What if most of what hurts us was never really about us at all? In this episode, Cheryl unpacks a perspective that initially made her furious: that other people's actions toward us are usually not personal. She's honest that when she first received this idea during a meditation, her response was anger, not enlightenment, and she explains why that resistance made complete sense.

Cheryl explores why choosing not to publicly name the people who've hurt her isn't about protecting them, it's about recognizing that everyone is on their own healing journey, including the version of her that has hurt others too. She digs into why letting go of anger requires surrendering control, why anger often masks deeper emotions like sadness, fear, and grief, and why staying angry, however powerful it feels in the moment, ultimately keeps us stuck.

This episode is an honest look at the difference between feeling anger and living in it, and an invitation to ask yourself what your own anger might actually be protecting you from feeling.

In This Episode:

• Why Cheryl chooses not to name or call out the people who've hurt her publicly
• The meditation "download" she initially rejected with anger
• Why believing something is personal is really about wanting control
• The difference between anger as a secondary emotion and what's underneath it
• Why staying angry can distort how you see yourself and the world
• The two reflection questions Cheryl asks about where you're still holding anger

In episode 4, Cheryl opens up about the identity crisis she didn't see coming: walking away from her career, the fear underneath it, and the conversation with her son that changed everything.

In This Episode:

• Why Cheryl's sense of worth got tied to her education and career from an early age
• The physical reaction she had to the thought of losing her professional title
• Realizing the problem was never her job, it was what she'd projected onto it
• The pivotal conversation with her son that solidified her decision to leap
• What it's meant to embrace the "too much" parts of herself she used to hide
• Why fear, not desire, was the only thing actually holding her back
• A reflection question on what you'd chase if you knew it would work out

Follow the show so you never miss an episode, and if this one resonated, share it with someone who needs to hear it.

In episode 3, Cheryl gets honest about what it's like when your life looks perfect from the outside but doesn't feel that way, and traces that disconnect all the way back to childhood.

• Why "everything looked perfect" was never the same as everything being okay
• The boundary Cheryl set with her own parents, and why she doesn't regret it
• What happened when years of buried memories surfaced after becoming a mother
• Being hospitalized for mental health, and choosing to speak about it without shame
• The difference between being functional and being fulfilled
• Why joy and fulfillment are intrinsic, and can't come from even the most amazing people around you
• A reflection question on the fears and stigma we carry around mental health

Follow the show so you never miss an episode, and if this one resonated, share it with someone who needs to hear it.

In episode 2, Cheryl opens up about the cost of self-abandonment: losing her voice, her identity, and eventually her marriage, and what it took to find her way back to herself.

In This Episode:

• The question Cheryl asks that reveals how much of "you" is actually just a role
• How self-abandonment happens slowly, one dismissed moment at a time
• The belief that kept her accepting less than she deserved, and why it wasn't true
• Her decision in 2023 to leave her marriage and start over
• What healing actually required: no numbing, no rebounds, no looking for someone else to fix her
• Why knowing your core values acts as a compass when you lose your way
• The real cost of losing yourself: losing access to your own gifts

If this episode spoke to something in you, hit follow so you don't miss what's coming next. And if you know someone who needs a reminder that they're allowed to come home to themselves, send this one their way.

In episode one, Cheryl explores what it means to find your way back to yourself: the parts we silence to feel safe, the outside validation we chase, and a personal story of faith and intuition that reframed everything.

In This Episode:

• The nursing school lesson that changed how Cheryl sees every person's journey
• Why you are the expert of your own life, even when it doesn't feel that way
• How we quiet the parts of ourselves that make us unique in order to feel safe
• The difference between seeking outside validation and trusting your own inner knowing
• A personal story of faith, intuition, and a message received beside the ocean
• What it really means to be a guide for someone rather than their answer

If this episode spoke to something in you, hit follow so you don't miss what's coming next. And if you know someone who needs a reminder that they're allowed to come home to themselves, send this one their way.

Welcome to Fire and Fairy Dust: The Long Way Back.

In this intro episode, podcast creator Cheryl Eppel shares just a bit of her story, as well as what you can expect from upcoming podcast episodes.

Be sure to follow or subscribe, and keep an eye out for the first official episode coming soon!

Connect with Cheryl on social:

On Instagram @eppelcheryl
On TikTok @cheryleppel