Allison Keating : Glimmer seeker

Topics covered : Cancer, red flags, coercive control, faith, resilience. This week I speak to the incredible Nicola Hanney. Nicola lives in Dublin with her son and she’s been through hell and back. Her book, ‘Stronger -what didn’t kill me, made me’ is out now and in this conversation, we cover elements of her story. She comes from a large family and works as a hairdresser, and 8 years ago, when she was 36 she was first diagnosed with cancer. She then went on to meet a man called Paul Moody, a former member of An Garda Síochána who terrorised her until he was convicted in 2022. Over a 14 hour period in July 2018, she received 652 messages from him. That’s one roughly every 90 seconds. The mental, emotional and physical abuse he subjected Nicola to, led him to be one of the first people in Ireland to be convicted of coercive control.  And she gave up her anonymity to share her harrowing story in the hope of empowering others who find themselves in similar situations, and to highlight the early signs of abuse. If you have been affected by this episode, please go to Ireland helplines and hotlines (findahelpline.com) for a list of resources that might be beneficial. Women's Aid - Listening. Believing. Supporting. Empowering. (womensaid.ie) Home - Men's Aid (mensaid.ie) ‘Taking back control’ documentary available to watch on the RTÉ Player. Taking Back Control - RTÉ Player (rte.ie) If you’re a fan of what I do, please follow, rate and review in all the usual places. Thanks, as always, for your support of Ready to be Real. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Topics covered : George Floyd, Black Lives Matter movement, trauma, racism, empathy, capitalism, celebrity culture, social media, privilege, colonialism, photography, power of film and music, Palestine, injustice, grief, social justice, community. My guest this week is photographer, filmmaker, entrepreneur and social activist, the wonderful Misan Harriman. He is married to Camilla and they have 2 young daughters and they live in Surrey. He was born in Nigeria and came to England when he was a young boy to attend boarding school and the last few years in particular, have been transformative for him. On his 40th birthday he picked up a camera and his gift behind the lens has led him to photograph some of the most influential people in the world from Harry and Megan, who are good friends of his; Kate Winslet, Harrison Ford and Angelina Jolie to name but a few. He is also the chair of cultural hub, the Southbank Centre, and an ambassador for Save The Children and he was the first black man to shoot the cover of British Vogue in its 104 year history. In this conversation, he talks about George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement, celebrity culture, the power of the arts and his love of film and music, his debut short film ‘The After’ which is currently on Netflix, and how children everywhere, must be our priority. Watch : The After Triangle of Sadness White Nanny Black Child Listen : On the nature of daylight by Max Richter Other podcasts to listen to are... Farah Nabulsi : Award winning filmmaker ​Sarah Durham Wilson : Rebel with a cause Róisín El Cherif : Palestinian pride Caoimhe Butterly : Collective Care Dr Myriam François : Speaking truth to power Daniel Maté : Dismantling blindspots Ruth Smith : Love and Justice Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Topics covered : Confidence, courage, anxiety, affirmations, bullshitting, self-talk.    In this episode I speak to Professor Ian Robertson about confidence. Ian is a clinical psychologist and neuroscientist and he is widely recognised as one of the world’s leading researchers in neuropsychology and he’s also the author of several best-selling books, including ‘How Confidence Works’. In this conversation he tells us what confidence is, what makes someone confident, how we can improve it, the differences between men and women in terms of confidence and why that is; the art of bullshitting and the power of positive self-talk. If you’re a fan of my pod, please follow, rate and review in all the usual places. And thanks, as always, for your support of Ready to be Real. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Topics covered : Poverty, heroin addiction, neglect, abuse, childhood rape, dysfunction, shame, positive influences, kindness, breaking negative cycles, therapy,  recovery, attachment, opportunities, motherhood, education, academia, love, compassion, forgiveness, healing.    Please read the full list of topics covered before you listen. I speak to the phenomenal Dr. Katriona O’Sullivan and it's an eye opening and challenging conversation at times but I highly recommend you stay with it until the end. Katriona lives in Blanchardstown in Dublin and is married to Dave and she has 3 boys, John who’s 30, Seán who’s 18, and Tadhg who’s 15 and she’s also a proud grandmother. She is a senior lecturer in Maynooth University in the department of Psychology and is the author of bestselling memoir ‘Poor’. Katriona’s childhood growing up in Coventry was often chaotic; as one of 5 kids to Irish parents living in a home shaped by heroin addiction, she experienced extreme trauma from an early age, which included being raped as a 7 year old and being pregnant and homeless, as a teenager. In this conversation she speaks about the extreme neglect she experienced in childhood, the people who were a positive force in her life, the importance of opportunities and education, and the power of healing. Book – ‘Poor’ is available in all good bookshops and online and is also available as an audio book. If you’re a fan of my pod, please follow, rate and review in all the usual places. And thanks, as always, for your support of Ready to be Real. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Topics covered : Childhood cancer, grief, perspective, gratitude.  In this episode I speak to Roseanna Ruane about her wonderful daughter Saoírse who sadly passed away in March this year. We spoke a few weeks ago and in this heart-breaking conversation she talks about Saoirse, the kind and wise girl that she was, from her first cancer diagnosis when she was only 7 years old and how devastating life has been since she passed away. She talks about how much she believes in being grateful for what we have in life, and the importance in making memories. Saoirse was only 12 years old when she left this world but she left her mark in the most beautiful way. Roseanna lives in Galway with her husband Ollie, their daughter Farrah Rose and their much loved dog Willow. If you have been affected by this episode, please go to Grief & loss helplines in Ireland (findahelpline.com) for a list of resources that might be beneficial. And if you want to contact Roseanna, you can find her on Instagram (@saoirseandmamma) or if you want her to speak at an event, you can email her theruane4@gmail.com Roseanna uses their page to spread awareness about childhood cancer, limb loss, fertility and grief and her wish is to continue to speak about their experience in the hope that it might give people perspective on what's important in life. I’ll be taking a quick break from the pod but I'll be back again with more conversations in September. In the meantime, you can dive back into over 180 episodes and if you’re a fan of what I do, please follow, rate and review in all the usual places, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks, as always, for your support of Ready to be Real. Enjoy the rest of the summer agus tabhair aire. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.