In this deeply honest and unexpectedly funny episode, sisters and co-founders Blair and Alana kick off 2026 by unpacking the emotional hangover of 2025. From grief anniversaries and health scares to TV obsessions, bowel updates (yes, really), and big audacious dreams, this conversation is a reminder that resilience is rarely tidy and never boring.

They talk about honouring their late mother, navigating the heaviness of the holidays, managing bodies that hold stress in strange places, and why it is okay to celebrate wins even when grief still sits at the table. The episode also pulls back the curtain on what is coming next for The Global Resilience Project, including books, billboards, a TV show in development, and a bold Q1 vision for 2026.

Equal parts reflective, irreverent, and forward-looking, this episode is for anyone who survived last year and is trying to move into the next one with presence, humour, and intention.

In This Episode, They Talk About:

1. Why December was emotionally and financially heavy and how that shaped the start of 2026
2. Honouring Sharon’s birthday with cake, Greek food, and ritual, even when life does not pause
3. How grief changes the holidays and why the absence of traditions can hit harder than expected
4. EMDR training, nervous system regulation, and doing healing work while still living real life
5. Somatized emotions, inflammation, and listening to what your body is trying to say
6. Canadian healthcare realities and the rise of health apps as a first line of reassurance
7. Alana’s very committed relationship with her bowel movements and her quest for answers
8. Survivor fandom, Season 50 dreams, and Blair offering to DM a former cast member
9. What Blair and Shayne are binge-watching and why streaming convenience is a blessing and a curse
10. TV shows that surprised us, including low-budget stories with global impact
11. Behind-the-scenes realities of TV production and what Anatomy of Lies revealed
12. The comedy series Blair and Alana have been developing for nearly a year, and what comes next
13. What it really means to turn grief into business without bypassing the pain
14. Blair’s Q1 2026 goal of signing a TV deal and how the pitch process works
15. The upcoming Substack that will share the real, messy, hilarious parts of building this work
16. A prescriptive memoir in progress rooted in the Navigating Grief Framework
17. Vision boards, chosen words for the year, and why presence beats pressure
18. What is launching next for The Global Resilience Project, including books, speaking, merch, and events

In this year-end podcast episode, Blair and Alana reflected on their personal and professional highlights and challenges of 2025. They discussed their successful book launches, including two Times Square billboard campaigns and international bestseller status, while acknowledging logistical difficulties with shipping and event planning. Alana shared her medical challenges and recovery, including endometriosis surgery and a finger injury, while Blair highlighted her speaking engagements, including opening for Richard Branson, and the launch of their new tattoo book project, RESILIENT A.F. Skin Deep Stories. They also discussed their growing presence in the grief and resilience space, their upcoming projects, including a TV show, and their plans for 2026. The episode concluded with a touching story about receiving a message from their late mother, Sharon, through a hospice patient, emphasizing themes of resilience and connection.

Buy the books: https://theglobalresilienceproject.com/books/

Get on the Waitlist for RESILIENT A.F. Skin Deep Stories 2: https://theglobalresilienceproject.com/share-your-story-tattoo-waitlist/

⚠️ Content Note: Some episodes may contain themes that could be distressing. Please take care of yourself while listening, and don’t hesitate to seek support from a mental health professional if needed.

About the Hosts:

Blair Kaplan Venables is a British Columbia-based grief and resilience expert and coach, motivational speaker and the Founder of The Global Resilience Project. Her expertise has been featured on media platforms like Forbes, TEDx, CBC Radio, Entrepreneur, and Thrive Global. She is named the Top Grief and Resilience Expert of the Year 2024 by IAOTP. USA Today listed Blair as one of the top 10 conscious female leaders to watch and she empowers others to be resilient from stages around the world. 'MyStory,’ which is a television show available on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+ and Google Play, showcases Blair's life story. She is the host of the Radical Resilience podcast and specializes in helping people strengthen their resilience muscle using scientifically proven methods and guides grieving high performers with her Navigating Grief Framework. The Global Resilience Project’s award-winning book series are international bestsellers, and her fourth book, RESILIENT A.F.: Stories of Resilience Vol 2, will be published in January 2025. In her free time, you can find Blair writing, in nature, travelling the world and helping people to strengthen their resilience muscles.

Links:

https://www.blairkaplan.ca/

https://theglobalresilienceproject.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/blairdkaplan

https://www.facebook.com/blair.kaplan

https://www.facebook.com/BlairKaplanCommunications

https://www.instagram.com/globalresiliencecommunity

https://www.instagram.com/blairfromblairland/

Chelsea Pegue’s dad died suddenly from addiction and she had to learn to live without her best friend. This journey also led her to learn why addiction takes so many lives. This is her story and she is RESILIENT A.F.

Buy the books: https://theglobalresilienceproject.com/books/

About the Guest:

Chelsea Pegues is a freelance writer, proofreader and editor based in the Hudson Valley region of New York. Since losing her dad to alcohol use disorder in 2020, she is honored and humbled to speak about addiction and recovery as much as possible, in an effort to be a force for change and an advocate for those in need. Her desire moving forward is to apply her creativity and skills to projects that make a positive impact in the world.

Links:

Instagram.com/chelsea.elizabeth.writes/

chelseaelizabethwrites.com

linkedin.com/in/chelsea-pegues-7b63ab211

chelseapegues.substack.com

⚠️ Content Note: Some episodes may contain themes that could be distressing. Please take care of yourself while listening, and don’t hesitate to seek support from a mental health professional if needed.

About the Hosts:

Blair Kaplan Venables is a British Columbia-based grief and resilience expert and coach, motivational speaker and the Founder of The Global Resilience Project. Her expertise has been featured on media platforms like Forbes, TEDx, CBC Radio, Entrepreneur, and Thrive Global. She is named the Top Grief and Resilience Expert of the Year 2024 by IAOTP. USA Today listed Blair as one of the top 10 conscious female leaders to watch and she empowers others to be resilient from stages around the world. 'MyStory,’ which is a television show available on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+ and Google Play, showcases Blair's life story. She is the host of the Radical Resilience podcast and specializes in helping people strengthen their resilience muscle using scientifically proven methods and guides grieving high performers with her Navigating Grief Framework. The Global Resilience Project’s award-winning book series are international bestsellers, and her fourth book, RESILIENT A.F.: Stories of Resilience Vol 2, will be published in January 2025. In her free time, you can find Blair writing, in nature, travelling the world and helping people to strengthen their resilience muscles.

Links:

https://www.blairkaplan.ca/

https://theglobalresilienceproject.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/blairdkaplan

https://www.facebook.com/blair.kaplan

https://www.facebook.com/BlairKaplanCommunications

https://www.instagram.com/globalresiliencecommunity

https://www.instagram.com/blairfromblairland/