The 5 People Who Shaped Julia Bird’s Life — Trauma, Truth, Love & Leonard Cohen | PAE

S04 E04 Julia Bird

What makes a life meaningful — and who shapes us most?

In this episode of People Are Everything, host Julia Duthie sits down with Julia Bird, a trauma-informed educator and practitioner whose work has helped children, families, and schools understand how trauma shapes behaviour, identity, and belonging.

Julia Bird shares the five most influential people in her life — from her mother’s painful story of abandonment and its intergenerational impact, to the poetry and spirituality of Leonard Cohen, to the mentors and innovators who helped define her lifelong mission: meeting children where they are and building compassionate, evidence-based support in education.

You’ll also hear about cold-water sea swimming at dawn, the reality of being a gay teacher when it was illegal to be out, and the deep joy (and challenge!) of partnership, laughter, and love later in life.

The 5 people & why they matter

• Vera (Mum) – abandonment at age three, avoidant attachment, alcoholism, and how that shaped Julia’s lifelong “yearning” and eventual self-compassion.
• Leonard Cohen – a spiritual doorway opened at 19 through his lyrics/poetry; a “turning point” in meaning, truth, and spirituality.
• Donna Brandes – brought “student-centred learning” into Julia’s life; validated Julia’s instinct to meet children where they are.
• Dr. Margot Sunderland – gave Julia the research-backed framework (neuroscience/psychotherapy) to scale trauma-informed work across schools.
• Sue (partner) – 10-year relationship; difference in attachment styles; growth through compromise, patience, humility, and “we laugh and laugh.”

If you care about trauma-informed practice, education, healing, identity, compassion, and the people who shape who we become — this one lands.

 

🎧 Listen/watch on YouTube and all major podcast platforms.

 

These are thoughtful, honest conversations about being human — full of insight, reflection, warmth and the occasional surprise.

 

New episodes dropping each week.

 

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If you can’t wait, all three previous seasons are ready and waiting — the perfect way to wind down. ☕️

📺 Watch Season 1,2 and 3 here ..

👉 Season-1 - https://loom.ly/AhznB6k

👉 Season-2 - https://loom.ly/XGH2jt0

👉 Season-3 - https://loom.ly/t1h2EQ8

 

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