A Journey with Bernie

When Ken Pakenham was 13, he sat bedside and watched his mother slowly die after consuming rat poison. It was her final response to constant domestic violence. In the midst of his shattered family, Ken also suffered violent beatings at high school that continually punished his gender and sexual diversity. His deep desire to find meaning through his suffering led him on a roller-coaster of drug addiction, hippie communal living and homelessness. When he too was so close to giving up on the game of life, his sister introduced him to a straight and narrow pathway presented by the Pentecostal Church. It rescued him. University, marriage, fatherhood and career advancements followed. After being shattered by divorce, a new path opened that drew him back to his authentic self and gay love.

Well, you can imagine, what learnings are on offer in this our first episode of A JOURNEY WITH BERNIE?

Through Ken, you will come to fully understand the constant challenge we all have to identify, know and truly live our values not daily, not hourly but in every living moment. This episode suggests that somewhere in that state one experiences a freedom – a fullness of life. It might even be a definition for sustainable joy.

Kenneth Pakenham, is an Emeritus Professor in the School of Psychology at The University of Queensland, Australia. His research and clinical practice spans 40 years. Through his 170 publications, 9,500 citations of his work, 3 research awards, 3 teaching awards, and more than 3 million dollars of competitive grant funding, Ken has become a global leader in assisting others to cope with adversity. His story is epitomised in his recently published must read memoir …

It is a must read, just as this inaugural episode is a must listen. We simply could not have had a better first up guest.

During the podcast COURAGE TO BE DISLIKED by Fumitake Koga and Ichiro Kishimi was also referenced and highly recommended.

Produced by The Podcast Boss