
Thus far, this podcast has entirely been a labor of love.
Recent Episodes
- Season One!: We Are So Grateful For YouWe wanted to take a moment to really thank you, our listeners, for helping this podcast thrive! We have just wrapped Season One and will be back in early 2023. We so appreciate you, and spending this time with all of you each week has been a treat. Thank you for joining our community and we look forward to diving into the new year with you. For any suggestions, please do reach out to us at traumastewardship.com. Again, thank you!
- Robin Brulé: Surviving Gun Violence & Honoring the Legacies of Those We’ve LostIn our final episode of Season One, Laura speaks with Robin Brulé. Written about in The Age of Overwhelm, Robin’s mother and close friend were murdered while drinking coffee and reading the morning paper in their home. Robin speaks about her path from the day that forever changed her life through today and offers listeners encouragement to take time, truly take time, to grieve and mourn, and shares why having realistic expectations of oneself is critical. She and Laura also talk about the incredibly important work Robin does to help survivors of domestic violence access the financial tools necessary to become financially independent and stable. Robin embodies what a beautiful and meaningful life can look like, even in the aftermath of indescribable heartbreak.
- Achut Deng: UnstoppableWhen reflecting on the early days of the pandemic, something forever memorable is Achut Deng’s story as reported on the New York Times podcast The Daily. Journalist Caitlin Dickerson met Achut when trying to give voice to some of the workers in the United States who were most vulnerable when it came to coronavirus exposure. Achut is a survivor of the Sudanese civil war and lived in a refugee camp for years. After coming to the U.S. she eventually found herself working at a meat packing plant in South Dakota. She is a single mom to her three sons and as a result of the outpouring of concern generated by that early reporting, Achut has just written her first book. Caitlin, now at The Atlantic, recently featured Achut and her memoir Don’t Look Back, and to say the past couple years have been transformative for Achut is a true understatement. When so much can seem so overwhelming in life, being in Achut’s presence is a salve to one’s spirit.
About the Show
We will have conversations about what to do in the face of our overwhelm and how to do it, and we will be guided by listeners’ questions.
Each week, Laura and a guest will discuss concrete strategies we can use to mitigate harm, cultivate our ability to bring our A-game to whatever we’re doing (or as close as we can get), and move beyond what can feel like permanent survival mode. Some weeks will be geared more towards adults, and others towards adolescents and anyone who loves, lives, or works with them. Together, we’ll focus on the merits of staying present, not missing out on today, and trying to avoid future tripping.
We hope that Future Tripping will offer listeners insight into what is currently overwhelming them and tactical skills for sustaining themselves and contributing, however much they’d like, to larger systemic and structural changes.
Show Merch

Pins by 6-year-old Casey
Every pin is unique and made by Casey! Casey came on to Future Tripping to help us explore being gender expansive!
All proceeds go to LGBTQ+ organizations in Texas and Florida.
Got a question for one of our guests?
Email info@traumastewardship.com or leave a message at 360-228-5804.
Guests Include
- Ed Yong
- Lily Cornell Silver
- Vance Vredenburg
- Connie Burk
- Beth Macy
- Flynn Resnick
- Michele Storms
- Jon Conte
- Matthew Reddam
- Welela Solomon
- Brother Pháp Hữu

About Laura
Laura van Dernoot Lipsky is the founder and director of The Trauma Stewardship Institute and author of Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others and The Age of Overwhelm. Widely recognized as a pioneer in the field of trauma exposure, she has worked locally, nationally, and internationally for more than three decades.