Special Episode: When the Refiner’s Fire Takes You To The Psych Ward (to shoot the breeze with Paul Ladd)

Special Episode: When the Refiner’s Fire Takes You To The Psych Ward (to shoot the breeze with Paul Ladd)

I’m dropping this in lieu of my regular podcast: Paul Ladd’s Refiner’s Fire interview with me from NRB in Nashville. Paul is the senior correspondent for World Christian Broadcasting, a reknown veteran of the multimedia world, and a great friend. We talk about neurodivergence and mental health, what it means when your brain is wired differently, and how that can intersect with anxiety, depression, and burnout. I share the story behind my book #SisterhoodoftheShortYellowPencils—my manic writing spree, my time in the psych ward, and how that became one of the most spiritual experiences of my life when everything I’d built (titles, awards, “having it together”) was stripped away. We also talk about faith-community stigma, why pat answers don’t help, and how medication and real support can be part of God’s healing.  00:00 Abundant Life Misconceptions 00:32 Meet Amber and Neurodivergence 02:13 Manic Spiral and Intervention 04:58 God in the Psych Ward 07:34 Stripped Titles and Forced Pause 10:04 Recovery and Mental Health Stigma 11:32 Bones and Dirt Grace 14:50 Short Yellow Pencil Metaphor 15:16 Medication and Real Support 17:52 Book Impact and Final Encouragement Amber Weigand-Buckley is an Amazon #1 bestselling and multi-award-winning author, podcaster, and the founding editor and art director of the multi-award-winning Leading Hearts magazine. She's the #shortyellowpencilgirl living in a neurotypical world — navigating life with a beehive brain, a lot of sticky notes, and an unwavering belief that God wired her exactly right. Host of #RandomDevoThoughts — where she unpacks the Jesus heart from the ADHD mind — Amber brings raw, relatable, and often hilarious insight to faith, mental health, and neurodivergent life. She's also co-host of Coffee Chat with Amber & Lisa. Her newly released book, #SisterhoodoftheShortYellowPencils: Mental Health Mayhem, One Sticky Note at a Time, is out now — a humor-packed, gut-punch honest look at her own mental health journey that's equal parts laugh-out-loud and life-changing. Follow her @barefacedgirl and @shortyellowpencilRX for the real, the raw, and the ridiculous.

Love in Five Dimensions (and Why I'll Never Again Settle for Less)

Yes, I said five dimensions. Stay with me — you'll understand soon. Here's what nobody tells you about intimacy: we mistake it for vibes. And vibes are deceiving. You can vibe with someone for years and never actually be known by them. So what does it look like when someone loves all of you — even the invisible parts? I'm pulling from almost 32 years of marriage to my very reliable cup of Earl Grey (I'm the verb, he's the tea — it'll make sense, I promise). And I'm not giving you the sanitized version, because that's not what we do here. We walked through some genuinely hard seasons to get to this kind of love, and I'm telling you what we found on the other side. And to my neurodivergent people — there's something in this one especially for you. Don't miss this: Philip and I are going live this Thursday (June 11 at 7pm CST) for a Going Yellow (Can the Mellow) night of questions and answers — a real, honest, organic conversation about marriage and the hard seasons.  Just find me @barefacedgirl on Facebook. Come as you are. Amber Weigand-Buckley is an Amazon #1 bestselling and multi-award-winning author, podcaster, and the founding editor and art director of the multi-award-winning Leading Hearts magazine. She's the #shortyellowpencilgirl living in a neurotypical world — navigating life with a beehive brain, a lot of sticky notes, and an unwavering belief that God wired her exactly right. Host of #RandomDevoThoughts — where she unpacks the Jesus heart from the ADHD mind — Amber brings raw, relatable, and often hilarious insight to faith, mental health, and neurodivergent life. She's also co-host of Coffee Chat with Amber & Lisa. Her newly released book, #SisterhoodoftheShortYellowPencils: Mental Health Mayhem, One Sticky Note at a Time, is out now — a humor-packed, gut-punch honest look at her own mental health journey that's equal parts laugh-out-loud and life-changing. Follow her @barefacedgirl and @shortyellowpencilRX for the real, the raw, and the ridiculous.

Top Five Things Your ADHD Friends Want You to Know About Them (and please don't mistake our caring for not caring)

Hey friends, it's Amber. Ever wonder why your ADHD friend says "me too" in the middle of your story? Why do they interrupt? Why are they always late, even though they swear they care? Honestly? I've been trying to explain this for years, and it keeps coming out wrong. So today, I'm holding the mic for my people—your fully marinated spaghetti friends—because I have something I need you to hear. If you've ever replayed a conversation at 2 AM, wondering if you just lost a friend, if you've ever felt like you wear out your welcome, or if you love someone whose brain works differently than yours—I'm sitting here with all the feels, ready to dumptruck some insight, which is this episode, just for you. Five things. Straight from the heart. No filter. Let's talk about it. 0:00 - Intro: Your Fully Marinated Spaghetti Friends 1:15 - Why We Feel Like We Should Be Adults By Now 2:30 - #1: We're Not Making It About Us—We're Building a Bridge 5:45 - #2: Our Brains Are Overcrowded, Not Empty 9:20 - #3: Exhausted From Trying to Prove Our Hearts 13:10 - #4: The Tragedy Isn't That We Don't Care 16:30 - #5: We Need Both Kinds of Friends (And We're Worth Knowing) 19:45 - For People Who Wonder If Their Brains Are Compatible With Faith 22:00 - Real Life: Keys on My Bra & Sleeping on Chocolate Nights 25:15 - Grace for the Heart that is Misunderstood 27:30 - Prayer for Every Spaghetti Brain Amber Weigand-Buckley is an Amazon #1 bestselling and multi-award-winning author, podcaster, and the founding editor and art director of the multi-award-winning Leading Hearts magazine. She's the #shortyellowpencilgirl living in a neurotypical world — navigating life with a beehive brain, a lot of sticky notes, and an unwavering belief that God wired her exactly right. Host of #RandomDevoThoughts — where she unpacks the Jesus heart from the ADHD mind — Amber brings raw, relatable, and often hilarious insight to faith, mental health, and neurodivergent life. She's also co-host of Coffee Chat with Amber & Lisa. Her newly released book, #SisterhoodoftheShortYellowPencils: Mental Health Mayhem, One Sticky Note at a Time, is out now — a humor-packed, gut-punch honest look at her own mental health journey that's equal parts laugh-out-loud and life-changing. Follow her @barefacedgirl and @shortyellowpencilRX for the real, the raw, and the ridiculous.

Don't Get Stuck On Your Big But (Is Your Plus-Sized Butt Blocking Your Super-Sized Purpose?)

Hey, this is Amber, and today I am owning something I kept quiet for a very long time. I had an eating disorder. And just like many of my sisters, I still struggle with body image — every single day. I have to shake it off myself, continually. I'm saying that out loud because someone needs to hear someone else say it first. We're talking about your big but today — the thing hiding behind your purpose — and mine was my body. For years. From the little girl put on her first diet before she even had the words for it, all the way to a grown woman sneaking to bathrooms and stepping on scales three times a day and letting a number decide whether she was worth anything. When I ended up in the psych ward for something completely separate, the medication they put me on changed my body in ways I couldn't control. And every single day I had to make the hardest choice — is my stability worth more than a number on a scale? I chose sanity. Every day I chose it. And I'd choose it again. But I still ended up crying in a makeup chair before my first book headshots thinking if my face was pretty enough maybe nobody would notice the rest of me. And I sat across from my speaking coach and said out loud — I don't think anyone would want to listen to me because of how I look. If any part of this podcast description hits close to home, tune in. If this is your story too, please reach out to the National Alliance for Eating Disorders at 1-866-662-1235. Amber Weigand-Buckley is an Amazon #1 bestselling and multi-award-winning author, podcaster, and the founding editor and art director of the multi-award-winning Leading Hearts magazine. She's the #shortyellowpencilgirl living in a neurotypical world — navigating life with a beehive brain, a lot of sticky notes, and an unwavering belief that God wired her exactly right. Host of #RandomDevoThoughts — where she unpacks the Jesus heart from the ADHD mind — Amber brings raw, relatable, and often hilarious insight to faith, mental health, and neurodivergent life. She's also co-host of Coffee Chat with Amber & Lisa. Her newly released book, #SisterhoodoftheShortYellowPencils: Mental Health Mayhem, One Sticky Note at a Time, is out now — a humor-packed, gut-punch honest look at her own mental health journey that's equal parts laugh-out-loud and life-changing. Follow her @barefacedgirl and @shortyellowpencilRX for the real, the raw, and the ridiculous.

That Sad Girl in a FB Frame— I Know Her But I’ve Forgotten Her Name (From the Cliff’s Edge to Times Square)

This is the official kick-off of Season 2 — celebrating the release of #sisterhoodoftheshortyellowpencils: Mental Health Mayhem, One Sticky Note at a Time. Today I just happened to be doing some normal book promo stuff — digging through old photos — when I found a picture from May 2012 and my whole body just went weird. Dizzy. Like the floor shifted. Because I almost didn't recognize her. Not because she looked different. Because I am different. This episode, I'm taking you somewhere that doesn't have a punchline. No jokes today. Just the real stuff — where I was, what God did with it, and why in 10 days I'll be standing in Times Square in complete awe of how far this story has come. If you've ever walked through something that broke you and wondered whether God could actually do anything with it — this one's for you. In this episode: * The photo that stopped me cold * A mountain, a cliff, and the truth about where I was in 2012 * A roommate I'd just met who changed everything without even knowing it * What "not staying silent" actually costs — and why it's worth it * Psalm 139:16 and why every single day was already written, even that one ⚠️ This episode talks honestly about mental health and crisis. If you or someone you love is struggling right now, please call or text 988. Licensed counselors are there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 📖 Sisterhood of the Short Yellow Pencils is available now on Amazon. Amber Weigand-Buckley is an Amazon #1 bestselling and multi-award-winning author, podcaster, and the founding editor and art director of the multi-award-winning Leading Hearts magazine. She's the #shortyellowpencilgirl living in a neurotypical world — navigating life with a beehive brain, a lot of sticky notes, and an unwavering belief that God wired her exactly right. Host of #RandomDevoThoughts — where she unpacks the Jesus heart from the ADHD mind — Amber brings raw, relatable, and often hilarious insight to faith, mental health, and neurodivergent life. She's also co-host of Coffee Chat with Amber & Lisa. Her newly released book, #SisterhoodoftheShortYellowPencils: Mental Health Mayhem, One Sticky Note at a Time, is out now — a humor-packed, gut-punch honest look at her own mental health journey that's equal parts laugh-out-loud and life-changing. Follow her @barefacedgirl and @shortyellowpencilRX for the real, the raw, and the ridiculous.