Episode 17, September 19, Beacon of Hope
Lisa Nordike, who is portrayed by the name George in my memoir, served 8 years, ten months and sixteen days in federal prison, where she was one of my cell mates.
After her release from prison, Lisa took in a dozen teenage foster children who were homeless or whose parents were in prison. She adopted one of them, but they all still call her mom.
If she can change the lives of twelve troubled teenagers, what’s stopping you from changing the world?
Episode 16, September 5, Healing Your Inner Child
Moira Dadd, international bestselling author of the memoir Cherishing Me: Letters to a Motherless Child and today’s guest on Fierce Conversations with Toby.
Content Warning: This episode discusses the healing journey of Moira Dadd after experiencing childhood abandonment, stays in multiple orphanages, and the death of her mother by suicide. While this podcast is intended to facilitate healing and hold space for all, some listeners may be troubled by the subject matter.
Episode 15, August 15, Defining Fierce Conversations
Sometimes you can be significant by being insignificant…
We all have it within us to make a difference.
You don’t have to be wealthy. You don’t have to be famous. You don’t have to have a title.” – Toby Dorr, host of and the interviewee on today’s episode of @fierceconversationswithtoby
Special behind-the-scenes episode! Join Toby Dorr, host of Fierce Conversations with Toby, and Mark Packard, producer of Fierce Conversations with Toby, as they dive deep into the inspiring stories that make their podcast shine. Discover what drives their passions and ignites their guests’ stories.
Let’s uncover the heart behind the mic!
Episode 14 Life After Loss: Picking up the Pieces
Love can be messy. Loss can be hard. Life can be raw. The creek has become my happy place. Each piece of cracked glass I find I am reminded of my Morrison, my love for her, and her love for me. The jagged edges remind me of the pain and the loss of her life before I even got to meet her face-to-face. But when the pieces are put together with other broken pieces a beautiful creation comes to life. These creations bring light to the darkness and is a gentle reminder of the peace that overflows into joy, as the story of our family continues to unfold.
Episode 13 Living Louder
Episode 13 features Portia Louder, who shares her story of triumph against the odds. Her memoir is called Living Louder and she is an advocate for incarcerated women. Portia is working on her second book Born to Be Brave. You won’t look at your world in the same way. Learn how you have the power to envision a new life.
Episode 12 Cultivating a Support Network
Today’s episode features my author pod sisters. Randomly assigned in a conference more than two years ago, we have cultivated a true sisterhood which we have each relied on in different moments to lift us up. In addition, we encourage and push each other towards our individual goals of publishing our memoirs.
Meet Wendy, Kathryn, Lisa, Leslie, Marilynn and get to know me a little bit deeper. Enjoy!
Episode 11 The Art of Living and Loving
In today’s episode, we will embrace the art of living and loving through letting go.
Our guest today is Kathryn Boxill, a living out-loud enthusiast, foodie, Howard University Bison, and radio producer/host. Kathryn encourages us all to Live our SOULfull Purpose with an abundance of love, grace, courage & FUN!
Episode 10 Diversify My Hustle
Frederick Johnson, the founder of Diversify U, is a program director and mental health therapist with 25 years of experience providing services for youth, families, veterans, and persons experiencing homelessness. Throughout his career, Fred has always been drawn to innovating creative methods and programs focused on serving historically excluded and low SES populations. Diversify U is a capacity-building firm specializing in program development and culturally sensitive curriculum encouraging out-of-the-box thinking and creative alternatives. It also provides timely and affordable school counseling services to students in need, with the goal of increasing academics, mental health, and the overall well-being of the students.
Episode 9 Perspective is My Superpower
Carly Fahey-Dima, Communication and Culture Manager at GracePoint Publishing in Colorado Springs, Colorado, shares her parents’ dysfunctional divorce which led to jail time, but Carly refused her circumstances, choosing instead to lean on a wiser perspective to guide her behavior. Let Carly’s story inspire you.
Episode 8 The World Through Music
Lisa S. Plasse is the owner, director, flute, and voice teacher of From The Top Music Studio in Midland Park, NJ which offers instrumental and vocal lessons. Lisa composed, directed, arranged, and played the flute in the theme song for Fierce Conversations with Toby.
Lisa has produced and directed many musicals, theater productions, and workshops. She is also a member of the International Association of Women and has appeared as a speaker in their Fireside Chat Series. Most recently, Lisa was inducted as an Honorary Member of the Eta Delta Chapter, Tau Beta Sigma National Honorary Band Sorority, Incorporated through Howard University.
Episode 7 Doing Things That Scare You
“If a movie was made about your life, who would play the lead role?” This classic conversation-starter question was actually answered for Toby Dorr who was portrayed by Catherine Bell in the @Lifetime movie Jailbreak Lovers. Since Jailbreak Lovers was created from public news stories and without consultation from Toby, the cast was not allowed to speak with Toby during the filming and production. Join Toby and Catherine as they talk about what it felt like for Toby to have someone showcase the story of the biggest turning point in her life in a movie… and not have any control over what was said.
Episode 6 They Wanted Justice
Our guests today spent 30+ years behind bars, for a crime they were not involved in. “The men – boys, mostly, when it all began – were just guys from the 8th and H NE neighborhood in D.C. They had limited education and experience and resources… But each of them had a core of basic honesty. Under immense pressure, day after day after day, that core never cracked. They were offered leniency in exchange for statements of guilt… But they hadn’t done the crime, so they wouldn’t say otherwise. They did not want mercy. They wanted justice. They got neither. Yet they endured. They never sold their integrity for their freedom.” Hear their story!
Episode 5 When Innocence is not Enough
“What’s at stake when prosecutors conceal evidence—and what we can do about it.” – From the description of the book When Innocence Is Not Enough: Hidden Evidence and the Failed Promise of the Brady Rule, written by today’s guest, Thomas L. Dybdahl. Through stories of real criminal cases in which justice wasn’t served, Tom’s book and the discussions in this interview may outrage you. I hope it does. Let’s take our anger and our outrage and use it together to change our broken justice system.
Episode 4 Uncovering Grief’s Beauty
Wendy’s conservative values are tempered by a smattering of scandal which wrenched her from the Mennonite community at six years old. She grew up secular and went on to hold a job, get married and raise 4 children, but life is a roller-coaster. Her precious five-year-old son died instantly when his plane, piloted by his father, crashed in the woods. Wendy chooses the beauty in the flaws and the perfection in her mistakes.
Episode 3 Making a Difference
Carla loves others by speaking for the voiceless and advocating for the powerless. She also counsels legislators about the true impact of policy on incarcerated women. Carla works as a Re-Entry Coordinator in the DC area and also volunteers for two other prison-related organizations. Learn how you can also make a difference in the world!
Episode 2 Bearing Witness
Laura Collins is an Emmy award winning investigative journalist who is often invited to sit down with people who have survived unthinkable horrors and other families and loved ones who have not. She is grateful for their trust, to have been invited into their lives, and for the opportunity to have borne witness to the strength of the human spirit as well as its depths. Join us to learn how Laura balances the power of journalism with the fulfillment of life while bearing witness to these monumental events.
Episode 1 You Might Go To Prison
Globally accredited, Justin Brooks, the Director and Co-Founder of the California Innocence Project and others throughout Latin America, helped dozens of innocent people through broken justice systems to exoneration. Academy Award-nominated actor, Greg Kinnear, portrays Brooks in the feature film, Brian Banks. Justin’s new book, You Might Go To Prison Even Though You’re Innocent is an eye-opener. This inside look at our ‘justice’ system might just change your life.
Trailer
Welcome to Fierce Conversations with Toby, where we tackle those hard conversations with love and inspiration. Join us in making a difference and changing the world! The life you change just might be yours. In the telling of our hard stories, we offer each other more opportunities to heal and grow. None of us is ever our worst mistake.
