BETTER TOMORROW WITH HANNAH BROWNHOSTED BYHANNAH BROWN
Welcome to Better Tomorrow, a lifestyle podcast hosted by TV Personality Hannah Brown. Join Hannah as she seeks to answer the big questions: “Am I better today than I was yesterday? And how can I learn to be better tomorrow?” Each week, Hannah will build on those questions, discussing topics like confidence, love, and making time for yourself, all through the relatable experiences of the ultimate Everywoman. There will be advice, intimate emotional explorations and reveals, and lasting takeaways. Hannah will push the envelope as she challenges, inspires, and guides herself and her audience across these topics through the lens of a progressive, empowered woman who even with her faith doesn’t know all the answers and is still actively defining and deciding what all that means.
Absolutely. That that's appropriate. And, also, I think it depends on what your relationship with is with the therapist is and with the client. You know, it's, like, for if you've just met and you've had, you know, 7 sessions versus, you know, you've been in therapy with someone for 5 years, where, like, there's going to be a sense of safety and a sense of trust in that space that that is really established. And so there might be moments where you might say, can I reflect something back to you, or can I point something out to you that I would like for us to maybe have a different conversation about? And again, it's still for the client to always choose We're never trying to choose for someone. We shouldn't be choosing for someone, but we wanna challenge them. And if they're not seeing something or if there's pattern that we're like, we've been on this pattern for, you know, many years together. So might I just highlight that this people pattern is presenting itself again. And so can we look at this a little differently? Right? It's like the challenging of that, I think, is really vital in the therapeutic relationship. And so, again, I'm not choosing for you, but I'm going to point to things. I'm gonna point things out. I'm going to challenge you. I'm gonna have you look at something and make contact something that I believe that you can make contact with, even if you're not making contact with it on your own. Yeah. My therapist all has, like, this phrase that she says that she's like, I give you the chance, but you get the choice. So, like, I think that's what a therapist sometimes when you have somebody to talk to, can kind of give you that backboard to kind of, like, have the opportunity to actually see, like, what's what's in front of you that sometimes it's just, like, in your blind spot. But, ultimately, another person can't make you change. There's a lot of work that has to go on outside of that, you know, however long session. And I don't know. I I I watched this podcast. Or I actually didn't watch it, but it came up
I still remember this feeling. Being in my cart and my mom, like, pinching me on the back of the leg, which Yeah. Because I was probably thrown a fit. I don't remember that I was wrong, but I remember probably I was crying, and I just remember she would, like, you know, pitch me right there. And it was basically, I'm disappointed. I'm throwing a fit. It's wrong. I shouldn't feel this way. Mhmm. And, again, should I be screaming in Target or wherever we were? No. But what's the what's the message even at 2 or 3 years old? It's like you you shouldn't be crying. Yeah. You shouldn't you should get it together. So I think we all struggle with that shame response to our negative emotions. Yeah. I I feel like this was just perfect timing for me because I've been going into, like, a lot of processing emotions that I just, never let myself feel. So it was really awesome to have you, almost I don't know. It was like a like a wink from God, I think, for me that, like, oh, like me doing all this work of actually, like, tapping into some of these emotions that I never didn't think I was allowed to or shut down. Like, that is, like, where the answer is, and that's where the healing is. But kinda to back up, I kinda just went into, like, how I discovered your work. But can you just tell us a little bit more about you and how you found yourself in ministry through your books and the conferences that you have? Yeah. So I was 17 years old, and I'd grown up hearing about Jesus, but I never saw a personal need for him. And I was at a summer camp, and they reenacted, Jesus's death and which, you know, I it I'd seen obviously before, but it hit me in a different way. And I just realized, like, I need God. And it was pretty radical. Like, I just came back, and I was still in high school. I was like, I just love him, and I wanna talk about him. And I started telling everybody about him, and I think I wore my friends out. And so I I grabbed some younger girls, 2 years younger than me, and I started teaching them the Bible, which
Main reasons that caused us so much friction was that I didn't know how to open up. I didn't know how to, like, really express myself and be vulnerable. Yeah. And we found out that she can't she can't relate to someone who's putting on this, like, perfect face Mhmm. Who's who's not showing their weaknesses, their vulnerabilities, their their fears. And I can only imagine being on the show, Matt. Like, You have to the cameras definitely play into that. You can't be your authentic self fully when you're on camera. Hannah's probably like, yeah, you can. Look at me. No. But but, like, as a man, you you kind of you have to, kind of guard yourself a little bit because you you want to, be strong for the women that you're that you're vying for. Right? Yeah. Yeah. No. I mean And they probably wanted you to open like, not force you to open up to talk about things, but, you know, you you have to. But as men, it's it's unnatural for us to do, I think, because we're not taught that at a young age. Mhmm. Yeah. No. I, that was definitely the hardest part. They would come to me constantly and just be like, you you gotta give more. Like, you gotta open up because I feel like they could tell that I was reserved. And and like you said, Hannah, like, there is this element of, like like, I have a lot of grace for my experience and for the show regardless of, like, what might be, you know, can perceived by people. Mhmm. Because I it's it's it's you're put in a tough position. Totally. And when when you have to produce a show that's compelling and there's elements that are keeping people locked in and and on the edge of their seat. Like, there's things that you have to do. So, like, I didn't understand that at the time, though, so I'm frustrated. Like, you don't but as I'm watching it back, I'm like, oh, they're trying to pull this out of me so that I can connect with, you know, the audience.
Crying. And then those I'm gonna take the dogs out. I'm like, oh, everything's amazing. Yeah. I'm I'm actually like, I go from 0 to a 100 real quick with weather. But we've been talking about it. We talked about it a lot when we were in Mexico because I was like, oh, I just I think I'm a better person. He's like, totally. But, like, think of the community. He totally totally are. Wow. Like, it really is like night and day. But the community that we have here Yeah. Is so awesome. And we're just building it. Like, I feel like every month, we bring somebody else new into our life, and that's been awesome. And it's not dog eat dog. I feel like everybody is like, how can I help you? Yes. How can we network? How can we build each other up? It's really It's really awesome, and especially that crew. Yes. I think it's so interesting too because I've spent some time in LA. I've spent time in New York. I'm Canadian, and this feels like a Canadian, like, small town with good people. Just sweet. Yeah. And, like, I didn't I had never experienced terrible people until going on TV. Right. And it was such a shock to the system because I'm like, wait. You're not all just wanting what's best for me, and you're only in it for yourself, and now it's a competition instead of a collaboration? Like, I'm confused. Mhmm. And I do people ask all the time, why Nashville? And I'm like, it feels like a safe, sacred space with good community. Mhmm. And I can still go do the LA thing. I could still go to New York and get the interviews and do all the thing, but then I get the hell out of there and come back to my place where I feel calm. How did you choose Nashville? A a man named Sean Booth, I got engaged to. Okay. So was he already here? Yeah. He was already here. Okay. So when we got engaged, he came to Canada for a bit. And then I was like, I've always wanted to live in Nashville, and so I just did. Because you was it because you were, like, in music and you always thought about Nashville? Like, no. I I truly my sister had been to Nashville a few times, and she was like, it reminds me of, like, a big city, but with small town people.
Hi. I'm Hannah Brown, and welcome to Better Tomorrow. My absolute favorite thing to do is have a heart to heart talk with my new friends and my best friends, where we sit down and talk about all the things like relationships and love, faith, and self care. And, of course, the little things as well, like the struggle to figure out what to eat tonight. All in all, I really wanna ask, how am I better today than yesterday and bring artists, entrepreneurs, and friends along on the journey? So join me on the journey, will you? I am so excited for our guest today because when I started Better Tomorrow, I put together, like, a list of people that I wanted to have on the show. And this guest was 1 on, like, my very first list because her book was a book that, like, resonated with me so much at at, like, the perfect time in my life. So we have Tara Shuster on the podcast today who wrote one of my favorite favorite books, by yourself the effing lilies. And so I'm so excited that we're finally getting to get this together, have this conversation. So thank you so much, Tara, for for being here. Oh my goodness. Thank you. I'm I'm thrilled. This is a long time in the making. I know. We've we've messaged back and forth trying to get this, like, scheduled because, like I said, I loved your first book. Again, thank you for being here, and I can't wait to talk about just your life. Also, your new your newest book, glow in the effing dark. So, yeah, this is, like, a a dream for me to talk to you. Me too. So you were an executive at Comedy Central working in television. So how did you even start writing self help books? Yeah. It is not an obvious path to self help books. I was firmly at Comedy Central. I worked there fully 12 years. It was the first job I had out of college.
