For decades, UC Berkeley-trained engineer and high-tech executive Lena Fein lived as a master of survival disguised as success, using academic achievement and corporate ambition as armor to mask the deep trauma of a violent, controlling childhood. But at age fifty-one, standing at the deathbed of her abusive mother, a profound moment of connection sparked an unexpected journey toward reckoning, release, and midlife reclamation. In this episode, Terry Shepherd sits down with Lena to discuss her deeply moving and redemptive new memoir, Shattering the Mirror, exploring how healing doesn't follow anyone else's timetable—and why it is never too late to reclaim your true voice.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

• 🪞 The Metaphor of the Distorted Mirror: How a childhood amusement park memory and a harrowing, glass-shattering window accident became symbols for living with a distorted self-image and a fear of "falling" into love.
• 🚪 Ambition as Armor: How academic perfection and a corporate career in high-tech served as a refuge and a survival mechanism to bypass emotional pain.
• 🌾 Generational Trauma & Cruelty: Understanding the hidden history of her parents' generation—marred by the Depression and the Holocaust—and how Lena and her sisters eventually compared notes in midlife to discover they were not alone in their abuse.
• 💃 Reclaiming the Heart in Midlife: Lena’s evolution after quitting her high-tech job, from working as a hospice caregiver to embracing freeform dance, singing, and finding genuine presence with her grandchildren.

About the Guest

Lena Fein is a UC Berkeley-trained engineer, former high-tech executive, and past hospice worker. After decades of navigating life out of her head, the passing of her mother catalyzed a profound emotional awakening, leading her to trade corporate metrics for creative and somatic healing. She is the author of the redemptive new memoir, Shattering the Mirror.

About Terry Shepherd

Terry Shepherd is the host of In Conversation, a podcast dedicated to deep, insightful dialogues with authors, creators, and thinkers who share powerful personal narratives and life-changing truths.

Links & Resources

• Visit Lena Fein’s Official Website: shatteringthemirror.com
• Buy the Book: Shattering the Mirror
• Connect with Host Terry Shepherd: [Terry Shepherd's Official Website]
• Listen to More Episodes: [In Conversation Podcast Archive]

We all inevitably become the brand. And that's why I wrote, "How to Become a Dynamic Podcast Guest and Sell Stuff." It's a sweet and short primer that teaches you about the gear, the appearance and the messaging that can grab and hold today's micro-attention spans and motivate your listeners to take action. It's Just a dollar ninety nine at Amazon. Grab your copy today and sell mo

Some books arrive as guides; others arrive as lifelines. In this episode of In Conversation, host Terry Shepherd sits down with author, educator, and keynote speaker Dr. Katie Rose Pryal to discuss her profoundly necessary new book, Your Kid Belongs Here: An Insider's Guide to Parenting Neurodiverse Children. Together, they explore what it means to dismantle rigid social norms, unlearn internalized shame, and build a world where neurodivergent children can truly thrive as their authentic selves.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

• 🧠 The Myth of "Normal" & Institutional Penalties: Why neurodiversity represents normal variations in human neurological function, and how society systematically penalizes and excludes these differences from public life.
• 🎭 Masking vs. Social Acting: The deep cognitive toll of subconscious "masking" to survive neurotypical expectations, and how parents can teach "social acting" as a conscious, optional tool free from shame.
• 🎒 The Canary in the Coal Mine: Why traditional school systems and rigid social rules often fail neurodivergent kids, and how Katie’s family embraced homeschooling to foster independent learners.
• 🏡 Finding Your "Here": Practical strategies for parents to validate their children's emotional needs, accommodate asynchronous development, and find spaces where their children genuinely belong.

About the Guest:

Dr. Katie Rose Pryal is an AuDHD (autistic and ADHD) writer, keynote speaker, and educator holding both a JD and a PhD. She is one of today's clearest voices writing about mental health and neurodiversity, with a distinguished body of work featured in Psychology Today, Slate, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and NPR. She is the author of Your Kid Belongs Here: An Insider's Guide to Parenting Neurodiverse Children.

About Terry Shepherd:

Terry Shepherd is the host of In Conversation, a premier interview series dedicated to deep, insightful dialogues with authors, creators, and thought leaders shaping our cultural landscape.

Links & Resources:

• Buy the Book: [Insert Book Link Here]
• Visit the Author's Website: [Insert Author Website Here]
• Connect with Terry Shepherd: [Insert Terry Shepherd Link Here]

We all inevitably become the brand. And that's why I wrote, "How to Become a Dynamic Podcast Guest and Sell Stuff." It's a sweet and short primer that teaches you about the gear, the appearance and the messaging that can grab and hold today's micro-attention spans and motivate your listeners to take action. It's Just a dollar ninety nine at Amazon. Grab your copy today and sell mo

Here is the optimized, high-conversion Buzzsprout episode description based on the interview transcript.

What happens when a crime writer decides to take back total creative control of their work? In this episode, host Terry Shepherd sits down with Heather J. Fitt, an accomplished author, editor, and the General Coordinator for the Crime Writers’ Association, to explore her journey from the motor trade to the heart of the crime writing world. Together, they dive into the realities of traditional versus self-publishing, the deep research required to write unsettling thrillers, and why a sense of belonging is the quiet theme connecting all of her stories.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

• 🗺️ The Power of Reinvention: How a passing teenage dream of journalism was crushed by a classmate, only for Heather to reclaim her voice and write her first novel at age 38.
• 📈 Taking Books Back: The strategic decision to transition her three successful crime novels—Open Your Eyes, The Flight, and The Boat Trip—from traditional publishing to self-publishing on KDP to reclaim her royalties and control her marketing.
• 🔍 The 10% Rule of Research: Why deep-diving into the dark corners of the internet, interviewing pilots, and learning Atlantic seafaring protocols makes her fiction undeniably accurate (even if she only uses a fraction of what she learns).
• 🧛 Blending Crime with Horror: A sneak peek into her upcoming novel, Day Walker, a dark crime thriller with a sharp horror twist set in the historic streets of Edinburgh.

About the Guest:

Heather J. Fitt is an author, editor, and publishing professional who spent six years as a commissioning advisor for Bloodhound Books before taking on her current role as General Coordinator for the Crime Writers’ Association. She is the author of three gripping crime novels: Open Your Eyes, The Flight, and The Boat Trip. When she isn't managing prestigious literary events like the Dagger Awards, she can be found writing from the south coast of England or holidaying in Barbados.

About Terry Shepherd:

Terry Shepherd is the host of the In Conversation podcast series, where he interviews leading voices in the literary and creative spaces, exploring the triumphs, trials, and trade secrets of successful authors.

Links & Resources:

• Visit the Author's Website: Heather J. Fitt Official Website
• Buy Heather's Books: Heather J. Fitt on Amazon
• Connect with the Host: Terry Shepherd Official Website

We all inevitably become the brand. And that's why I wrote, "How to Become a Dynamic Podcast Guest and Sell Stuff." It's a sweet and short primer that teaches you about the gear, the appearance and the messaging that can grab and hold today's micro-attention spans and motivate your listeners to take action. It's Just a dollar ninety nine at Amazon. Grab your copy today and sell mo