Soulful Reunion

There are some people we meet along the way who leave an imprint on our lives long before we fully understand how or why. For me, one of those people was the wonderful Marilyn Whall.

Our paths first crossed in 2013 during a Mediumship Development Program in Dublin. Marilyn and the renowned James Van Praagh were leading the week-long training, helping students deepen their connection with Spirit. That experience opened inner doors for me that I still treasure. It shaped not only how I worked, but how I listened, trusted, and surrendered to the subtle language of Spirit.

So much can unfold in thirteen years. Life weaves, teaches, stretches, and guides. When Marilyn and I recently reconnected , this time for my podcast. The conversation felt like no time had passed at all. From the first moment we began to speak, it was as though our souls recognised one another instantly. There was familiarity, ease, and a shared purpose beneath every word.

Our exchange was deeply spiritual, and at times profoundly moving. We reflected on how our work with Spirit has evolved over the years, how mediumship becomes less about doing and more about being. There is a steady knowing within us now that Spirit is ever-present. We spoke openly about the quiet lessons, the surrender, the trust, and the unseen agreements mediums make: to listen, to show up, and to allow.

Marilyn has spent many years traveling the world, demonstrating mediumship and serving international clients with grace and humility. What continues to stand out about her is not just her remarkable ability, but the grounded humanity she brings to the work. She has held space for others in their hardest moments, and celebrated with them in their brightest. Like me, she never felt alone in this work, Spirit has always been there, steady and guiding.

One of the most extraordinary aspects of mediumship is witnessing how profoundly the Spirit world can touch those who receive their messages. They offer hope, comfort, healing, wisdom, and reassurance, not only for the clients we serve, but for us as mediums as well. It affirms that love does not end with physical death and that none of us are ever truly alone.

Listen to the Episode

I invite you to experience our conversation for yourself. It’s filled with insight, laughter, honesty, and the kind of spiritual companionship that reminds us why we do this work.

🔗 Listen to the episode here:
The Sharon Fitzmaurice Podcast

Explore Marilyn’s Work

Marilyn’s books Knowing and Growing offer even more depth and wisdom, and are available through her website:

➡️ marilynwhall.com.au/about-marilyn/

Closing Reflection

To sit with Marilyn again after all these years was a gift. To share our journeys and speak freely of Spirit reminded me how divinely we are guided, not only toward our work, but toward one another.

Author Bio

Sharon Fitzmaurice is a Holistic Wellness Coach, Reiki Master Teacher, Clinical Hypnotherapist, Podcast Host, Speaker, and Author dedicated to empowering others on their healing and self-awakening journey. Through her private practice, online community, workshops, and podcast, she supports individuals in reconnecting with their inner resilience and sense of purpose. Her books, Someone Please Help Me, So I Did and Awaken Your Wellbeing, share personal insights and guidance for those seeking healing, hope, and transformation.

Learn more about her work, offerings, and events at:
Sharon Fitzmaurice

Honouring The Stories That Shape Us

Some stories are written because they want to be told. Others are written because they need to be remembered. My guest on this week’s podcast, Jane Buckley, is a writer who carries both intentions close to her heart.

Born in Derry, Londonderry in Northern Ireland, Jane grew up during one of the most turbulent periods in Irish history – the Troubles, a conflict that shaped generations from the late 1960s until the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. For many, this era is a chapter spoken about in hushed tones, half-remembered or misunderstood. But for Jane, it was lived experience. It was childhood. It was home.

Writing to Remember, Writing to Heal

Jane’s powerful four-part book series, Stones Corner — Turmoil, Darkness, Light, and Hope brings readers right into the emotional core of that time. Although the characters and storylines are fictional, they are rooted in real events and lived realities. Through her writing, Jane shines a light on the human cost of conflict, the fear, the quiet acts of bravery, the divided streets, and the resilience that helped ordinary people survive extraordinary circumstances.

Her books don’t just tell a story, they honour a generation.
They invite readers to understand the Troubles not as a distant headline, but as something deeply human, personal, and still echoing today.

Jane writes to make sense of it all.
She writes to honour those who lived through it.
She writes so it will not be forgotten.

From Checkpoints to Imagination

During our conversation, Jane shared how ordinary life was anything but ordinary. Passing armed checkpoints. Being warned not to speak to children from “the other side.” Navigating a world divided not just by politics, but by fear.

And yet, she still found escape - not in place, but in books and swimming.

She buried herself in stories, long before she began writing them. That love of reading became the seed of her storytelling years later, proving once again how imagination can carry us through what reality cannot soften.

A New Chapter: Project Children

Jane’s next work returns to the theme of hope, this time through a true story many have never heard. Between the 1970s and 1990s, a US initiative called Project Children flew 23,000 children from across the Northern Irish divide to America. For a few weeks every summer, they lived in peace, welcomed by families who simply wanted to offer safety, possibility, and normal childhood memories.

It wasn’t a political movement. It was a human one, changing lives not through speeches or treaties, but through compassion. One child. One home. One summer at a time.

Jane is writing this story not only to honour the people behind it, but so her own grandchildren in New Zealand will one day know where she came from, and more importantly, the strength, solidarity, and hope that existed even in the darkest times.

Why Stories Like Jane’s Matter

As we spoke, I found myself reflecting on how many people only know history through a single perspective, a headline, or a distant documentary - never through the voices of those who lived it.

Jane’s work reminds us that storytelling is a bridge. Even when told through fiction, truth finds a way through. And when we listen to stories that challenge our assumptions, something powerful happens, we expand our understanding, and healing becomes possible.

We cannot rewrite the past, but we can learn from it.
We can choose to listen.
We can choose to open our hearts.
We can choose to make sure these stories are never buried again.

🎧 Listen to the Full Conversation

If this story speaks to you, if you are curious about the human side of history, the power of storytelling, or the resilience of the Irish spirit, I invite you to listen to my full conversation with Jane Buckley on the podcast.

Her wisdom, warmth, and honesty will stay with you long after the episode ends.

Click here to listen now.

Sharon Fitzmaurice

Sharon Fitzmaurice is a Holistic Wellness Coach, Reiki Master Teacher & Practitioner, Clinical Hypnotherapist, Speaker, and Host of The Sharon Fitzmaurice Podcast. She is the author of Someone Please Help Me, So I Did and Awaken Your Wellbeing, and the founder of Soulful Journeys Online Community.

A passionate advocate for mental health awareness and survivors of childhood abuse, Sharon’s mission is to inspire others to heal, grow, and reconnect with their authentic selves. Through her work, writing, and conversations, she reminds us that within every story lies the power to transform and rise.