when everything seemed over again, rediscovered his passion by leading a ragtag team of twelve-year-olds to an undefeated state championship.

Scott Martin is an award-winning soccer coach, educator, and advocate for the disability community. With an advanced national coaching license, he has coached at the youth, high school, and college levels for over 30 years, earning Coach of the Year honors four times and leading multiple teams to state championships. His expertise has connected him with top coaches in the U.S. and internationally.

Beyond the field, Martin is a dedicated educator in Wisconsin and the host of the Life’s a Road Trip podcast, where he highlights stories of resilience and disability advocacy. He has become a powerful voice for amputee abilities and prosthetic advancements. His contributions to research at the University of Washington and Johns Hopkins University have helped shape innovations in the field.

Listen to Scott's full story here:  

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When rising college soccer coach Scott Martin was struck by a rare, flesh-eating infection that took both his hands and parts of his feet, doctors told him he was lucky to survive. But survival was not enough. Overnight, the man who lived for the game had to relearn how to move, teach, and live without the very tools that defined him.

 

From hospital beds and courtroom battles to the touchline of a dusty youth-league field, Martin’s twenty-year odyssey is one of heartbreak and rebirth. He rebuilt his body, lost—and found—his purpose, married the doctor who saved him, adopted five children from around the world, and, when everything seemed over again, rediscovered his passion by leading a ragtag team of twelve-year-olds to an undefeated state championship.

 

Told with unflinching honesty and humor, Play From Your Heart is a memoir about endurance, grace, and sport's power to heal what medicine cannot. For anyone who has ever faced the unthinkable and still chosen to stand back up, this is a story that proves the human spirit is undefeated.

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How to Manage the Agony of Physical and Emotion Issues After a Mastectomy

During Kim Harms’s cancer treatment, her middle son became seriously ill and was ultimately diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. Many days, Kim felt as though she were drowning. With both conditions bringing lifelong challenges, she learned to thrive and live fully amid ongoing suffering. 

Kim Harms is a wife, mom, two-time breast cancer survivor, author, and library assistant. She holds a degree in English from Iowa State University and brings more than two decades of professional writing experience across a wide range of publications. 

Kim's interview will help you find hope in hard things and to thrive while in the midst of long-suffering. 

Whether it’s yours or a loved one’s, a cancer diagnosis changes everything. It stops you in your tracks as you put everything you have into fighting for life. It can feel isolating being thrown into the unknown chaos of treatment.

But you are not alone.

With uplifting stories from dozens of women who have been where you are, Carried Through Cancer provides emotional and spiritual support, encouragement, and community in its true stories of God-filled moments within the hard and heartbreaking road of cancer.

God meets some people in their fear in the exam room and others in the shower where the flowing water drowns out tears, but regardless of the location, this 70-day devotional demonstrates that God shows up when people reach out to Him, and He is there to carry you through your story.

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Whether facing mastectomy and breast reconstruction due to a cancer diagnosis or a genetic predisposition to the disease, the process is filled with uncertainty, difficult questions, intense emotions, and life-altering decisions that must be made in quick order.

In Life Reconstructed, Kim Harms details her own experience, the experiences of others, plus extensive research, delving into the physical, emotional, psychological, and relational aspects of mastectomy and breast reconstruction, featuring:

• input from medical professionals,
• a detailed look at the distinct differences between breast reconstruction and breast augmentation (It’s not a boob job!)
• practical advice for decision-making, self-advocacy, recovery, talking with your children, a return to intimacy, and more.

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Rise from What Remains: This Is Not Where Your Story Ends

When Jan Satchel was told he would never be able to move again, he was paralyzed from the shoulders down. But he held on to his faith and visualized himself walking out of the hospital. 

In The Strength Within You, Jay Setchell shares his extraordinary life story, highlighting the power of inner strength, resilience, and determination in the face of overwhelming obstacles. From surviving multiple near-death experiences to overcoming lifelong physical challenges, Setchell’s story is one of grit and perseverance.

Jay was raised on a family farm, served in the Marine Corps, and faced unimaginable physical and emotional hardships after horrific accidents.

He has survived near-death experiences, is a launch entrepreneur, a corporate problem solver, author, inventor, mentor, father, grandfather, and will NEVER ever quit.

Today, he reflects on the vital lessons learned, from the importance of mindset and preparation to the belief that “It’s always too soon to quit.”

His interview will touch your heart and encourage you to never quit - no matter what!

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In The Strength Within You, Jay Setchell shares his extraordinary life story, highlighting the power of inner strength, resilience, and determination in the face of overwhelming obstacles. From surviving multiple near-death experiences to overcoming lifelong physical challenges, Setchell’s story is one of grit and perseverance.

Setchell takes readers on a deeply personal journey through his childhood on a family farm, his service in the Marine Corps, and the unimaginable physical and emotional hardships he faced after horrific accidents. Along the way, he reflects on the vital lessons learned, from the importance of mindset and preparation to the belief that “It’s always too soon to quit.”

A tale of survival, triumph, and relentless determination, The Strength Within You will inspire anyone facing life's toughest battles to dig deep, find the courage to persevere, and never give up, no matter the circumstances. 

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How to Heal Trauma When Life Feels Out of Your Control

John DeDakis began writing fiction in 1995 while working as an editor at CNN, seeking a creative outlet. His work draws on personal experiences, including a fatal car-train accident he witnessed as a child, his sister’s suicide, his son’s fatal heroin overdose, and more.

A former White House correspondent and editor on CNN’s “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer,” John is now a writing coach, manuscript editor, podcaster, and self-described rank amateur jazz drummer.

Grief and loss are subtexts in all six award-winning mystery/suspense/thriller novels written by John DeDakis. All six of his novels feature 20-something journalist Lark Chadwick. Throughout the series, she struggles with grief (eg - the carbon monoxide poisoning of the aunt who raised her, the murder of her boyfriend, etc.). Journalistic integrity and mentoring relationships are subtexts. In two of the novels, she is a White House correspondent. In the sixth novel, a political thriller, she is White House press secretary.

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Enemies Domestic. On her first day as White House Press Secretary, Lark Chadwick is confronted on live television by a reporter with an agenda: “Are you, or are you not, planning to abort your unborn child?” His question puts Lark in the crosshairs of extremists on both sides of the highly fraught abortion issue. Ambivalent about becoming a single mother in the post-Roe era, and grieving the death of her boyfriend, Lark is now forced to make her abort-or-not-to-abort decision in a highly toxic, politicized, and polarized fishbowl. At stake: her sanity—and her life. 

In the political thriller Enemies Domestic, his most important and controversial book to date, former CNN editor John DeDakis dramatically and thoughtfully tackles the hot topics of abortion, QAnon, White Christian Nationalism, and mental illness at a time when America itself is teetering between democracy and authoritarianism.

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When Losing a Sibling - Have You Wonderd Why They Do Not Cry?

After 22 years as a technical instructor in the corporate world—and another layoff—Zander Sprague hit a low point. He asked, “Why am I teaching other people’s material when what I want to do is teach my own?” How many of you have had a similar experience?

Zander was devastated by the murder of his sister, Lucy, but he did not want to add to his parents’ burden during their profound grief. Many families struggle to connect when they need one another most. Later, parents often asked Zander, “Why don’t they cry?” Their questions inspired this book for parents and surviving siblings. It will help you navigate your own grief while supporting loved ones through theirs.

Zander Sprague is a TV host, speaker, award-winning author, and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC). His mission is to help millions of people make the EPIC choices that create an EPIC life. He is a member of the National Speakers Association and author of three books.

In this interview, Zander also shares what you need to master the simple yet transformative habit of taking one step forward. This book will reshape the way you think about success and progress. It gives you the practical steps you need to create EPIC results - whether you want to run a marathon, lose weight, write a book, get promoted, start a business, or achieve any other goal.

"My most powerful tool was CHOICE, which I get every day 

to choose how I deal with the tragedies I have experienced."

Why Don’t They Cry?: Understanding Your Living Child’s Grief

A compassionate guide for parents supporting sibling survivors™ through grief, offering hope, healing, and renewed family connection.

When tragedy strikes, grief touches every member of a family, but parents and surviving siblings often experience it in very different ways.

When Zander Sprague’s sister Lucy was murdered, his world shattered. Yet, in his parents’ deepest sorrow, Zander chose not to show his own pain, afraid of adding to their burden. That silence left questions unspoken, connections strained, and healing delayed. Out of that experience came the question many grieving parents ask: “Why don’t they cry?”

This compassionate and practical guide offers parents a window into the unique grief of sibling survivors™, why they may seem distant, withdrawn, or unemotional, and how to gently bridge that gap. Drawing from personal loss and years of supporting families, Zander provides insights and tools to help parents:

• Understand the silent grief of
• Reconnect with surviving children through open communication and empathy
• Strengthen family bonds in the face of unimaginable pain
• Create a path toward collective healing, rather than isolation

Why Don’t They Cry? is more than a book; it’s a lifeline for families navigating the hardest journey of all, offering hope, understanding, and a way forward together.

Ideal for parents grieving the loss of a child, families supporting sibling survivors, and anyone seeking guidance on parenting through grief and sibling loss. This book belongs on the shelf of every grief support group, faith-based ministry, and healing resource for families.

There are many things that you think you might be prepared for in life; losing your sibling is not one of them. This book will help you choose your own positive pathway to healing and recovery. Zander Sprague is a two-time sibling survivor and the GO TO Speaker, Author, and Coach for Sibling Loss.

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How to Transition from Darkness to God's Revealing Light

After becoming deeply involved in New Age practices, Karla Callan hit rock bottom and resolved to leave that life behind. Overwhelmed by despair and living in fear, she called on God.

After eighteen years of involvement in witchcraft and four years in New Age practices, Karla Callan found freedom. She has since written seven books and now hosts two podcasts.

“I’ve faced two moments of deep hopelessness. The first came when I hit rock bottom after becoming deeply involved in New Age practices and wanted to leave that life entirely. The second came when I awoke under severe spiritual warfare that felt inescapable. I experienced utter despair and felt completely separated from God; it was one of the scariest moments of my life. Even then, I knew all I had to do was call on Jesus.”

This interview is worth hearing more than once—and sharing with friends.

Karla was motivated to change her life after reaching a breaking point in the New Age world. She had pursued one “next level” after another, yet none led to a truly satisfying life. Her story offers a cautionary perspective on what is happening in the church today and how easily New Age practices can enter Christian settings.

Karla Callan founded Karla Callan Ministries and the Formation Discipleship Program. Through this work, she seeks to equip believers to break free from bondage and walk in spiritual authority.

Karla is the author of seven books on building a relationship with Jesus Christ: Finding Jesus in the Storm: A Journey Through Crisis, Fear, and Grief, A Life of Prayer: Praying Scripture, Pursuing Breakthrough, and Worshiping Through the Psalms, Beyond the Diagnosis: A Faith-Filled Fight Against Cancer, Prayers That Move Mountains: A Soul Sisters' Guide to Creating a Powerful Prayer Group, Rooted: A Guide to Growing Your Faith and Garden, How to Find Your God-Given Purpose, and Faith Over Fear: Starting Your Business With God as Your CEO. 

How to Find Your God-Given Purpose by Karla Callan is a transformative Christian guide for women seeking clarity, direction, and deeper meaning in their walk with Jesus Christ. Rooted in Scripture and enriched by real-life testimony, this faith-based book walks readers through the powerful journey of discovering God's unique calling. Whether you're battling fear and self-doubt, struggling to hear God's voice, or simply wondering what your purpose is, this book provides biblical wisdom, practical tools, and Spirit-led encouragement to help you step boldly into your Kingdom assignment. Karla shares her personal journey of faith, surrender, and obedience, offering actionable steps for identifying spiritual gifts, overcoming setbacks, walking in faith, and impacting others for God's glory. Through devotion-style chapters, reflection questions, and heartfelt prayers, How to Find Your God-Given Purpose equips women of faith to pursue their divine calling with courage and confidence. This book is perfect for personal study, small groups, women's ministries, and anyone ready to say "yes" to God's plan and walk in purpose, freedom, and power.

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The Voice That Wouldn’t Be Silenced: One Woman’s Fight Through Cancer, Trauma, and Near Death

Alicia Rush was in crisis and had reached the point where she no longer wanted to live. She gathered her medication and headed toward the woods, but then remembered it was her son’s birthday — a moment that interrupted her plan and helped pull her back.

It was not the only time Alicia felt that level of hopelessness. After thyroid cancer left her living with a tracheostomy, she felt isolated in her trauma and unsure how she could face the rest of her life.

Alicia never imagined that cancer would take away her voice — twice. After surviving two tracheostomies, multiple surgeries, and life-threatening complications, she discovered something even more powerful than words: the strength to keep sharing her story.

Today, Alicia speaks to anyone who has felt hopeless, reminding them that even in the darkest moments, there can still be a reason to hold on.

      Two trachs. Two near-deaths. And a powerful new purpose born from the pain.

What if surviving cancer wasn’t the hardest part?

At fifty, Alicia Baca Rush thought she was preparing for a new chapter in her life — but nothing could have prepared her for what came next. Diagnosed with Stage 2 thyroid cancer, Alicia faced more than surgeries and hospital rooms; she faced losing her voice, her independence, and nearly her life — twice.

In this raw, heart-wrenching, and ultimately uplifting memoir, Alicia shares her extraordinary journey through not one but two tracheotomies, life-threatening complications, and a relentless fight to reclaim her identity. She opens the door on moments few dare to speak about — the betrayal of a failing medical system, the loneliness of healing, and the emotional scars that linger long after the physical ones fade.

But this isn’t just a story of survival. It’s a story of resilience. Of finding purpose in pain, of discovering that even when your voice is reduced to a whisper, your message can roar louder than ever.

Perfect for readers navigating illness, trauma, or personal reinvention, The Good Kind of Cancer is a beacon of hope, honesty, and fierce determination. Alicia doesn’t shy away from the hard truths — including the fear, the setbacks, and the two times she nearly died — but she also shows us what’s possible when you choose to turn pain into power.

If you or someone you love has ever wondered “Why me?”, this book will remind you that even in your darkest moments, you are not alone — and that every breath you fight for has meaning.

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