Everyday Wonder Women
Each week, I sit down with a woman you probably never heard of before—but trust me, by the end, you’ll be so glad you did. This is where we get real about the tough stuff women go through, the grit it takes to get through it, and the lessons they pick up along the way. It’s honest, inspiring, and full of stories you won’t forget.
Everyday Wonder Women
Episode 13:🎖️May Military Series...You are stronger than you think with Jessica-Rose Johnson
Jessica-Rose Johnson, a Marine Corps veteran and business owner, shares her incredible journey of resilience while serving as a full-time caregiver to her husband who is living with brain cancer.
• Growing up in a military family with service traced back to the Revolutionary War
• Joining the Marine Corps at 17 and learning she was capable of more than she imagined
• Facing unique challenges as one of few women in the Marine Corps
• Dealing with conflict directly in the "sandpit" versus indirect communication
• Receiving news about her husband's cancer recurrence through a VA letter during 2020
• Finding purpose through her podcast "Unbreakable Hope" and work in suicide prevention
• Balancing caregiving responsibilities while maintaining her own identity and pursuits
Check out Jessica-Rose's podcast "Unbreakable Hope" on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube to hear more inspirational stories. For resources on caregiving and suicide prevention, visit jessicarosejohnson.com or follow her on Instagram and Facebook.
Hey friends, welcome back to Everyday Wonder Women. Before we dive in, I wanted to highlight a review I received last week of the show from a very special listener, Melissa Erramouspe. Here's what she texted me, "I absolutely look forward to Tuesdays. I love listening to your podcast. They truly brighten my day. Oh, melissa, thank you. This means so much to me and I want you guys to know that I read every single review text and social media comment you make. So keep sharing and I'm so glad you're here.
Stacee:Okay, let's talk about today's episode. We are rolling into episode three of our four-part May series spotlighting women in the military, and let me tell you, today's guest is a total badass. Jessica Rose Johnson is a Marine Corps veteran, a business owner and a full-time caregiver to her husband, who's also a veteran, who is living with brain cancer. Yeah, she does all of that. She's been through the kind of stuff that would knock most people flat, but instead of giving up, she's gotten tougher like a Marine, and it's so inspiring. In today's episode, we're talking about resilience, speaking up when it's uncomfortable and finding strength in the absolute worst moments, and she doesn't sugarcoat it, which is exactly why I love her.
Stacee:So buckle up and come with me to meet Jessica Rose Johnson too.
Jessica-Rose:I'm Jessica Rose Johnson. I'm born and raised from Oklahoma. I'm a Marine Corps veteran who went on to marry a Navy veteran, and I own my own company, Rosebud Consulting, under my name, and I am a full-time caregiver to my husband living with brain cancer. So I wear many hats. That's just a little tidbit of me, but I love it. I love staying busy and I love being able to help other people.
Stacee:Wow. Well, take us back to how you got started with your career choice. Can we start there? Because there aren't that many military women.
Jessica-Rose:Yeah, we're definitely a small percentage, and especially in the Marine Corps. So my whole family, like my dad, traced our blood lineage. We've every generation has served it like all the way back to the Revolutionary War. But I grew up with two parents who were active duty Air Force so I always knew I wanted to serve. It was just kind of which branch and my brother and uncle went into the Marine Corps. My dad begged me to talk to an Air Force recruiter there's a really funny story about that and I walked out of there saying, okay, yeah, I'm doing, I'm going in the Marine Corps. So that's what I did. And I joined, not ever intending or thinking I would be what we call a lifer and stay in and retire. I just wanted to at least be able to do my time. I wanted to be able to serve my four years and say, hey, I put in my work to my country and then move on from there.
Stacee:How old are you when you join?
Jessica-Rose:17., 17.
Stacee:And where all did you go?
Jessica-Rose:Like nowhere.
Jessica-Rose:I probably like the most boring military career. So you kind of had to fight for a deployment, which is weird. I think it's a Marine Corps mentality. But my first deployment I lost due to a coin flip. It was literally it was between me and another guy and they flipped a coin and said okay, he's going, you're not Just. Yeah, I stayed in sunny San Diego my entire time.
Stacee:Well, that sounds actually pretty nice to me. What did you learn during your time in the Marine Corps?
Jessica-Rose:Oh, so much I think that's my first real memory that I revert back to a lot was you're stronger than you think you are and in the moment we can feel like it's the hardest moment of our lives. There was a time in combat training I was sick. I had like something ridiculous like a one oh two, one oh three fever. No big deal, I'm just trying to push through because I didn't want to get set back and my partner in this course was doing everything she could to try and help push me over the wall, push me through the constantine wire. And I remember she got stuck and her cheek had actually got cut in the constantine wire. And there was that moment you know, like there's all the chemistry behind this right the moment where I just I grabbed her, I pulled her out of the wire she's safe and I kind of blacked out.
Jessica-Rose:I don't really remember much else after that, but it definitely taught me we're always going to be in situations where we feel like we can't survive them, but we can and we've done that so many times in our life. We just tend to forget about them and that's really helped me be a more effective caregiver and everything I've had to go through with my husband as well. I think also, the Marine Corps taught me a lot as far as being able to push myself to my own limits, that I'm capable of much more than I could imagine, and not just physically but mentally, and with the Marine Corps. The population for women in the military is already small, but the Marine Corps were significantly smaller, so I was often the only female in my group and I was the longest, the longest section that I built the closest bonds with. We worked like 10 to 12 hour days. I was the only female in that section. So it was a true brotherhood like really taking care of each other and looking out for each other, and it's just that sense of community and that's what we need to be successful.
Stacee:t think a lot of us women have questions for someone like you. Did you face discrimination? Did you face bullying? Did you face challenges being a woman? Because I think there are actually a lot of girls and women that would like to join the military, but maybe that part's holding them back because we've seen a lot of movies and stuff. What's it really like in there?
Jessica-Rose:I would say that it's just like everywhere else that I've experienced, I mean my entire life. I'm small in statute, so I am 5'2", a whopping like 115. And that has not changed much. So it was underestimated because of my size and like other environments I've been in, where there's males and there's females, there were opportunities where I unfortunately had to speak up about situations that were of sexual nature, and that's where you also learn it's the people, it's not always the system. The system is definitely broken everywhere we go and that can be fixed. But I guess that's kind of my comparison.
Jessica-Rose:I always think, well, yeah, this happened to me in the military, but also I've had these issues outside the military. So the biggest thing again from my experience from the Marine Corps, if you want it, like people will help you through it, like you will, you will fight as long as you're putting in the work and the effort. But then also remember at the end of the day, that everyone involved in this process is a human. So, just like your experience in high school or your experience in the corporate world or whatever, you're going to have negative experiences and you're going to have positive experiences too. It's what your why is and what you make out of it to really push yourself forward.
Stacee:That's great advice. Sounds like you had to speak up and stand up for yourself sometimes.
Jessica-Rose:Yes. When I worked with a section of all men, we were a true brotherhood. We really took care of each other. My toughest times were actually around other women and having to speak up about and defend my reputation and my character because of what other women were saying or doing. And that's where it's very. It's almost like I don't know. I feel a little bit of shame having to admit that, but I think that's. That's conversations we need to have, because we attack each other for what.
Stacee:Right, girls are cut throat. In my experience working with men versus women is that guys will generally just you talk about it, you call it, you might scream it, but then it's sort of done.
Jessica-Rose:Yes yes, it's more like the psychological attack
Stacee:Yeah exactly.
Jessica-Rose:I love that you bring that up too, because in the rink we're very cultural on just just fight it out. So there was one time I got into it with someone who was a senior ranking than me and I said you know what that's it, let's just go. So we had what we called as the sandpit. So you'd go out and you would just grapple and like, wrestle around and fight out, fight it out, get your energy out and at. So you'd go out and you would just grapple and like, wrestle around and fight out, fight it out, get your energy out, and at the end you'd basically call the truce. So, um, that's what we did. Now, in that moment, as we were going outside, he ended up tapping out and he said you know what? No, I can't, I can't do this, I'm not at a place to fight you. Like he was like , no, no, no. Can we just say that we fought like you're right, I was in the wrong, and we had like a really great conversation about it. It's great. But I think, if you're willing to confront things like that, um, I had another instance where, like you were saying, going around back, there was a woman saying something very awful about me and I had no clue.
Jessica-Rose:I really looked up to this woman. I was like, oh my gosh, you know, that's who I want to be. I respected her so much. I'd always say hi to her. And then my sergeant ends up pulling me outside and he says we need to go to the pits. And I'm like what did I do right? And he asked me hey, what's your deal with this other person? And I'm like I like her, she's cool. I don't really understand. He says, okay, well, we're about to find out what's really going on, because, uh, so-and-so's going in and getting her and she's coming out here. And I was like what? Like what is going on? And I was so confused. And that's when I found out that she'd been saying these things about me behind my back and I was so hurt by that because it was someone I looked up to.
Stacee:What has she been saying?
Jessica-Rose:So she was actually saying that I was sleeping with her husband.
Stacee:Oh my God
Jessica-Rose:No, that's not the case. I'm just. I'm close to all these guys. So eventually it came out that, um, she dropped it and they said, okay, if we ever hear anything again, my Sergeant was like I will be the one to fight her in the pit.
Jessica-Rose:So what's really cool is that sometimes you don't even have to get in the dirt and actually do the fighting is it's just the fact that you're willing to come to the mat and have the tough conversation. Let's address this, let's cut it out, let's be done versus the yeah, we talk, we talk around things and we can't address them. And I've had an issue probably it was about a year ago with another woman and she would completely shut down. I couldn't come to the mat with her, for example, I couldn't come talk to her because she was just completely shut down. I'm like, well, how do I address this issue? How do we address it and how do we move on if I can't bring you to the mat and have this hard conversation?
Jessica-Rose:So it's, it's difficult because I think that is a bit of a societal difference and I think maybe that's also what helped me a lot in the Marine Corps. Growing up with brothers, I had a lot of guy friends. I didn't have a lot of female friends. So I didn't really understand that world or that form of communication, cause I guess it's still a form of communication, right, it's just not an effective one in my opinion.
Stacee:Yeah, I've always struggled with that too, because I'm just pretty direct and if something's bugging me, I've been accused of just being too direct and just saying like, hey, let's talk this over. Like if there's a, if I feel like there's an elephant in the room, there is an elephant in the room, so I'm just more inclined to go have a conversation, say what you think, let's talk it through. But then, yes, you run into other women that just don't do this. It's super hard and we end up just hurting each other.
Jessica-Rose:Oh, yeah, for sure. And I don't know if it comes from like a societal thing where a lot of times there's this old, old belief system that, oh, you know, you have to be polite, you have to be nice. And I'll admit I I picked up a a habit of venting really bad and maybe, like a month or so ago, I caught myself. I was really venting about a lot of stuff to a lot of people and I was like, ooh, like this isn't good, why am I doing this? And it it brought me back to, um, some childhood stuff is like, oh, I'm venting because I need validation, but why am I seeking validation?
Jessica-Rose:So much for this pain in the situation I'm experiencing? I I need to find a way to get over this and address this in a different manner, because it's affecting me. And now it's affecting my friendships, because what are they hearing? They're just hearing me venting and throwing out the stuff is I think that's something that we get told oh, supposed to be nice, polite and happy, and then you get to the point where you don't want to be. So it's almost like you know vomit coming out of your mouth. You're just like angry and all that's coming out of your mouth is toxicity, instead of addressing the small things before they become such a big thing that it's a big blow up.
Stacee:Oh, it's not so brilliant. Actually, I never really thought of it that way, but you're so right. Like when you start venting, especially as women I find we are girls and women we tend to just sort of tell the same story to a bunch of different people. And you're right, we're trying to get somebody to say you are the right one, you, you're in the right, they're in the wrong, and it's. It's just exhausting and there's really serves no purpose. So I think what you're so brilliantly saying is you need to ask yourself why do you care and what are you actually trying to get out of these other people, which is validation?
Jessica-Rose:Yeah, yeah, I, um, even with one of the difficult times in my life where I had to separate myself from a friend, it was really hard.
Jessica-Rose:I only talked to like a couple of people who were super close to me and I talked to them because I was like hey, I, I need you to be and that's another thing first of all, in our conversations, like preferencing what we're wanting, because a lot of times people want to fix things and sometimes you just want somebody to listen.
Jessica-Rose:So I try and preference my conversations beforehand. So, like in this one that I had with these two really close friends, I was like hey, I, I need to give you details and I need you to give me your opinion and assessment, to say was I in the wrong or am I making a mountain out of a molehill, right, right. And after kind of discussing the details and all the things, they were like no, no, you were definitely not the one in the wrong. And I'm like okay, and these are people that I love and trust and also people who tend to be fixers. So it was really great being able to get that feedback. But also recognizing, like this is what I need. I need to be able to talk this out because I need to make sure I have a clear mind before I can address it with the person, instead of sometimes we just talk about it like but we never actually make it back to the person, or again, we're just venting it out with no real mindset to be a resolution to the situation.
Stacee:Yes, it's so true. So you finished in the Marine Corps. Is that where you met your husband?
Jessica-Rose:We met through a veterans rowing program. I was running a bunch of veterans events up at my university. I was the president of the veterans organization and we were trying to do this thing called military Mondays. We were bringing out different resources and organizations. So some guy shows up to it and says, hey, you're a Marine, you can row. I was like I don't, I don't know what that means, but I'll come check your program out, because that's what I did. I would just I would check out different programs and different resources and let other people know about them. But then when I went and ended up checking out my new husband so I like to joke like I went on a Thursday Um, I.
Stacee:Take me back to your husband's cancer diagnosis.
Jessica-Rose:Yeah, so my husband was first diagnosed with brain cancer in 2009. He had a grade three astrocytoma and was told that he probably wouldn't live past two months and he'd be lucky if he made it to any kind of surgery. And he was told right before surgery that he'd never walk again. And what's the point in having the surgery? And he said that he told the surgeon so I can throw a baseball in the backyard of my son if I'm in a chair, and I think his son was about three, three years old at the time when he had his diagnosis three or four. So he went forward with the surgery. He was in rehab for almost two years but he learned to walk again and most people wouldn't know unless, like you really knew, you could look and, honestly, there's things that were going on that I didn't realize were brain related until after his second diagnosis and I was like, oh my goodness, that's not personality, that's brain.
Stacee:What were the symptoms that you saw at first or that he experienced when cause? How old was he when he got the first diagnosis? He was in his early thirties, so not very old yeah Um you guys were married by this time.
Jessica-Rose:No, so we? His first cancer was in 2009 and we uh been together since 2015,. Didn't get married to 2017. And he said that his cancer was going to come back. And at that point I laughed, as my background's in research and he was told he had a five percent chance to live up to five years. And at this point, like his first cancer was 2009, here we are it's 2015. I'm like okay, and the next thing you know, we're married 2017.
Jessica-Rose:And then it wasn't until 2020 when they found regrowth in a routine scan, like he had just graduated. I remember him coming home so happy he finally he had an MRI and he's like I don't have to have another MRI for a year. And he, we went out, we celebrated, he just it was like one of the greatest days ever for him. And then it was that, one year later, mris when they found the regrowth, and I'm like wow, and of course, it was 2020, right, where all kinds of life chaos is happening for everyone. Honestly, I didn't really believe it was going to come back. At that point, like he had already out, he had outlived the prognosis that he had outlived any of the data, the research he'd overcome so much. You know um and he was walking at that point.
Stacee:Yeah, so he had really come through. Oh my gosh, this is.
Jessica-Rose:People would say, oh, you're a disabled veteran, what's wrong with you? And he would take off his hat because he kept his hair short and he'd say brain cancer and point to his big scar across his head Because that's how amazing of a recovery he had. He was an athlete, he competed in the Warrior Games and he was a para rower, very, very, very, very active. We were very active in our community and we would do like 5Ks and 10Ks and stuff, because for him just to be able to do that is just amazing. So when his cancer came back and our whole lives were already shook with all these other different dynamics going on, we found out.
Jessica-Rose:I actually found out first via letter in the mail from the va, because when covid happened they sent a letter with the results and then the va was actually closing down for a bit. I was supposed to have a procedure that then got cancelled and my husband's down in texas he's taking of his mom, his stepdad's in the hospital, not doing well. So, uh, I get this letter and I read it and I'm like what? And then I go back and I look and I was like, oh shoot, that's not my name, that's Andrew's name. But then I read it again and I'm like oh this, this doesn't sound good. That's how you found out.
Stacee:It's how.
Jessica-Rose:I found out, oh my gosh. So, um, I had called a couple of people who had experience with reports and the first person said, before I say anything, is this your results or Andrew's results? And I said your results or Andrew's results? And I said Andrew's and she said okay, it's not good and you need to get a follow-up rather quickly, and like, okay. The second person I talked to had said like. I think the first thing out of his mouth was you can't tell him. I was like I was like right, and because stress makes it grow, so he's like he's already in a very stressful situation, like you got a woman
Jessica-Rose:up and you can't say anything. You got to let the VA do what they're going to do. Okay, they're going to do a follow-up, like just let it play out, basically. And I'm like okay. So I think I knew for a week before my husband found out. And, um, he calls me one day and he's just venting, he's on the back of a tractor and you know, venting about all the things of his day and going on and blah, blah, blah, blah, and then just casually like, oh, and, by the way, my cancer's back. I thought for a second. I thought that's how you were going to break the news to me. I'm glad I already knew. But yeah, it was, um, um, quite the fight. His brain surgery did not go well. There was some, uh, significant complications. Not only does he have brain cancer, he now developed radiation necrosis and they didn't know if he was going to make it through the month oh, my gosh right hard.
Stacee:jess Rose, how did you find the strength?
Jessica-Rose:One thing I always think of is just, you can either go through life or let life go through you, and as much as when I look back on my childhood, I wish I would have seen my mom take care of herself more or really just take care of herself. My mom's childhood, I think, molded her vision of what motherhood looked like, and I feel like she made a lot of sacrifices of her own self and identity that she didn't really need to, but she felt like she needed to, right. But what I saw was I saw this woman who just, no matter what happened, she just kept getting up the next day and pushing through and going. So I think my mom really modeled that for me to get me through these tough times. I also think that God blesses us with unique abilities. Like I have a very strong stomach, which has come in handy for a lot of situations that we've gone through.
Stacee:What's your daily life like now?
Jessica-Rose:Oh, it is wild. So now my husband's in a wheelchair. He's been in a wheelchair for about two years. He's been nonverbal for about three. Sometimes he can say some words, but he does have aphasia and apraxia, so ability to say words and then the ability to actually control the muscles to move the mouth to say the words. It's wild.
Jessica-Rose:He requires 24-7 care so some nights I don't get a lot of sleep. I have to navigate not only his healthcare but I have caregivers that come in, so I have CNAs that come in and help me and I'm never really off duty, right, is that? Um, I'm, I'm always on, even if I'm gone for a work trip, because something can happen. You know I I have to be able to manage a lot of different pieces and schedules. My husband had a feeding tube and there's no service out there where someone could come and administer my husband food through his feeding tube three times a day or medication twice a day. There isn't a service to come do that. No, and you know, every person I've asked and every agency, they all said, well, most people just get their friends or family to do it. I'm like that, that's our fix.
Jessica-Rose:Um, another one of my favorite things I've been told over the years is like the hospital bed. They're really pushing a hospital bed on me and I'd always ask well then, where do I sleep? And people seem so confused by that and I'm like I'm in my thirties, like what? So? Um, they'd say stuff like oh well, most people just put it in their living room. I'm like, so my husband's just going to be all exposed in the living room. People come over like I could not grasp these things people were telling me. And then when I would say stuff like this back to them, it seemed like I was the first person who pointed that out to them. And I'm like, do you guys not? You don't see this? Like I don't understand. Multiple times I've been asked well, why isn't he in a facility? I'm gonna go back to health care systems. Systems kill people. I have seen things, I have reported things.
Jessica-Rose:My soul cannot rest at night if my husband was in a full-time facility. So again, I'm just doing what's what's right by my soul, but my day it fluctuates based on my sleep. What I'm just doing, what's what's right by my soul, but my day it fluctuates based on my sleep. When I'm able to get up, able to do my workout because I have a lot of my own injuries since going on to have nine surgeries. I have to do a lot of physical therapy on my own, working out, diet control, like there's a lot that I have to put into my body to function at a regular level and now function at a level to be a caregiver where I've had to pick my husband up off the floor and try and get him in and out of the car without any type of assistance or just some of the crazy things we've had to do over the years.
Jessica-Rose:But because it's hard, it's hard to be able to. You have to accept where you are, accept that you're not going to be who you were or where you were before, and envision a future that you can move forward. That's still going to include your wants and desires and I think that's a big thing I've had to grow through as well is that my, my soul can't rest if my husband's living in a facility, so he's going to be at home. But my soul also can't rest if my husband's living in a facility, so he's going to be at home. But my soul also can't rest if I'm not pursuing my passions and I'm not being an individual seeking out what quality of life is for me.
Stacee:Well, you have so much to offer the world. Gosh, you're so strong and so inspirational. I don't know if you know that about yourself. I hope you do. You also have a podcast. Can you tell everybody how they can hear more of your inspirational stories?
Jessica-Rose:yeah. So I have the podcast unbreakable hope with me, jessica Rose and I'm on Apple, spotify and YouTube. So I just want to be able to have other people tell their stories, because we've all been through life right and just like what you're doing with this beautiful podcast is being able their stories, because we've all been through life right and just like what you're doing with this beautiful podcast is being able to showcase that we've all gone through hard times in life and we've made it out the other side and what happens is a lot of people who do that. They then go on and do really good, amazing things for their communities, for the world. So just giving a space to be able to provide that inspiration and hope I think is important.
Jessica-Rose:A lot of the more professional side I do a lot of work in suicide and overdose prevention.
Jessica-Rose:I actually have done a suicide mortality review and I was the primary author on the VA toolkit for suicide mortality reviews.
Jessica-Rose:So helping coroners and medical examiners really that's where the data starts and having those conversations with people about why the data is flawed, how the data is flawed and how we can still make change either way, because as a researcher, I love data but you also have to be honest enough to say that there's flaws in data too, and I also have a product store and I do public speaking on suicide and overdose, as well as being a caregiver, because I think it's important that we hear those stories too. We often forget that role and there's not a whole lot of spouse to spouse, caregiver support and really interesting because most people expect if you're caring for your spouse, you've probably made it to your sixties or your seventies and eighties and you're caring for each other with you know the natural things that come with aging. A lot of people don't expect you to be caring for your spouse when you're in your 30s. It's a different world and some different barriers, for sure.
Stacee:What advice would you give to a 20-year-old girl just getting started in the world?
Jessica-Rose:I think the biggest thing is that we have to remember to give ourselves grace Is that we're often we're doing the best we can with what we have to remember to give ourselves grace is that we're often we're doing the best we can with what we have in that moment. You're still going to care what other people think, but not as much, and the the people pleasing, I think, starts to wear out the confusion of what do I want to be when I grow up. The having to think the five, the ten year plan is that don't let it be so overwhelming. Take in the, the moment, enjoy it for what it is, but give yourself grace for what you've done and what you've been through. And don't forget to pursue your goals and your dreams. And don't get lost in making the friendships or getting married. You can still do those things, but remember that you are your number one.
Stacee:All right. Well, I think we can all agree. Jessica Rose is a real life GI Jane. Just that one part of her story where she was sick and feverish, crawling through the barbed wire to save her partner in the Marine Corps training and then years later she held it together when her husband's brain cancer came back and reading the diagnosis in a letter like how can you even hold that together? I can't even imagine. And that moment, that exact moment, is what I want to talk about. Because how many times in life have you thought I can't do this, only to find yourself doing it anyway? Maybe not perfectly, maybe not without sweat and tears, but you did it. And this is the lesson for this week's episode. You are so much tougher than you think, but you probably don't believe that, do you? Because most of us don't. We think being strong means having it all figured out, or not crying or powering through. But no, that's nonsense. Real strength is messy, it's tired, it's not perfect, but it keeps going. And you've got all of that inside of you, just like Jessica Rose. And maybe you don't know it yet, but I promise it's there. You were not skipped. When they passed out the badass cards For me, I figured out what I could handle.
Stacee:The day I found out my husband was having an affair and his girlfriend was pregnant. I thought that was it. I thought it was going down for the count. I was so broken, so gutted, I didn't even recognize myself. I lost so much weight that the clients at the vet hospital started asking the front desk if I had cancer. And then one day I overheard one of them saying no, it's not cancer, it's a parasite. She's undergoing an extensive deworming process. And that's when I knew it's not over for me yet.
Stacee:With the help of my family, my friends and a whole lot of therapy, I made it through. It wasn't quick, it wasn't particularly clean, it did take a lot of tears. But after a couple of years I made it through. And even now, when I think that this happened to me 22 years ago, I can still remember some of the pain, like it was yesterday. But you know what I know about myself. Now I can do hard things, and so can you myself. Now I can do hard things, and so can you. Doing hard things will change you. You'll come out with more scars, but more wisdom, a stronger backbone and probably a slightly shorter fuse for bullshit, but you'll also come out with clarity and boundaries and a deeper sense of who you are and what you will and won't tolerate anymore. There's something magical that happens after you survive the thing you swore would break you. You don't just get through it, you become someone new, someone you're proud of. I feel so inspired after hearing Jessica Rose's story, and I hope you do too.
Stacee:Do me a favor and download her podcast, unbreakable Hope. I've already listened to a bunch of her episodes and it's really good, and I was so lucky she asked to interview me for the show and I think that episode's coming out soon. If you're looking for a keynote speaker and some resources on how to be a caregiver or in the realm of suicide prevention, you can find so much information on Jessica Rose's website, which is called jessicarosejohnsoncom all one word. You can follow her on Instagram or Facebook. I recently started following her and you guys, we didn't get into it in the podcast, but she pushed her husband 27 miles in a marathon a few weeks ago, and some of you might know this I did not because I don't run marathons, but a marathon is 26.2 miles but what happened is she got separated from her friends and had to go backwards to find them, which gave her another mile. It's all on her Instagram, so you'll have to go check that out.
Stacee:So next week I'll be releasing the final episode of our Women in the Military series. But I'm going to bump the release date up to Monday, which is Memorial Day, because we have a super special guest my friend from high school, ginger Gilbert Ravella. My friend from high school, ginger gilbert ravella. Her husband, troy gilbert, earned the purple heart after being shot down and killed in combat in the iraq war. Definitely mark your calendar. You want to learn about resilience? This one's a master class. Okay, I'll see you guys next week.