Return to Myself Fri, 09 Oct 2026 11:00:01 -0400 en-us © 2026 Return to Myself yes 95b6cad0-1d9f-5171-b129-81537553077e Savvy Dani episodic false I am a first-generation immigrant to the United States. Work brought my husband and me here in 1998. We found our home on the Eastside of Seattle, where we have lived for the past twenty-eight years.


In the summer of 2021, I suffered a stroke.


The five years since have been a journey of recovery and rehabilitation, of finding bits of myself again while also forging a new identity.


One question people often ask me is how I have managed to stay positive through all of this. I created Return to Myselfpartly to answer that question—and to give other stroke survivors and caregivers a glimpse into what that journey has actually looked like. The way back to myself has not always been easy.

These are reflections on recovery, creativity, relationships, setbacks, small victories, and the unexpected ways in which a life can take shape again.


I am an engineer, an artist and painter, a musician, an organizer—and now, a video podcaster.

]]> Buzzsprout (https://www.buzzsprout.com) Savvy Dani https://storage.buzzsprout.com/kcwrtebrsfcbp8rt8mwqu1989hna?.jpg Return to Myself When Every Object Became a “Remote” When Every Object Became a “Remote” Before my stroke, words were a big part of my life. I spoke six languages. Workdays were spent in meetings, presentations, writing, and mentoring. Language came naturally to me.

Then, after my stroke, almost every object became a “remote.”

I knew what the objects were. I knew what I wanted to say. But somewhere between knowing and speaking, the words disappeared. Nishant, my husband, began finishing the sentences I couldn't complete.

In this episode of Return to Myself, I share what that strange new world felt like—and five very different ways I began finding my words again. I learned to talk around the words I couldn't retrieve. I prepared for conversations that once would have come naturally. I read Pulitzer Prize winners, played with words—and, perhaps most surprisingly, started learning another language.

These aren't medical recommendations. They're the experiments, discoveries, and everyday practices that helped language slowly become mine again.


Closing music: “Classical 2” by Jonny S., courtesy of Mixkit.

]]> Before my stroke, words were a big part of my life. I spoke six languages. Workdays were spent in meetings, presentations, writing, and mentoring. Language came naturally to me.

Then, after my stroke, almost every object became a “remote.”

I knew what the objects were. I knew what I wanted to say. But somewhere between knowing and speaking, the words disappeared. Nishant, my husband, began finishing the sentences I couldn't complete.

In this episode of Return to Myself, I share what that strange new world felt like—and five very different ways I began finding my words again. I learned to talk around the words I couldn't retrieve. I prepared for conversations that once would have come naturally. I read Pulitzer Prize winners, played with words—and, perhaps most surprisingly, started learning another language.

These aren't medical recommendations. They're the experiments, discoveries, and everyday practices that helped language slowly become mine again.


Closing music: “Classical 2” by Jonny S., courtesy of Mixkit.

]]> Savvy Dani Buzzsprout-19932833 Fri, 09 Oct 2026 08:00:00 -0700 731 1 1 full false The Life I Was Living The Life I Was Living Before my stroke, my life was full — work, art, music, languages, exercise, friendships, and the ordinary routines that made me feel like myself.

Then, suddenly, many of the things I had taken for granted became difficult or impossible.

In this opening episode of Return to Myself, I look back at the life I was living before my stroke—not simply to describe what I lost, but to introduce the person who began this journey of recovery.

This is where the story starts: with the life I was living, the moment everything changed, and all that I still didn't know about what would return, what would change, and what recovery would eventually mean.

]]> Before my stroke, my life was full — work, art, music, languages, exercise, friendships, and the ordinary routines that made me feel like myself.

Then, suddenly, many of the things I had taken for granted became difficult or impossible.

In this opening episode of Return to Myself, I look back at the life I was living before my stroke—not simply to describe what I lost, but to introduce the person who began this journey of recovery.

This is where the story starts: with the life I was living, the moment everything changed, and all that I still didn't know about what would return, what would change, and what recovery would eventually mean.

]]> Savvy Dani Buzzsprout-19903324 Fri, 02 Oct 2026 23:00:00 -0700 510 1 full false Return to Myself - Trailer Return to Myself - Trailer Welcome to Return to Myself.

I’m Savvy Dani, and this is a podcast about what happens when life changes, and you have to find your way forward.

Through stories of recovery, creativity, and the new connections we make along the way, I explore what it means to rebuild a life after everything you thought you knew about yourself has changed.

]]> Welcome to Return to Myself.

I’m Savvy Dani, and this is a podcast about what happens when life changes, and you have to find your way forward.

Through stories of recovery, creativity, and the new connections we make along the way, I explore what it means to rebuild a life after everything you thought you knew about yourself has changed.

]]> Savvy Dani Buzzsprout-19861469 Thu, 24 Sep 2026 19:00:00 -0700 126 trailer false