165: The Good Listening To Show with Chris Grimes - Episode 165165: The Good Listening To Show with Chris Grimes - Episode 165
UK Health Radio Podcast
Chris Grimes talks with coach and writer Rachel Shelmedine about comedy, books, design, and the courage to be yourself, framed through her life stories and coaching work. The conversation touches on anxiety, authenticity and how owning your story can shift the direction of a life.
38:07•18 Apr 2026
Comedy, Courage and the Story of You with Rachel Shelmedine
Episode Overview
- Humour can act as a lifeline, offering freedom and relief even during the darkest periods of life.
- A deep love of reading and story can shape values, choices and a sense of self across generations.
- Good design blends beauty and function, lifting everyday life when it carries a playful, human touch.
- True coaching, as described here, reflects people’s hidden strengths back to them and supports them to own their own story.
- Letting go of people-pleasing and crowd-fitting can ease anxiety and open the door to genuine autonomy.
“We have to laugh because laughter, as we know, is the first evidence of freedom.”
What remarkable journeys have people faced head-on against addiction? Here the focus drifts more towards inner courage, humour, and the quiet work of becoming yourself, all framed through Chris Grimes’s warm, playful chat with coach and writer Rachel Shelmedine.
You’ll hear Rachel talk about how a childhood soaked in books and poetry shaped her view of life, and how comedy – from Laurel and Hardy and Morecambe and Wise to Monty Python and Stuart Lee – keeps her grounded, even in the darkest times.
She shares a favourite line that keeps her going: “We have to laugh because laughter, as we know, is the first evidence of freedom,” and backs it up with stories like watching Mel Brooks’s *The Producers* and laughing until the mascara literally slid off. Rachel’s “three inspirations” give the episode its backbone: the joy of comedy, the beauty and playfulness of good design, and people who dare to be themselves, even when it’s risky.
She talks about historical figures like John Wycliffe, whose English Bible translation cost him his life, as examples of radical honesty and courage. For anyone interested in recovery or re‑starting life on their own terms, her coaching philosophy will ring a bell. She hates formulaic, passive coaching and instead sees her role as a catalyst – reflecting back people’s hidden strengths and helping them write “the story of you” rather than living out other people’s expectations.
She links this to anxiety, people‑pleasing, and the relief that comes from authenticity. There are lighter touches too: her obsession with stone circles and ancient history, foodie adventures with her son, and a wonderfully odd side-job in her 20s reading people’s “trees and castles” on beer mats in a Scottish pub in Ostend. If you’re curious about how humour, story, and a strong sense of justice can support emotional healing and growth, this conversation offers plenty to chew over.
What part of your own story might you be ready to rewrite?
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