I met Jason Ranek in high school. We bonded over our shared interest in writing poetry. He challenged and inspired me to become the best poet I could be. Through the years Jason has invited me to think deeply about life, to explore meditation and rigorously reflect on what it means to be human.

I’ve also had the privilege of getting to witness his epic journey of transformation. I’ll never forget the day I asked Jason to meet me at the Greyhound station in Omaha, Nebraska so I could introduce him to the friends I was traveling with. Well, let’s just say Jason and one of these friends, a wonderful Norwegian woman, took a liking to each other. They dated and eventually got engaged and married. I’d say they hit it off pretty well! Together, they eventually moved from the prairie of South Dakota to the fjords of southern Norway.

Just as Jason had no way of knowing that his crosstown jaunt to a Greyhound station to humor a friend would have such major delightful life implications, he also had no way of predicting that his immigration to Norway would inspire an epic, decade-long book project called The Vigeland Oracle, which was published in November of 2025.

The project began taking shape shortly after Jason arrived in Norway and became immersed in its culture. He found himself especially drawn to the works of Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland, as explained on the back cover of The Vigeland Oracle, “Vigeland built a universe of granite and bronze in the heart of Oslo—statues and reliefs that capture every human emotion, struggle and triumph.” Jason’s book transforms Gustav’s “monumental sculpture park into a tool for inner work, rooted in the principle of synchronicity.”

What the back of the book doesn’t mention in its description is the thousands of hours of dedication, courage, and persistence it takes to write, edit and publish a book of this caliber. If you can’t tell, I’m extremely proud of Jason Ranek and I’m honored to have him as my next guest on the Awkwardly Awesome Podcast.

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

“The person who is supposed to love me most is saying I’m stupid. When you are told you're a bad person for a long time, it takes awhile to learn to love yourself again.” ~ Carol Beth Nelson, MD

Carol Beth Nelson, MD is a neurologist, a mother to four adult children and five adult step children, a life-long avid swimmer, and a lover of the small South Dakota town she grew up in. Since 2018, she’s done so many triathlons that she's lost count. Add to this her impressive list of completing 2 Ironmans and 4 marathons, and sum it up with Carol’s own words, “I have to use all my energy, I just don’t sit very well.”

And while Carol has had many enormous successes and victories, like all of us, she’s experienced life's immense challenges and complexities as well.

Carol was a freshman in med school when she married her first husband, Shon. They shared the kind of love one only dreams about, the kind of love that lasts forever, but life at times can be so cruel. Nine and a half months into their blissful marriage, Shon was tragically killed in a car accident just a mile from their home.

Navigating such profound loss at such a young age can leave even the strongest person vulnerable. Carol missed what she had. She wanted to move forward. She says, “Shon showed me how to love and be loved and I wanted that back.” Carol remarried four years later and though the marriage would ultimately last for 24 years, it was not the stuff of storybooks.

For many years, it was challenging for Carol to even wrap her head around what was going on. For eleven years of her marriage, she was the only one working and bringing in an income, yet she was always in charge of doing most everything from raising their kids to doing the housework. The only things her husband reliably managed were the lawn and the finances. Unfortunately, his managing of the finances led to significant financial abuse. Slowly, Carol was able to identify that her husband was repeatedly manipulating her, gaslighting her and exhibiting other behaviors associated with narcissistic personality disorder. Carol eventually found the strength to leave that marriage and get a divorce.

Her experiences informed the foundation of the book she would go on to write, entitled “We Are Alike: How a Doctor Leveraged her Neuroscience Expertise to Survive and Heal from Narcissistic Abuse”. The book covers the details and lessons of her profoundly challenging and isolating experience in the hopes that she can help people in long-term relationships with narcissistic partners identify what is going on and to explore their options. Carol also hopes the book might help people at the beginning of a relationship to identify patterns and red flags and understand their options.

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

“When you have someone at the table with a disability, you quickly see how they’ve had to navigate a world that’s not designed for them. They are problem solvers. They’ve had to learn to organize so many aspects of their lives. They see dimensions to our world we might be oblivious to.” ~ Lisa Drennan

There was a time—not so long ago—when people with disabilities were often hidden away in institutions, their individuality separated from the rest of the world. Fortunately for Lisa Drennan, a childhood family friend with a disability was welcomed fully into her life and community. That relationship allowed her to see, firsthand, what it meant to navigate the world with a different set of circumstances —planting early seeds of understanding, empathy, and belonging that continue to guide her work today.

At 17, Lisa secured a job with a neighborhood agency that supported people with disabilities. There she developed a passion for figuring out how to support people who navigate life with additional physical and / or developmental challenges, as they strive to be included in all aspects of society. Her time at this organization was so important to Lisa that she now serves on its board of directors.

Since we all have differences of one sort or another, Lisa views inclusion as a win-win for everybody. She believes that as we celebrate, honor and accommodate these differences, we pave the way for each of us to grow into the best version of ourselves. Inclusive mindsets and practices benefit everyone.

Lisa founded MERGE Inclusion Consulting in 2018 to further her efforts to put this belief into action. Through MERGE, Lisa provides training to community organizations and helps them brainstorm about ways to be more welcoming to people with a wide range of abilities and disabilities. Lisa also talks to the community of people who experience disabilities about navigating their lives powerfully through accessing their community, contributing in meaningful ways.

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**Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest

**Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com

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This is a link to a free download “A Toolkit For Community Recreation, Cultural, and Faith Organizations” which Lisa talks about during the show-

https://thearcofmass.org/toolkit-organization/

IMPORTANT NOTE- after you click the link and enter your name and email, it will take you to

another page with the link to download the PDF.