The Luella Jonk Show

In this conversation with Jillian Mariani—founder of Niyama Wellness and 20+ year veteran of Canada's vitamin and supplement industry—we're talking about something most women don't connect until it's already cost them: the relationship between burnout, perimenopause, and the supplements we actually need versus the chemistry experiment most of us are doing in our kitchens every morning.

Jillian didn't set out to start a business. She set out to survive a season of life that nearly broke her—working 65-hour weeks, not sleeping, drowning in anxiety she didn't yet recognize as perimenopause, and swallowing handfuls of pills she be...

In this conversation with Esther Munt-Brooks—Catholic speaker, sacred scripture scholar, and wife of happiness researcher Arthur Brooks—we're doing something a little different. No formal topic, no structured agenda. Just two women catching up on life, faith, marriage, and what it actually looks like to love well in the later seasons of life.

And somehow, in that relaxed space, we covered everything that matters.

Esther shares what it was like to care for her mother in her final years in Barcelona—and why those weeks of service became some of the most joyful of her li...

In this conversation with Dr. Richard Dixey—Oxford-educated scientist, Buddhist scholar, and founder of a London Stock Exchange-listed biotechnology company—we're diving into something that quietly underlies every conflict, every resentment, and every misunderstanding in marriage: the fact that we are never actually experiencing reality. We're experiencing a map of it. And that map is coloured entirely by us.

Dr. Dixey doesn't just theorize about this. He's spent decades studying the science of pre-conscious awareness—the 400 milliseconds between what happens and what we think happened—and what it means for how we relate to ourselves, our spouses, and the...

In this solo episode, I'm tackling one of the most quietly asked questions I hear in my therapy room—one that couples rarely say out loud, but almost always think: Is this marriage asking me to grow, or are we genuinely incompatible?

It's a question that deserves far more honesty and far less rushing than our culture allows. And before you jump to conclusions about your marriage, I want to slow you down.

I'll walk you through:

✅ Why difficulty in marriage alone doesn't tell you whether to stay or go

✅ The differ...

In this conversation with Fr. Branden Gordon—a newly ordained Salesian priest serving at Saint Benedict Parish in Toronto—we're exploring something I rarely discuss on this show: what daily life looks like for a young priest navigating youth ministry, personal holiness, and the weight of representing Christ to everyone who walks through his door.

Fr. Branden doesn't romanticize the priesthood. After ten years of formation, he's clear-eyed about the struggles—the loneliness, the humility of asking for spending money, the challenge of living charity when it's the virtue he struggles with most. But he's also honest about...

In this conversation with Joseph Pearce—internationally acclaimed author, Shakespeare scholar, and visiting professor of literature—we're exploring something I don't often discuss on the show: the depth of wisdom found in literature, philosophy, and the contemplative life, and what it teaches us about marriage, suffering, and formation.

Joseph doesn't just write about great converts like Chesterton, Tolkien, and C.S. Lewis—he lives the truths they wrote about. After his own conversion from radical politics to Catholicism, he's spent decades unpacking how love, sacrifice, and beauty shape not just stories, but souls.

And while his wo...

In this solo episode, I'm challenging the way we've been taught to approach life—and it all started when I saw someone ask for the macros on a recipe online. Not how it tasted. Not if it was satisfying. Just the numbers.

And it hit me: this is how we're being pushed to view everything now. Life has become about measuring, optimizing, tracking, and controlling. We analyze everything down to the smallest detail, believing that if we just manage it all precisely enough, we'll finally feel well.

But I don't think human beings were ever me...

In this solo episode, I’m following up on last week’s conversation because many women reached out with the same exhausted question:

Why is it always me who has to change?

Why am I the one being asked to slow down, soften my tone, regulate my emotions, or communicate better when I already feel like I’m carrying everything?

This week, I want to bring much more clarity to what I meant — because this is not about tolerating disrespect, staying silent, or excusing poor behavior.

It’s about something far more uncom...

In this solo episode, I'm walking you through something I see every single week in my therapy room — and something I've lived myself: the moment a small, ordinary trigger sends your entire nervous system into protection mode, and why the real problem is almost never what you think it is.

I'll walk you through:

✅ The four-step pattern playing out in your marriage on repeat — trigger, prediction, body response, behaviour — and why most couples only ever see the surface of it

✅ Why the problem isn't your husband sitting down, opening the mail, or not noticing y...

In this solo episode, I'm being honest about something I don't think we talk about enough: what happens after the spiritual highs. It's the Friday after Easter, and instead of feeling joyful and victorious, I've been waking up with this low-level heaviness—not depression, not anything my family would notice, but something quietly off.

I'll walk you through:

✅ Why intensity—whether it's Easter, a long-awaited vacation, or a career milestone—often leaves us feeling drained afterward

✅ The intersection of joy and suffering that the cross reveals (and why we can't escape it)

✅ How wo...

In this second conversation with Norwegian psychiatrist Hannah Spier, we're diving into territory that most clinicians won't touch: the rise of personality disorders among women, the feminization of therapy that's made gatekeeping impossible, and why credentials alone won't fix what's broken in mental health care.

Hannah doesn't hold back. After years treating patients in outpatient psychiatry, she's watched the diagnostic manual get diluted, differential diagnosis disappear, and an entire generation of women get labeled with disorders they wear like badges of honor.

I'll walk you through:

✅ Why Cluster B personality disorders (borderline, narcissism, hi...

In this episode, I share my reflections after listening to a recent Chatelaine podcast on weight, identity, and responsibility.

This is an important and, at times, uncomfortable conversation.

As a therapist, I work with women every day who feel exhausted, disconnected from their bodies, and unsure of what is actually within their control. While modern culture often emphasizes external factors such as media influence, hormones, and environment, we risk removing something essential in the process, personal responsibility.

At the same time, I want to be clear that this conversation does not apply to i...

In this episode, I'm sitting down with Kate Christie—Australia's top time management expert and the woman who bought a palazzo in Sicily as her midlife manifesto. After losing her ex-husband to pancreatic cancer while raising three teenagers solo, Kate discovered that waiting for "someday" is the biggest trap we fall into. She created what she calls a Life List—not a bucket list for when you're old, but a guide for living audaciously right now.

I'll walk you through:

✅ Why tragedy taught Kate that "later might be too late" and how it transformed her entire...

There's a version of conviction that looks a lot like control. And most of us have been living there without realizing it.

This week I'm coming to you solo — and honestly, a little vulnerably — because something came up in my own Faith Formation group that I wasn't expecting. I got defensive. I got reactive. And somewhere in the middle of trying to defend the faith I love, I stopped actually living it.

So let's talk about that.

I'll walk you through:

✅ Why defensiveness is one of the most honest signals you'll ever g...

In this episode, Catholic educator Ester Munt-Brooks returns for a deeply honest conversation about what it really means to love — not as a feeling, but as a decision. From her years as a free-spirited musician in Spain who wanted nothing to do with commitment, to becoming a daily communicant, devoted wife, and mother of three, Ester unpacks what shifted — and why it took so long to look in the right place.

We'll walk you through:

✅ Why the women you're comparing yourself to might actually be leading you away from peace

✅ What St. Thomas Aquinas...

In this eye-opening episode, Norwegian psychiatrist Hannah Spier joins us from Zurich to share what she discovered after years of treating anxious, depressed women in outpatient clinics — and why she ultimately walked away from a high-flying career to become a stay-at-home mother of three. Hannah is the voice behind Psychobabble with Spier, where she analyzes the psychological patterns in our culture that quietly incentivize dysfunction.

What started as a conversation about her clinical work turned into something far more personal — and far more powerful.

I'll walk you through:

✅ Why so many women in their...

In this episode, I sit down with Father Joseph de Viveiros, a priest of the Congregation of the Resurrection and chaplain for the Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board. Father brings decades of pastoral experience—from directing liturgy for World Youth Day 2002 with John Paul II to now caring for his 94-year-old mother with dementia—and his insights on Lent cut straight through the surface-level stuff we've been getting wrong for years.

I'll walk you through:

✅ Why Lent is about transformation, not willpower—and why the palms that become ashes hold the secret

✅ The two ty...

Today it's just me. And I'm angry.

I wasn't supposed to record a solo episode today. I had two guest interviews scheduled. But ten minutes before we were supposed to go live, one of them canceled. "Not feeling well." At 2 p.m. their time.

And here's the thing—I have empathy. Life happens. But this isn't just about today. This is about what I see everywhere: a catastrophic lack of discipline. A refusal to honor commitments. An entire generation that wakes up asking, "How do I feel today?" instead of "What did I commit to to...

In this episode, I sit down with Father John Henry Hanson, a Norbertine priest, formator, and spiritual writer from St. Michael's Abbey whose work lives at the crossroads of psychology and spirituality. Father holds a degree in psychology from Divine Mercy University, and his upcoming book The Fire and the Silence explores what it truly means to align the mind with God in a world that never stops pulling our attention away. This conversation stopped me in my tracks—and I think it will do the same for you.

I'll walk you through:

✅ Why psychological orde...

In this episode, Dr. James Kinross, consultant surgeon and microbiome scientist at Imperial College London, reveals why the trillions of microbes living inside us hold the key to our physical and mental health—and why we're facing an "internal climate crisis" that's changing everything. From IBS to obesity to mental health struggles, Dr. Kinross explains how our relationship with these invisible organisms determines our wellbeing far more than we realize.

I'll walk you through:

✅ Why your microbiome is like an orchestra playing a symphony to your body—and what happens when it goes silent

✅ Th...

I'm recording this one without makeup—not because I forgot, but because I need to practice what I'm about to preach: authentic vulnerability over comfortable validation. And what I'm seeing in my therapy practice lately has me genuinely concerned.

Couples are now bringing printed transcripts of their spouse's ChatGPT conversations to sessions. People are outsourcing their moral compass, their conflict resolution, and even their emotional intimacy to large language models. And here's what terrifies me: these tools are designed to always agree with you, to validate you, to keep you comfortable and coming back for more.

...

In this second conversation with Licensed Professional Counselor Eric Zeitler, we tackle one of the most frustrating dynamics in modern Catholic marriages: leadership. Or more accurately, the lack of it. Women tell me constantly that their husbands won't step up. Men tell Eric they don't know how—or worse, that they've tried and been shut down.

Eric doesn't sugarcoat it: leadership in marriage requires two things. First, a willingness to sacrifice—to fall on the sword first, to put your comfort second. Second, the ability to make a final decision and commit to it. But here's what most...

In this first part of a two-part conversation, Licensed Professional Counselor Eric Zeitler opens up about his innovative approach to therapy that honors both psychological science and Catholic faith. As founder of the Imago Dei Healing Institute, Eric has dedicated his practice to helping clients heal deep wounds while respecting their deeply held values—a balance many Catholics struggle to find in traditional therapy settings.

Eric shares the powerful story that launched his mission: watching someone close to him refuse therapy after a counselor dismissed their faith during grief work. This experience shaped his commitment to creating a...

In this solo episode, I'm addressing something that's been showing up constantly in my therapy room—and frankly, it's been irritating me more and more. Husbands are sending their wives viral videos that essentially say: "This is why I'm losing attraction to you. This is what you're doing wrong."

And I need to talk about why this isn't helping anyone.

I'll walk you through:

✅ Why sending your wife a video that blames her destroys communication before it even starts

✅ The dangerous message behind "men pull away because women lose their softness"

✅...

In this episode, I sit down with Brenda Prato, a canon lawyer from Malta who serves as Defender of the Bond in the Archdiocese of Liverpool and as a collegial judge in the Archdiocese of Armagh. As a married mother of two pursuing her doctorate in canon law at KU Leuven, Brenda brings both professional expertise and deeply personal insight to one of the Church's most misunderstood processes: marriage annulments.

I'll walk you through:

✅ What consent actually means in marriage—and why it's so much more than romance

✅ The difference between covenant and contra...

As I record this on December 30th, I'm not in the space of big resolutions or grand declarations for 2025. Instead, I'm sitting with what I've been noticing—about aging, about faith, about what actually sustains us when life shifts beneath our feet.

At 57 (turning 58 in February), I'm discovering something unexpected: the less I try to control, the freer I feel. It's not that life has gotten easier—it hasn't. But I'm learning to trust more and grip less, and that shift has changed everything.

In this New Year's reflection, I share what's been on my hear...

In this episode, health and eating psychology coach Dani Spies shares her transformative journey from chronic dieting to food freedom. As the founder and host of Clean and Delicious, Dani helps women build healthier relationships with food, body, and weight—without restriction or rigid meal plans. Her turning point? Becoming pregnant and finally giving herself permission to stop trying to "fix" her body.

I'll walk you through:

✅ Why dieting from a young age created the very problems Dani was trying to solve

✅ How pregnancy became her pivotal transformation moment when she stopped fighting her bo...

In this solo episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on something that happened between my husband and me on our recent vacation in Mexico—a moment so small, so ordinary, that you might miss it entirely. But this is exactly the kind of moment that quietly erodes long-term relationships without anyone noticing until the distance has already set in.

This episode isn't about arguing better or fixing dramatic conflicts. It's about something far more subtle and far more common: what happens when one person moves ahead with a decision and the other falls silent. No raised voices. No...

In this episode, I sit down with Professor Caryn Zinn—a powerhouse nutrition researcher and registered dietitian from New Zealand who's spent over 25 years turning conventional dietary advice on its head. As a Professor at Auckland University of Technology, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Metabolic Health, and co-author of the bestselling "What the Fat?" series, Caryn has dedicated her career to helping people understand that the way we fuel our bodies directly impacts our capacity to show up in our relationships, our work, and our lives.

And here's what struck me most: Caryn gets it. She understands th...

In this solo episode, I dive deeper into what I started exploring last week—why our minds feel so chaotic despite our best intentions. As a psychotherapist, I've watched clients struggle with scattered thoughts, emotional volatility, and decision fatigue, assuming something is fundamentally broken. But what if nothing is wrong with you? What if your faculties are simply responding to impossible demands?

I'll walk you through:

✅ The Catholic map of your interior life—intellect, will, memory, imagination, passions, and body

✅ Why chaos happens when these faculties stop working together (and how to spot which on...

In this solo episode, I share a profound realization that's been brewing in my practice for years—one that finally crystallized after listening to two Norbertine priests discuss the spiritual roots of psychotherapy. As a registered psychotherapist, I've helped countless clients function better, organize their thoughts, and reduce their symptoms. But something always felt hollow, both in my work and in the people I serve.

I'll walk you through:

✅ Why therapy can clean the house of your mind but cannot fill the emptiness inside

✅ The powerful visualization of thoughts as electrons orbiting around God as...

In this episode, I sit down with Sr Orianne Pietra René, a Winnipeg-born religious sister with the Daughters of Saint Paul who's bridging ancient faith and modern technology in the most unexpected ways. From her conversion to Catholicism at age 12 to a chance confession that changed everything, Sister Orianne's journey into religious life—and social media ministry—is anything but conventional.

I'll walk you through:

✅ How a random priest at a youth conference asked one question that redirected her entire life

✅ What it really means to "feed the spiritually hungry" through I...

In this episode, I sit down with Fr. Thomas Morrow, a Catholic priest, theologian, and author whose expertise in marriage and family has helped countless couples build stronger, more resilient relationships. With a Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Pope John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family and decades of pastoral experience, Fr. Morrow brings both scholarly wisdom and practical insight to the challenges modern couples face.

From his bestselling work on overcoming sinful anger to his latest book Marriage for God's Sake, Fr. Morrow understands that lasting relationships require more than good intentions—th...

In this deeply informative episode, I sit down with Michael Podhajsky, a canon lawyer who brings compassion and clarity to one of the most misunderstood processes in the Catholic Church—annulments. As someone who's been married for nearly 28 years and has walked alongside friends and family through divorce, I realized how little I actually understood about this process, which is why I sought out Michael on LinkedIn.

What struck me most about Michael isn't just his expertise in canon law—it's how deeply he cares about the people navigating one of life's most painful chapters. He approaches each...

In this vulnerable solo episode, I'm getting real about what it means to truly trust when life feels fragile and you're hanging on by a thread. We've all heard the beautiful spiritual advice to "trust God's plan," but what does that actually look like when you're anxiously checking your phone for that email, dreading an upcoming confrontation, or second-guessing a major decision you've made?

I'm opening up about my own journey with trust—including the news I'm currently waiting on and how differently I'm handling uncertainty now compared to years ago. Because here's the truth: I used to...

In this powerful episode, I sit down with Anitial'A Ware, whose story isn't theory—it's lived experience. As a former Division 2 All-American athlete, collegiate coach, and master's-educated science teacher who once identified as a lesbian for a decade, Anitial'A's journey from darkness to divine purpose is nothing short of miraculous.

What struck me as a therapist wasn't just her courage, but her absolute clarity. She's not speaking from a place of uncertainty—she's speaking from transformation. And when I heard her story, I knew I had to share it with you.

Here's what we unpack in t...

In this unique episode, I'm switching chairs—I'm the guest! Rip Esselstyn invited me onto his PLANTSTRONG Podcast to discuss marriage, relationships, and how couples navigate health changes together. If you've been following my show, you know I don't subscribe to just one way of doing things, whether it's diet or relationships. So when Rip reached out, I was thrilled to share my perspective with his plant-strong community.

This conversation was particularly meaningful because we tackled something many of his listeners face: the household divided. What happens when one partner is ready to embrace a whole food, pl...

In this powerhouse roundtable, three previous guests return to tackle the confusion eroding modern marriages and families. Children's rights advocate Katy Faust, philosopher Carrie Gress, and Catholic educator Ester Munt-Brooks bring decades of combined wisdom on what happens when we abandon the complementary nature of masculine and feminine roles—and why getting this right is essential for thriving relationships.

From my therapy room, I'm witnessing a pattern: women burnt out from trying to be everything, men who've lost their sense of purpose, and children caught in the chaos of blended families and broken homes. This conversation cuts th...

In this solo episode, I'm sharing something close to my heart - a core teaching from my new Conjugal Love course that challenges everything our culture tells us about marriage and relationships. If you think marriage is supposed to be all roses and rainbows, I have news for you: you're setting yourself up for failure.

I dive deep into the dangerous myth of individualism in marriage and why the moment you said "I do," it actually transformed into "we do." Yet most of us slip back into "I" thinking faster than we can blink, and our culture...

In this special solo episode, I'm sharing the most transformative moments from my new 12-module course on conjugal love. After 25 years as a therapist and coach, I've discovered that most of us have been viewing marriage completely wrong - and once you see it as God intended, everything changes.

I'll walk you through:

✅ Why trust is the holy cornerstone of marriage, not performance or perfection

✅ How to give from your strengths instead of burning out trying to be both sexes

✅ The counterintuitive truth that sacrifice deepens love and creates fulfillment

✅ Wh...