Episode 113: After the Wildfire – Melissa Geissinger
Episode 113: After the Wildfire
Interview with Melissa Geissinger
Sponsored by Merrell
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Melissa Geissinger lost her house in the Tubbs fire of Northern California in October 2017. Two months later, she had her son Apollo, and life changed forever once again. We talk in the episode about the “old” Melissa and the “new” Melissa a year and a half after she and her husband were displaced by wildfire. Today she has her eyes set on hiking the length of the Oregon Coast and helping others cope with trauma by giving them a platform to share their stories.
Banner image courtesy of Melissa Geissinger
Find the episode below, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you stream podcasts.
Featured in this episode: Melissa Geissinger
Hosted by Gale Straub
Music is by Josh Woodward, Kai Engel, and Lee Rosevere using CC by A license.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
- How Melissa took up hiking to make time for herself
- Why she was planning to hike the length of the Oregon coast
- How unexpectedly losing her home in the Tubbs fire of October 2017 shaped her next year and a half
- Why Melissa and her husband found home in a hospital for the first 3 months of her son’s life
- What she wants for her 18-month-old son, Apollo
- How nature, combined with therapy, has helped her heal (but why PTSD is real)
- Why she started a blog, Survival Over Surrender, to help share other people’s stories of trauma
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Melissa Geissinger: Website
- Survival Over Surrender: Website, Instagram, and Facebook Group
- She Explores Book
- San Francisco Chronicle Series: Out of Fire
- Unrooted Podcast
- She Explores Podcast Facebook Group
Sponsor Websites & Promotions
- Merrell: Learn more about the Ontario Waterproof Mid hiking shoes by visiting Merrell.com
Melissa Outside with her Son, Apollo
Melissa and her son Apollo hiking
Bodega Bay
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[…] recently did an interview with Gale Straub of She-Explores.com. The episode is called After the Wildfire and talks about my plans to thru-hike the Oregon Coast Trail in the summer of […]