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Today, Risa August, the author of The Road Unpaved, joins us to share her remarkable journey. Risa was diagnosed with The rare pituitary disease and refuses to be labeled a victim. Her journey has transformed how she interacts with the world and she even embarked on an audacious bike ride from Canada to Mexico, learning to partner with her condition rather than fight against it. Based in Colorado, Risa is both a Gestalt practitioner and a dedicated patient advocate for rare pituitary diseases. Over the past 5 years, she has been sharing her story and advocating for better treatment options and support for patients like her. In addition to speaking at conferences for leaders in pharmaceuticals, medical professionals, and patients. Her work is published on blogs and in other smaller publications. Her most popular personal essay, Marshmallow Clouds, has been translated into Spanish.

Through her personal transformation and advocacy work, Reza has learned and practice removing limiting beliefs, shifting her perspective and embracing a full life. She has a bachelor's in geography, a certification in Gestalt Coaching Method, and a certificate in mindfulness based cognitive therapy. She's been living with a pituitary tumor and a rare disease for over a decade, And I cannot wait for her to share the name of her tumor during our episode. She often takes the stage offering words of inspiration and information in hopes to save others from heading down a bumpier road. A girl with sparkles in her hair and once an Ironman athlete. Risa has a passion for her bike and barbells With her genuine curiosity and love for trying new and old things, you may find her taking salsa or hip hop dance lessons, Trying a silks aerialist or boxing class, going indoor skydiving, or guiding an inspirational workshop in creativity. She is the real deal, my friends. She is a badass, and I am excited to share her story and our conversation with you today.

Welcome to The Fire Inside Her, the podcast where we explore the incredible stories of individuals who have discovered their inner fire on their journey to authenticity. I'm your host, Diane Schroeder, And I am so grateful that you are here.

Hello, everyone. And today, we have a very special guest. Risa August is joining us to talk a little bit about her, Not only her journey to authenticity, she has written a book that talks about a completely different journey, and I can't wait to dive in. Risa, thank you so much for joining me today.

Oh my gosh. Thank you so much, Diane, for having me. I'm so excited to be here.

While I say we just dive in, I would love to know what your favorite childhood meal was.

That's a tough one. I mean, the first thing that comes to mind is Fruity Pebbles. I don't know why, but that's the first thing that comes to mind.

Was that a good, breakfast?

Now are you a milk on your cereal kind of gal, or do you just eat it dry?

Oh, no. The more milk, the better.

See, I think I'm opposite. I like just a little bit of milk, and my son likes no milk.

Oh, interesting. Okay.

I know. I know. Alright. Well, now that we've got the icebreaker question out of the way, I would love for you to share with My listeners, a little bit about your decision to ride from Canada to Mexico along the Pacific Coast.

Yes. I had a bucket list item of, like, Wanting to actually ride from coast to coast, from the West Coast to the East Coast. And then life happened And this big upheaval. And I was diagnosed with a tumor at the base of my brain and a rare disease. And I was kind of in this Place of and this might sound a little overdramatic, but it was really what I was thinking is, like, I need something to live for, And I needed to set a goal. I needed something. And I was like, I'm Her ride from coast to coast. And, honestly, I was in no shape to do this whatsoever.

I came from a background of, like, Triathlon racing and Ironman racing and long like, endurance bike rides, and I was in no place. Like, no like, I couldn't even barely get off the couch, I was like, I'm gonna ride my bike across the country. And I was looking at the different routes, and I I didn't like any of them. You know? Like, every route, because there's a northern tier and a central tier and then the lower tier, and and they all go through states where I'm like, I don't wanna ride through there. Fire, you know? And, And I came across the Pacific Coast bicycle route from Canada to Mexico, and I was like, oh my gosh. Washington, Oregon, California. Like, are you kidding me? And I was like, I need to do this. I need to do the I didn't even think twice.

I just signed up. I'm like, I'm in.

Wow. Now I know the story because I read your incredible book. But for my listeners who haven't read it yet, It's not like you decided to do this coming off of a triathlon or a long distance bike ride. You had decided to do this after brain surgery. Correct?

Yes. Yes.

Which shows you know, You're just a badass, and you are a driven woman. I I don't run unless I'm being chased, and that, I'm pretty sure I would fight before I ran too far, and I used to joke that I just don't have to be the slowest. So The idea of running, swimming, biking, and I'm so impressed, and I admire that so much. And Tell us a little bit about your journey of how you discovered your tumor, and if you don't mind sharing, what you have affectionately named your tumor.

Like, barely made the cutoff. And then afterwards, I was struggling to function, and I thought it was adrenal fatigue. And I'm looking into all this the stuff, and I kept going to my doctor, and I'm like, something is wrong. I you know, I'm not I'm not bouncing back. And she's Like, nope. You're fine. You just finished an Ironman. Your blood work's fine.

And I'm like, I'm telling you, something's wrong. And So I started getting these severe, severe headaches. Like, they just wouldn't go away. Like, they were kinda always there, but they were just getting worse and worse. And I don't even wanna say headaches. Like, I just had a continuous headache all the time, throbbing pain, and I would drink more water because I thought maybe I'm dehydrated. I live at 8,000 feet in Colorado. Right? And, and she would say you're overtraining.

You're Fine. And I'm the type of person that just doesn't go to the doctor just to go to the doctor. And I finally go in again, and I I said, look. Something's wrong. Can you please order an MRI for me? And she's like, no. I don't think you need 1. You're fine. Your blood works fine.

And I'm like, No. I are you sure? And I'm and I'm kinda questioning. And she's like, no. You're Fire. And they're really expensive, and you don't need 1. And Call it intuition or divine intervention that day, but I just said Schroeder me the MRI. And a week later, I have this, 1 sentence email from her. You have an enlarged pituitary.

Go see an endocrinologist. And I'm like, what does that mean? What does that mean? I don't even know what an endocrinologist is. And So I'm, like, looking it up. I'm the research type, and I'm just Fire, in large pituitary, I still didn't know. And so, you know, I I go see the endocrinologist, come to find out I have a Massive tumor on my pituitary gland, like, crammed in this very small space at the base of my brain in my skull, And it just looks like this little gray blob on the screen, like, I don't know, between my eyeballs. Right? And she's just like, this has to come out. I'm just like, are you talking to me? I was like, that's not my, image on here.

Right. You must have the wrong image. Could you double check that my date of birth is this?

Exactly. It was very surreal, and I just I still didn't know what that meant. And then And then she goes on to tell me, oh, and you have this rare disease. So these types of tumors cause The these rare diseases. I'm 99% sure this is what you have, which would explain everything I was feeling and going through in my body. I eventually end up naming this tumor Bubba.

I love that so much. When I was reading your book and I and you started talking about Bubba, I was like, there's someone else out there. I name my I call my critic, my ego. Her name is Ginger.

Spicy.

Yeah. Yeah. She's a sassy. That's in my mind. That's Not now, Ginger. Shush. I don't need you now. And I've also given my son the same suggestion to name his inner critic and not a tumor. However, you've gotta name it to tame it.

Yeah. I love that. I love that.

So now you go from you're gonna be an endurance you're an endurance athlete, you're training for another event, to finally, You know, listening to your intuition, trusting that, demanding Diane advocating for yourself, which is a whole other topic that, you know, you you really have to learn how to advocate yourself for yourself in today's health care system to now you have to have brain surgery and have a rare disease. How did you process all of that in such a short amount of time?

Oh, yeah. Well, in my mind, because I was always this overachiever, like, Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. I'm thinking, oh my god. Let's just get this over with so I could get back to my life.

It was just like it was just this, like, annoying thing had to get done. I had no idea what was to follow. Leading up to the brain surgery, I was just like, okay. Let's just get this done. And, I mean, I remember even telling my neurosurgeon, look. I have a 250 mile bike tour, You know, about a month after my brain surgery. So how long do you think I need to recover? And he thought I was Totally messing with it. You thought I was, like, fucking with him.

Right? The I'm just Fire I was so serious because that was just my mindset. It's Fire, I just always plow through, plow ahead, full steam ahead. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go.

It sounds like Bubba has given you several lessons because you had to slow down. You didn't have a choice.

Yeah. Oh, yeah.

And you had to also rely on others to help you out. Correct?

Yes. And learn to let go and learn to surrender.

Tell me more about that.

Oh, I'm getting emotional here. I had to come to terms with who I no longer was, and I was never gonna be that person again. And, man, I was fighting hard to hang on to her.

Yes. Because you knew Her, And the new uncertainty, I'm sure that was really scary.

Yeah. It was kind of like, Well, who am I, like, without that identity? Who the hell am I now? I had attached myself to, like, being a certain way, a certain person All my life, and that was all gone.

And not just your amazing athletic ability. You were a wedding planner. Correct?

Yes.

And, you know, very much organized, Planned every detail of of everything and very much from what I recall, You know, perfect parties, perfect hostess, like, you were very much always in control.

Always in control. Always a step ahead. Always remembered every single detail, Fire, yes, organized, on time, and that changed. Yeah.

And I don't wanna give away everything in your book because I I think everyone should read it. It's fantastic. It's a It's a quick read, and I read a ton of books. And I will say that this was just delightful to read. I just I felt Your emotion throughout the entire book, and it was very genuine, and I loved that so much. And there was so much humor too. So, You know, I'm reading it, and I'm going from teary eyed to, you know, laughing to, oh my gosh, she is such a badass. So my next question then is, how has this Transformed your life.

And while grieving and letting go of who you Fire, because it's not just the tumor that changed, your entire world pretty much turned upside down.

Yes. Sure did. 1st, I had to learn to accept How I was now operating in the world, because a lot of it, I no longer I had no control over. You know? I was No longer gonna be one of the strongest women in my CrossFit gym, or I was most likely never gonna run again. I became very forgetful and kinda spacey and, you know, making a lot of mistakes. And I think I had to learn to accept that before other people were gonna accept it. I I think I was putting a lot of pressure on myself To still show up the same way for other people. I didn't want them to see or notice those changes in me because I couldn't accept them.

Maybe in somewhere in my mind, I felt it wasn't good enough or something.

Now that you're post surgery and Well, I guess let me just back up even more. They removed Bubba, or so you thought.

So I thought. But he really likes you and and doesn't wanna leave. So Bubba's just now part of you. Correct?

Yes. He wasn't ready to retire, so I could either fight him and continue Kind of butting heads with him, or I could figure out what we can accomplish together. So, yeah, I had I found out He wasn't entirely gone. He was he's actually wrapped around my carotid artery and close to my optic nerve, so inoperable. And I proceeded with radiation treatment, which can take up to 10 years to work, And that's so that's yet to be seen if that'll work. And I have to be on medication, which Presents their own side effects and symptoms and kinda goes against my every being, and the medications control the disease. So, yeah, so I had to learn, okay, how do I live with this in instead of become a victim of it? You know? How do I partner with it?

When did you have that realization, and how did things change for you after you decided, Alright. Let's do this together instead of having an adversarial relationship with him.

Yeah. I think it came in steps. Like, I remember, deciding I was gonna do this bike Inside, and then I thought, okay. Well, maybe I could use it as a A means to get the word out about acromegaly. Because, you know, if I had gotten diagnosed years earlier when I was Kind of asking my doctor, hey. Something's a little off. I coulda had a very different, you know, outcome. And so I thought, maybe I'll write a a story, and someone can post it on their website or something or get a jersey for my bike ride or something.

But it all of a sudden, I'm being told I'm an inspiration and stuff, and I'm like, Well, maybe there's more to this. But I was still in that very selfish mode. Fire, me against Bubba. Right? And but it wasn't until I started actually, I'm gonna get emotional again, Proving myself that I can still live this incredible life. I might not be an Ironman athlete anymore or A detail overly detailed, obnoxious wedding planner, but, oh my gosh, What is possible? What can I do? And, oh, let me tell you. My life has just opened up Completely. It's taken me out of that rigidity and has allowed more of a flow. Right?

How has that impacted you? How has that changed you then? Tell me more about that. I tell my listeners more because and I ask this because I think I know I've always struggled with control issues. I I always wanted I'm a I'm a planner, and I always rationalize it The I plan ahead so that I can make space for fun, or I can see things coming if if there's a plan. And I think part of that is my fire service career because there was so much chaos, and I'd had no control for a set amount of times that I I wanted to control. And the tighter I grip on life and that control, The harder it is to go with the flow, so it's complete bullshit, which is what I've learned about control. Yes. It's an illusion. It's not it's not accurate, and so I think my listeners, everyone feels some sense of control.

So when you Literally, really can't control. You realize what you can and can't control. How did that open you up, And how did that teach you to live?

Oh, gosh. Well, I I started really taking stock of my life. I mean, it really came down to 1 question. You know? Like, instead of focusing on, like, oh my gosh. I can't do this anymore. I can't do that. It's like, well, what can I do? I guess I don't wanna give too much away either, but I just started taking taking up, like, hobbies and things that I've always wanted to try, but, you know, never did because I was always training for triathlons or whatever. You know? And I've just started taking classes for things I've always wanted to learn.

And some worked out, Some were a blast, and some I was like, okay. I never need to do that again, but I still love the experience of it. You know? And so, oh my gosh, if you saw my resume for life, you would be like, holy crap. It'd be Fire 10 pages, 20 pages long. Like, it would it could be a novel. Like, I've had such a full life of even in the short amount of time since my diagnosis. I've tried so many different classes. I've Gotten certifications.

I've moved around to try to figure out where I wanna Fire, and now I view my life as, okay, what's Possible. What's possible?

I think that for anyone listening, you don't have to be diagnosed with a rare disease or have a tumor that you need to name to ask yourself that question, what's possible? What brings you joy? What can you do for that connection? That is one thing I definitely Took away from reading your story I mean and, you know, you also turned your Personal life upside down and really shook things up in that part of your life as well. So it doesn't it doesn't have to be exclusively my point. It doesn't have to be exclusively The area of your life. You can really radically change all areas of your life, and it's almost like you cracked yourself open.

Yes. Yeah. That's such a great way to put it. You know? And took shitty situations and asked myself, okay. What's possible? What can I take from this shitty situation and learn from it or, you know, evolve from it? Or yeah. It's it really cracked To be open. And even though it was hard, it was it was it's not easy. It's not like you wake up one day and you're like, Julie Andrews and The Hills Are Alive, you know, and The Sound of Music.

It's not like you wake up and, like, you're in this meadow, and it's just Fire just like twirling around and singing. It's, you know, it's hard, but you gotta keep doing it.

Authenticity is the heart of this show, and the journey to authenticity is really you know, it is the messiest, Brutal process that's not rainbows and unicorns sprinkled with fairy dust and, you know, like, Laser beams shooting out of everywhere and, you know, happiness. Now there are there are there is a lot of that, And it's also learning to live with the messy, uncomfortable, hard stuff, the heartbreak, because, you know, you said You had to let go of who you were in that grief. That grief was palpable, and it's messy. It's complicated grief. It's hard, and yet it's necessary to shed those layers. And I think People want the happy ending and the happy outcome and just to focus on the positive, which, I mean, you need that. I'm not saying you know, I try not to live in doom and gloom. I try to find the balance.

Right? Like, yes. But for every happy moment, there's loss. You know, when you say yes to something, you say no to something else or someone or some part of you. And I I I loved that about your story is it Felt so authentic, and I respect women who have the courage to try shit and see what happens. I like that because that's how I live my life. I go a 100% in, and if it doesn't work, Darn. You know? Dust myself off and try to do it again, whether it be professionally or personally or whatever. And I think That takes a lot of courage.

So your story is so full of courage and authenticity, and I love how you built your community. So tell tell us a little bit about your community now, what that looks like, your your people, not just the people you met on the bike ride because that is fantastic, you know, that that cracking open and really allowing connection, which is so important. But How does your community impact you today?

Oh, that's a great question because I feel like I'm still in this transformation, And I'm I'm still becoming who I'm meant to become, and I feel like that's Kinda changing and morphing all the time. And I'm also in this place of for the first time in my life, it feels, I Really love me. I'm loving kind of this independence and autonomy and eating what I want, When I want and dressing the way I want and how I want and going where I want when I want, and and I'm just really becoming just best friends with myself. And for me, that means, wow. So when I am ready to kinda integrate into The a community, I am gonna be fully and authentically whole and present and real and myself. And So to be continued on that. To be continued.

I love that answer. That is That is so beautiful. Thank you for sharing your truth. And, really, that's a very incredibly vulnerable answer, and I I resonate with that answer, and I think you know? And we spoke, I guess it was, what, a month ago or was it before Christmas, for something unrelated. And We shared that, you know, we're about the same age and Gen Xers and, you know, kinda just tomboys that are figuring out how to really embrace that femininity. And that is such a powerful transformation, and I just think it's fantastic. So I love that. What do you do to take care of yourself? What does your self care routine look like now?

Gosh. I mean, it really depends what day. So the other day I mean, this is gonna sound like a simple thing, but I needed a part for my bike, and I went to this new bike shop I've never been to before. And it's also, attached to a coffee shop. I took a book. And after I got my bike part, I went and got a almond steamer and a Chocolate croissant, and I sat and I read my book at this quaint little coffee shop. Some days, it's a massage. Some days, it's, you know, sitting with my dog.

Sometimes, it's, like, super big thing. Like, I love treating myself to, photoshoots. I have a friend who's a professional photographer, and I became a Part of this 40 women over 40 project. And to look at myself in a photo, You know, for the first time in my life, love what I see. Are you kidding me? You know, I grew up never wanting to be in photos, and now I can't get enough Love it. So Oh, that is beautiful. Yeah. So I think it really just depends on what space I'm in.

It might be a sweat A pants day, or it might be going out dancing to a cheesy eighties cover band. It's just

That is fantastic. So if you don't mind, and Share what you would like about your book, and I will link it to the show notes and, you know, whatever you'd like to say about it and, You know, why you decided to write it, which was to bring awareness to your disease, but it turned out, I think, to be a lot more than that.

Yes. It sure did. And I'm still hearing I still like, I always hear from people, Fire, You know, they'll give me, oh, and this is what I got out of it. And I'm like, oh my gosh. I had no idea. I was in knots about the release of this book Because it was kinda basically, in my mind, shatter people's image of me. And so I was in knots Leading up to the release Diane. And but, man, was it liberating.

Oh my gosh. I remember, like, once it was out, a big exhale. Like, Just wow. And the feedback has been overwhelming, Fire, the reviews and, Like I said, the things people are gaining from it. And, you know, I've been working on my audiobook, which will be out in a couple weeks, And just reading certain sections of it still move me. I'm like, oh my gosh. I still have some emotion around The, and, I'm gonna start crying again. Sorry.

Ultimately, I I just I just wanted to put out a good story. And then anything that comes from that is Fire a bonus. If people are inspired, if people gained something from it, if people just said, oh my gosh. It was just a good Story to read. Like, I think that's ultimately what I wanted, but it's it is going above and beyond The, and that just Feels incredible and fills me. Like, I can't even articulate how much that fills me.

And that's true. Everything that you just said. I think I've read somewhere heard somewhere that when you create art and you share your story, you share it for you. And then when you release it into the world, it's now for everyone else.

Yes.

Your book is called The Road Unpaved, and it resonated with The. And I just loved how Genuine. And I could I can sense that that would be liberating. After reading your story, I'm like, that had to feel good to let that go, to set The to set the heavy things down and just get it all out there and own it. And so my follow-up question to that is, How did your people, your inner circle, how did they respond to that?

Most of the people I'm connected to were blown away. I think, one, they had no idea The I was really a writer. Some of the stuff people learned for the first time in my story, things they didn't know but were Blown away and, supportive. There's some people that, I think were shocked A little bit by it, but I'd have to say overall, it's been just so positive. So, so positive.

It helps soothe the vulnerability hangover, I'm sure.

Very much very much so. Yes. Yes. You just want people to be nice. Like, you know, even if it's not the story for them.

Right.

You just want them to be nice about it because it is it's, like, So personal. It's so personal.

It is. And it is a beautiful story, and I'm so grateful that you that you wrote your book and that you shared it. And I'm So grateful that you gave your time today to talk about, you know, more highlights of your story and really your journey of where you are because it's Inside. And I'm just Keep going, and I can't wait to see what happens next and where these next chapters lead and what unfolds for you. I think it's just, incredible. And my last question for you today, Ben, is if tonight was going to be your last meal, What would you have?

One of my most favorite meals is actually, I ate these when I went to Nepal, and I spent about a month in Nepal. And I just fell in love with veggie momos, And they're Fire little dumplings. Uh-huh. And they come with, like, a tomato chutney and oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. I would probably could just stuff a bunch of those down.

I love it. Have you been, speaking of Nepalese food, in Netherland.

Kathmandu. Kathmandu. Yes. So good.

Awesome. Risa, thank you so much for joining us today, and I like I said, I'll link everything to the show notes.

Thank you so much. What a pleasure. I appreciate you so much for having me.

Another great conversation. Thank you for giving the valuable gift of your time and listening to The Fire Inside Her podcast. Speaking of value, One of the most common potholes we fall into on the journey to authenticity is not recognizing our value. So I created a workbook. It's all about value. Head on over to thefireinsidher.com/value to get your free workbook that will help you remember your value. Until next time, my friend.