Alyssa Flaschner: Find the Thing That Makes You Come Alive (Encore)

If you missed this one when it first aired in October 2025, here's your moment. Kathryn sits down with her sister, **Alyssa Flaschner**, for a conversation about paying attention to what makes us feel alive, and how change really happens: not all at once, but through tiny degree shifts that slowly realign our lives toward what feels true. In the stillness of COVID, Alyssa began to notice a quiet pull toward something else. What started as weeknights with her cookbook collection soon turned into a decision to take herself—and her curiosity—seriously. That choice led to nine months of commuting to New York City for culinary school—twenty-seven weekends in a row—couch surfing with friends and family and rolling a little suitcase full of knives through the city. Nine months later, that curiosity had become a craft—and eventually, a full-time role on the team at Philadelphia’s acclaimed restaurant **My Loup**. Together, we talk about what it means to find the thing that makes you come alive—and to keep following it, even when it asks you to rewrite the life you thought you were building. In this episode, we talk about:  - How perfectionism shaped Alyssa as a competitive dancer—and the ways it still shows up in the kitchen - The difference between chasing achievement and feeling alive - How small degree shifts add up over time—where slowly, you start to take yourself seriously, and the things that once felt impossible begin to feel real - The awkward, necessary process of being a beginner again - What it’s like to work in an environment where you can’t fake it—and how that kind of honesty builds confidence - The people who remind us of our own strength, and why support systems matter more than we think It’s an intimate, sister-to-sister conversation about curiosity, courage, and learning to trust the pull toward what makes you come alive. ### **Links & Resources** Visit My Loup, where Alyssa is part of the culinary team Read Alyssa’s essays on Substack Follow Alyssa on Instagram → @alyssaflash ### **Connect with The Truth Is** Instagram → @thetruthis\_podcast YouTube → @thetruthis\_pod ### **Credits** Video production and editing by Anton LaPlume Hosted by Kathryn Flaschner Music by Will Savino → wsavino.com Visual Identity by Sarah Gainer & Jonathan Bush Advised by Natalie Tulloch