She Chose to Go Back: Tiffany Baker Larnicol on War, Witness, and What Home Really Means — Part 2

She Chose to Go Back: Tiffany Baker Larnicol on War, Witness, and What Home Really Means — Part 2

In Part 2 of my conversation with lifelong friend Tiffany Baker Larnicol, we pick up where the world got complicated. After nearly a decade of calling Dubai home, a city she once said she would never live in, Tiffany found herself in the middle of a regional conflict she couldn't fully process in real time. Nightly missile alerts. Rattling windows. A drone passing her apartment window in broad daylight on her birthday. And a husband telling her she had two hours to pack like she was never coming back. But this isn't just a story about leaving. It's about what happened when she got angry enough to return. Tiffany shares what it felt like to be an American in a war zone with no clear lifeline from her own government, to drive through the oldest Emirate in silence wondering what comes next, and to cross the border into Oman with a US passport and a bag full of medication during Ramadan. And then, five weeks later, to choose to fly back alone. This episode holds grief, clarity, cultural humility, and one of the most honest reflections on humanity, belonging, and what it means to stay that I've ever been part of. * 00:00 — Welcome back: picking up the story in Dubai * 00:16 — From Paris to the Middle East: why Dubai after the ISIS attacks * 01:39 — Life under the National Guard in Paris: the weight of constant surveillance * 02:26 — The unexpected move: Airbus, the Middle East, and a counterintuitive decision * 03:34 — Arriving in Dubai: first impressions, culture shock, and adjusting to the heat * 05:33 — Nine years in: how her understanding of the region deepened * 09:16 — The Islamic Jesus and the surprising similarities she discovered * 12:51 — What studying history can teach us about why things are the way they are * 14:01 — "A sticky moment in history": February 28th and the first alerts * 16:40 — What "take shelter" means when you've never expected to need it * 17:31 — Her husband's calm — and why he knew the interception system would hold * 18:27 — Nightly alerts, the airport under fire, and the US government's silence * 21:44 — Trying to reach the State Department for a week * 24:00 — Her birthday. A drone. A ball of fire. And the decision to leave. * 27:35 — Two hours to pack like you're never coming back * 29:20 — The drive through Alain and Oman: COVID in a war zone * 32:16 — The Oman border crossing: a US passport, a white dress, and "woman medicine" * 35:34 — Paris. Five weeks. And then anger. * 36:30 — Why she chose to return alone * 39:00 — The discomfort of having privilege enough to leave * 44:06 — What she's learned from workers across 200 nationalities living side by side * 48:10 — Just be present. Just listen. Just be an open heart. * 50:18 — The photo of the Strait of Hormuz and the beauty beneath the conflict * 51:57 — Closing reflection: stories that recalibrate us ---------------------------------------- * @storysessionspodcast * @lauralyn_author * @tiffanybakerlarnicol * @wbrandpub * @storysessions_live

Tiffany Baker Larnicol: An Unscripted Life, Beautifully Lived — Part 1

Some friendships begin before we're old enough to remember, and those are often the ones that carry the most truth. This week, I'm joined by my lifelong friend Tiffany Baker Larnicol, known to those who've loved her longest as Tiffy, for a rich, wide-ranging conversation about a life fully and bravely lived. Tiffy grew up alongside me in Nashville, and from those early days together — including a Nashville Magazine cover with Santa in 1974 — she went on to build a remarkable career in international modeling, living and working in Japan, Europe, and now Dubai. In Part 1 of our two-part conversation, Tiffy shares what it was like to leave the comfort of a "boutique" Nashville for the precision and beauty of Japanese culture, the early lessons that shaped her career, and how, looking back now, she recognizes just how protected she was during an era when so many young women were not. We also talk about finding your voice, the freedom that comes with age and experience, and how living across cultures reshapes who you are. This one is personal, warm, and full of wisdom. I think you'll love her as much as I do. Part 2 drops next week. Tiffany: @tiffanybakerlarnicol Follow StorySessions at www.storysessionspodcast.riverside.com [http://www.storysessionspodcast.riverside.com] KEY WORDS: StorySessions, memoir, women's stories, international living, modeling, Japan, Paris, Dubai, Gen X women, finding your voice, friendship, human trafficking awareness, cultural immersion, Laura Lyn Donahue, Tiffany Baker Larnicol

The Other Side of the Mirror — A Story with Laura Lyn

What does it mean to watch someone you love begin something you've already lived? This week, host Laura Lyn steps away from the guest chair to share a personal story — a weekend in St. Augustine with her youngest daughter Eliza, shopping for a wedding dress. What unfolded was part joy, part déjà vu, and part quiet reckoning with time, identity, and the chapters that quietly close as new ones open. Short, personal, and thought-provoking. 📩 Share your story: lauralyn@storysessions.live [lauralyn@storysessions.live] 🎙 Learn more: StorySessions.live [http://StorySessions.live]

Phil Madeira: Where He's Been, Where He's Headed, and the Conversation That Started It All

He's back — and he came bearing good news. Phil Madeira, 35-year Nashville veteran, multi-instrumentalist in Emmylou Harris's band, songwriter, painter, and author, returns to StorySessions™ for a bonus update episode that delivers on every front. Since his original episode — one of our top-rated conversations — Phil has been everywhere. He successfully Kickstarted three projects at once: two albums (The Millionth Mile and More Miles) and a memoir. He's returned from Emmylou Harris's farewell European tour, including a sold-out night at the Royal Albert Hall, dinner with friends near Jimmy Page's house, and a gin and tonic with Downton Abbey's Elizabeth McGovern. He ran his annual Mercyland songwriter workshop in Gorey, Ireland, and is gearing up for his American Mercyland in July. And his memoir? Summer of Gone — a title given to him, unexpectedly, by someone who didn't even mean it as a gift — arrives in October 2026. This episode is a reunion, a celebration, and a preview of more Phil to come. If you haven't heard his original episode, stay tuned — we replay it in full. If you have, welcome back to a conversation that always goes somewhere worth going. About This Episode This is a bonus update episode. Don Donahue opens with an intro, Phil delivers a personal update, and the original StorySessions™ interview with Phil replays in full — one of our most beloved conversations to date. In This Update, Phil Shares: * His successful Kickstarter for two vinyl albums and a memoir — goal: $45,000 * Life on the road with Emmylou Harris — her European farewell tour, Royal Albert Hall, Liverpool, Amsterdam * The 4th annual Mercyland songwriter workshop in Gorey, Ireland — and a flying shoe * What it takes to run a successful Kickstarter (hint: it's not passive) * His memoir Summer of Gone — the title's origin, the publisher, and the October 2026 release * His upcoming July Mercyland Nashville workshop (open to attendees) * Phil Madeira website: www.philmadeira.net [http://www.philmadeira.net] * Mercyland Nashville workshop (July 12, 2026) — contact Phil directly via his website * Summer of Gone — W Brand Publishing, October 2026 * StorySessions™ all episodes + links: www.storysessionsthepodcast.riverside.com [http://www.storysessionsthepodcast.riverside.com] * Primary site: storysessions.live [http://storysessions.live]

Hope Starts Now: Melissa Lewis on Reinvention, Grief, and the Gift of a Second Act

Melissa Lewis spent 25 years teaching middle school, raising her family, and pouring herself into other people's kids. Then, at 51, she did something most people in her season of life wouldn't dare — she went back to school, earned her master's in marriage and family therapy, and opened her own counseling practice in Franklin, Tennessee. But the story underneath that story is the one worth hearing. In this conversation, Melissa and Laura Lyn — friends of 25+ years who raised their kids side by side — talk about what it actually costs to reinvent yourself, the voices that tell you not to, and the grief that can arrive right alongside your greatest new beginning. Melissa shares what she's learning in the counseling room, why she hands every new client a snail, and what she wants anyone in the middle of a hard season to know: change is always possible, and hope starts right now. Topics covered: second acts and reinvention | self-care across generations | going back to school at 51 | loss, grief, and "brutally beautiful" moments | Brainspotting for trauma | loneliness as a universal theme | the courage to stop people-pleasing | finding hope in the last third Guest contact: melissalewiscounseling.com [http://melissalewiscounseling.com] | melissa@melissalewiscounseling.com [melissa@melissalewiscounseling.com] | Franklin, TN | 615.210.7724 ----------------------------------------