Post title: Podcast on “The Yakking Show”

The Invite

“I received the invite!” I shot off an email to my friend, Chuck, who had made the connection for me. Chuck hosted a weekly phone call to connect several authors and other entrepreneurs on a hosting site called TalkShoe. The hour-long program was called “You Can Build It, Your Business.” Connecting with others in various stages of building their business helped all of us to try new directions.

I wanted to further get the word out about my books geared to those who are facing a crossroads in their lives with sight loss. Choosing to train with a white cane creates great anxiety for many individuals. It certainly did for me! My first book, Mobility Matters: Stepping Out in Faith, focused on orientation and mobility training, a tool which enabled me to come to terms with Retinitis Pigmentosa, my progressive eye condition.

Background

For years, I was legally blind, but in denial, telling myself a common lie “I’m just clumsy” until I couldn’t hide it anymore from others or even myself. I had to accept the real reason: I could not see – and stop feeling embarrassed. Shame had lodged itself in me because I couldn’t see as well as other people. By labeling myself as clumsy for drawing attention when I ran into something or missed a step, a constant psychological chorus replayed itself in my mind, “This is your fault.” It wasn’t until I changed my dialogue that my inner voice matched the outer confidence I had previously had. In this ongoing struggle, I prayed for God to get me past my feelings of incompetence due to my sight loss.

That’s when God revealed some scriptures to me. I learned my confidence stemmed from Christ, not myself alone. “We are confident in all because of our great trust in God through Christ” (2 Cor 3). Always looking for the next teaching position, I frequently updated my resumé and I had just started teaching Spanish in my hometown. Suddenly this verse (v. 3) jumped out at me. My life was to be a letter of recommendation for Christ. It wasn’t written in pen and ink, but with the spirit of the living God. Wow! I never thought of my life in quite that way before.

Let Them See You

So in the midst of praying over my situation, and changing my rhetoric, I wrote this song with a friend, who sang and recorded it for me: “Let Them See You,” that is, let the world see God living in me.

Once I became more comfortable going public with my sight loss, and using my cane, I discovered strength and resilience in how I had adapted to life. This became the topic of my second memoir, Cane Confessions: The Lighter Side to Mobility. I shared stories of adapting to situations in various ways that enabled me to pursue my professional goals of teaching overseas and also in the states.

With my memoirs written, I still needed to get my story out to encourage others. The TalkShoe group decided The Yakking Show would be a good platform for me. Several members had been featured and they recommended it. I had heard some of the podcasts earlier and loved the relaxed manner the two Canadian hosts. Peter J. Wright and Kathleen Beauvai are business associates in the “Small Home Business” and really work well together. Their program highlighted interesting guests who spoke about their businesses and the choices that led them to creating them. There was a woman who had built a business centered on cartography.  Another guest served as a liaison with police departments and other businesses.  After experiencing her own bias in law enforcement, she worked to establish and ensure fair practice among all employees. I tuned into the show weekly.

Chuck followed through with making the connection the next day, and soon after, Peter Wright contacted me. I scheduled a date near the end of November. Voilá! I’m excited to share the podcast with you. It came out just before the new year. Click on one of the following links to listen to the interview:

The Podcast


Say goodbye to 2020 and welcome 2021, watch Amy Bovaird’s episode 72 on YouTube or listen to it on Podbean.

An inspiring story of overcoming adversity and succeeding as a writer after a career as an international English teacher.

You have just read “Podcast on the Yakking Show” by Amy L. Bovaird. © January 12, 2021. All Rights Reserved.