Living Fully and Becoming Whole with Dr. Jennifer Clark Artwork

Shift Out Loud with Tracy Spears

Hosted by Tracy Spears, speaker, co-author of two best selling leadership books, founder of The Leader Lab, coach, and head cheerleader for anyone trying to play bigger. Shift Out Loud is a podcast designed to inspire you to play bigger. You'll hear from real live people sharing what their shift was, when it happened, and why it was out loud. What you think is true, and when you move from the external locus of control to the internal locus of control, your shift can happen and anything becomes possible. This podcast is your invitation to listen to others who have made the shift, and also serve as a catalyst for you to play bigger.

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Shift Out Loud with Tracy Spears

Living Fully and Becoming Whole with Dr. Jennifer Clark

September 23, 2025 • Tracy Spears • Episode 63

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My guest for this episode of Shift Out Loud has spent much of her career exploring how we can make one of the most profound shifts imaginable: choosing to live a life for the things that matter most, without waiting for a crisis to occur. I’m joined once again by Dr. Jennifer K. Clark, whose book Suffer. is a fascinating reflection of her experiences in Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Dr. Clark challenges society’s definition of health and has shaped a new standard of innovative, community-based end-of-life care.

This episode is a powerful invitation to show up and truly see yourself. Listen in as we discuss the power of transpersonal experiences and the gift of mortality salience, and Dr. Clark shares how to honor the mind-body connection, find peace during times of stress, and recognize the modern markers of adulthood.

Ready to play bigger? Listen now to discover:

How to reintegrate tough memories and become whole through shard work
Why we shouldn’t stop assessing developmental milestones after childhood
How to get out of the anxiety spin cycle when meditation feels impossible

Guest bio: Dr. Jennifer Clark is the author of Suffer., a reflection of her nearly 25-year practice as an allopathic physician trained in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and Hospice and Palliative Medicine. From the bedside to the boardroom and beyond, she has served to heal, educate, and innovate toward the relief of suffering and promotion of well-being. She volunteers as a medical liaison at Clarehouse and serves as a board member for the Omega Home Network.

Timestamps:

01:55 Intro

03:37 Meet Dr. Jennifer Clark

06:14 Holding space

10:20 “Suffer well”

13:53 Developmental milestones & shame

15:59 Accepting the invitation

19:26 Taking a pause

23:00 Anxiety & dissociation

28:01 Memory, shard work, and life review

36:33 Self-identity & death experience

40:35 Mortality salience & grief