The Real Lives of TBI Wives

One Straw Away | Ep. 50

Fifty episodes. In this solo episode, Erika takes you back to where it all started — the woman who had never shared her story publicly, who hit record scared and unpolished because she knew someone needed to hear it. She walks through what fifty episodes has taught her about TBI wives, identity loss, and what it really means to disappear inside the role of caregiver. And then she shares the wall she hit this past year, he isolation, the weight. The moment she was one straw away and what she chose to do instead. This episode is for the woman who is done surviving but does not quite know how to come back yet. The one who downloads every episode and still puts herself last. The one who is waiting for the right moment to matter. Erika has a message for her  Come join the Reclaim [http://reclaim-tbiwives.com] community for a group of women who get it!

Worthiness Wounds of TBI Wives | Ep. 49

Ep. 49 | You have been performing strength in public while quietly disappearing in private. And if you are honest with yourself, the exhaustion you are carrying as a TBI wife goes deeper than the caregiving itself. It goes all the way back. In this episode, Erika Brouillette gets honest about the worthiness wound, the deep, quiet belief that your needs come last, that your worth lives in your usefulness, and that wanting more makes you selfish. This is the belief that started in childhood, long before your husband's brain injury ever happened. And caregiving, the relentless, identity-swallowing reality of life as a traumatic brain injury spouse, has a way of making it louder. Of making self-abandonment sound like strength. Erika walks you through where that belief started, how it gets amplified after a TBI, and what it actually looks like to question the programming you inherited. Because caregiver identity loss is real. Caregiver burnout is real. And the ambiguous grief of loving someone whose brain injury has changed everything,  including who you are inside of it, deserves more than survival advice and self care checklists. This episode is for the TBI wife who has stopped dreaming. Who says she's fine when she's drowning. Who cannot remember the last time she wanted something just for herself and felt okay about it. Who has been told, by the world or by her faith community, that wanting more is ungrateful. That good wives give everything. That strong women don't need much. It's time to question that story. If you are ready to stop disappearing inside the caregiving and start reclaiming your identity, your selfworth, and the life that still belongs to you, this episode is your starting point. Join us at Reclaim [http://reclaim-tbiwives.com] to start putting this all into action!   Reflection Questions From This Episode Pause the episode and sit with these, or grab your journal. * What did you learn about your worth when you were little? * What did love require of you growing up? * What version of you felt the safest to be? * Where did you learn that your needs come last? * Where did you learn that asking for help means weakness? * What would actually happen if you let something fall? * Where did you learn that wanting more is selfish and was that actually true?

One Fall, A Lifetime of Change with Greg Hayward | Ep. 48

Ep. 48 | In this episode of Real Lives of TBI Wives, Erika sits down with Greg Hayward, a traumatic brain injury survivor who shares his honest and often humorous perspective on life after TBI. Greg spent 35 years in the oil and gas industry, a career built on hard work, the outdoors, and mechanical skill, until one unexpected night changed everything. What started as a normal evening with a friend before a hunting trip ended in a devastating fall down a basement staircase during a sleepwalking episode, leading to a traumatic brain injury that altered every part of his life. Greg opens up about the long recovery process, from waking up months later with only pieces of memory, to navigating vision and hearing loss, fatigue, balance issues, and the frustrating reality of not always being able to find the words he wants to say. He shares what it was like moving through hospital care, brain injury rehab at Glenrose, and the slow process of relearning his body, his limits, and the way his brain now works. This conversation also dives into life beyond the hospital. Greg talks about the challenges of returning to work, the ways TBI affects relationships, the isolation survivors can feel, and how everyday tasks like going to a restaurant or sitting in a noisy room can suddenly become overwhelming. He also shares the creative ways he has adapted, from using assistive technology to finding new purpose through his Haywire Dry Rub business and his dream of becoming a gunsmith. What makes Greg’s story so meaningful is his honesty. He doesn’t sugarcoat the losses, but he also brings humor, grit, and perspective to the conversation. His story is a reminder that life after brain injury may look very different than before, but there is still room for purpose, creativity, growth, and connection. Be sure to order your Haywire [https://haywiredryrub.ca/] dry rub today!  And we would love for you to join us in Reclaim [http://reclaim-tbiwives.com] where there are women who get it and want to do this life along side you!

The Secrets We Carry and the Weight They Create: Carrie Pullaro | Ep. 47

Ep. 47 | In this powerful episode of Real Lives of TBI Wives, Erika sits down with Carrie Pullaro, coach and creator of The Whole Woman Method, to talk about the hidden emotional weight women carry long before tragedy ever touches their lives. Carrie shares her deeply personal story of body shame, addiction, secrecy, abortion, herpes diagnosis, destructive coping patterns, and the exhausting cycle of trying to fix what was showing up physically without ever addressing what was happening emotionally. Through years of personal development, recovery work, coaching, and deep emotional healing, Carrie discovered that her struggle was never just about food, fitness, or the number on the scale. It was about the pain she had buried, the parts of herself she had abandoned, and the stories she kept telling herself about her worth, her body, and her identity. She opens up about what changed when she stopped running, started facing her truth, and gave herself permission to heal at the root. Carrie explains how the Whole Woman Method was born from that transformation, a process that weaves together empowered mindset, emotional groundedness, and physical fitness to help women become more whole, more confident, and more connected to themselves. This conversation will resonate deeply with women who know what it feels like to carry emotional pain in the body, feel isolated by their stories, and wonder if healing is really possible. This episode is an invitation to stop abandoning yourself, stop shrinking, and begin rewriting the story underneath the struggle. You can connect with Carrie on instagram [https://www.instagram.com/carriepullaro?igsh=MTJzNmFqYWN1MGdhaQ==] To go deeper and connect with women who get it, join us at Reclaim [http://reclaim-tbiwives.com]

Finding Light: Community and Courage for TBI Wives | Ep. 46

Ep. 46 | Host Erika Brouillette shares her experience of facing a life-or-death decision, then becoming an overnight caretaker, provider, and single parent to three boys while managing specialists, therapies, insurance, and daily care tasks like feeding tubes, medications, and hygiene. Overwhelmed, isolated, and unsure of next steps, she held onto a belief she could help others and began learning how to reclaim her life over years of struggle. Because she couldn’t find the support she needed, she created Reclaim, a community for TBI wives focused on reconnecting with self and higher power, rebuilding boundaries and workable systems, and reclaiming identity and needs while being supported monthly without judgment.   Join the Reclaim [http://reclaim-tbiwives.com] community!