Dana S. Diaz is a bestselling and award-winning author, global speaker, and podcaster whose memoir trilogy – Gasping for Air, Choking on Shame, and Rising from the Ashes – chronicles her journey from abuse to healing and empowerment.
She has been featured on over 300 podcasts worldwide and appeared on NBC Chicago before hosting her own Women Thrive TV show, SHIFTING GEARS LIVE. Dana now takes stages nationwide, where her emotional intelligence and raw relatability deeply resonate with those seeking lasting transformation.
Q. It’s an honour to speak with you today. Give us some details about you and your story, including how you got to where you are today?
Thank you!
I am where I am today because of where I started – in my mother’s womb.
She was only a teenager when I was conceived, so she endured terrible shame and judgment for it. After I was born – on her 17th birthday – she had her tubes tied; and I’m told she intended to leave me at the hospital to be adopted. My grandma and great grandma wouldn’t hear of their first and only grandchild being raised by another family, so my great grandma brought me home and cared for me as a mother would.
Although I was quite happy with my great grandma, I was sent to live with my mother when she married her husband. He had a house and a good job. So, it was presumed that I would have a better life there. Unfortunately, that was not the case at all.
My mother remained emotionally distant and neglectful; and my stepfather physically and verbally abused me. The bruises healed, but the words never quite did. That no one would ever love me, that my mother never wanted me, and that I shouldn’t have ever even been born – all those diminishing words haunted and inhibited me from any chance of developing any sense of esteem or worthiness and essentially primed me for the psychological warfare and other abuses I endured in the 25 years I spent with my first husband.
The emotional distress of chasing approval and begging for love manifested into irreversible physical illness. At 44, I was diagnosed with a rare lung syndrome and autoimmunity, which didn’t make sense for my healthy, active lifestyle. That’s when I realized I was living a life that had been dictated to me, a life that was killing me from the inside out, a life I didn’t even like and one that had never even been mine.
In that moment of revelation, I chose myself for the first time. I divorced my husband. I cut ties with my mother and stepfather. I grieved the loss of family and friends who refused to accept the truth. And I started over.
Two-and-a-half years later, my debut memoir, GASPING FOR AIR, was released. My mission had been to save just one woman from the misery I had endured. I had no idea that the one book would lead to two more, over 300 podcast features, magazine contributions, global speaking opportunities, my own show, and now a neuroscience-based course to heal the subconscious core beliefs that hinder personal and professional success!
It’s humbling to have inspired thousands to love themselves enough to want more and better for themselves. It’s also a full circle moment for me to realize my own true purpose and mission, like a beautiful lotus flower growing and blooming out of the muck and mud.
Q. IN TERMS OF LEGACY, WHAT IS THE MARK YOU’D LIKE TO LEAVE ON THE WORLD?
Love. It’s the one thing I always sought in life but never found – until I realized it had been within myself all along. It’s no coincidence, I must add, that I have been drawn to hearts since I was a little girl.
Q. Who inspires you every day?
“Little Dana” – that 5-year-old version of myself who had no trouble asserting her needs and wants and setting boundaries around abuse and mistreatment. She had the confidence to walk around in mismatched clothing and cockeyed pigtails like she was something! And she was!
So, now I strive to embody the confidence and power that was lost in the expectations and demands and roles I was required to conform to in order to be accepted into family and social systems.
As such, I don’t “should” all over myself anymore. I also permit myself to say “no” without reason or explanation and to decline going somewhere simply because “I don’t wanna”. We might all take a lesson from our inner toddler.
Q. Finally, how can people connect with you if they want to learn more?
Please visit my website – danasdiaz.com – where you will find my books, blog, course offerings, and social media links.
Name: Dana S. Diaz
Professional Title: Author | Speaker | Podcaster | Host Of Shifting Gears
Bio: Dana S. Diaz is the author of a memoir trilogy, including best-seller Gasping for Air. Now known as The Power Shifter, Dana speaks on podcasts and stages to reintroduce women to their own ability to change their mind to change their life.
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