308. Coming Home to Yourself: How Your Story Shapes Who You Become with Antonio Michael Downing - Turmeric and Tequila™ | Lyssna här

"It's not what happens. It's the story you tell yourself about what's happening."

-Antonio Michael Downing

On this episode of Turmeric & Tequila™, Kristen Olson sits down with critically acclaimed author, speaker, and musician Antonio Michael Downing for a deeply personal conversation about identity, resilience, creativity, reinvention, belonging, and the power of storytelling.

Antonio Michael Downing is the author of the acclaimed memoir Saga Boy, the novel Black Cherokee, and Stars in My Crown, and he creates music under his alter ego John Orpheus. His work explores identity, transformation, belonging, and what it takes to change the way we see ourselves. But this conversation goes far beyond books. Kristen and Antonio unpack the question so many of us eventually face: Who am I—and who am I becoming? Antonio shares how his childhood in Trinidad, his grandmother, music, sports, mentors, and the different identities he created throughout his life ultimately helped him understand himself more deeply. They talk about the experience of "trying on" different versions of yourself, what happens when those versions no longer fit, and why making peace with your past can be necessary before you can confidently choose your future. Antonio also explains how writing Saga Boy became part of his own process of coming back to himself, including conducting hundreds of hours of interviews with people from his life to reconstruct his story. The conversation then moves into one of the most powerful ideas of the episode: You have the ability to rewrite the story. Antonio explains that the events of our lives aren't necessarily the thing that defines us—the meaning and narrative we attach to those events can profoundly influence how we move forward.

You'll also hear about:

Finding your identity
Coming home to yourself
The power of your childhood self
Reinvention and personal transformation
The role of sports and coaches in shaping identity
Creativity as a pathway to self-discovery
Antonio's musical alter ego, John Orpheus
Saga Boy and the journey of becoming
Black Cherokee and questions of belonging
Storytelling and personal narrative
Journaling and grounding
Breathwork and reconnecting with yourself
How problems and adversity reveal character
Why identity matters in an increasingly noisy world
How to consciously reshape the story you tell yourself

Antonio's own mission is beautifully aligned with this conversation: "the story you tell defines you," and he believes great stories are rooted in authenticity, empathy, and integrity. This is a conversation about identity, self-discovery, resilience, and the courage to become the person you were always capable of being.

Timestamps:

00:00 — Welcome to Turmeric & Tequila™
01:01 — Meet Antonio Michael Downing
02:26 — Growing up in Trinidad & the influence of his grandmother
04:00 — Childhood, creativity & discovering his voice
06:00 — How our early identities shape who we become
08:00 — Coming home to yourself
09:30 — Sports, basketball & lessons that last a lifetime
12:30 — The coaches and mentors who shape us
14:25 — Women's sports & the power of representation
16:25 — Why knowing yourself matters more than ever
17:00 — What does it actually mean to "come home" to yourself?
17:45 — We are all at some stage of becoming
18:10 — When life forces us to rethink who we are
18:30 — The story behind Saga Boy
18:45 — Trying on different versions of yourself
19:00 — Making peace with your past
19:30 — The 10-sentence exercise for telling your life story
20:00 — Why problems reveal character
22:00 — Grounding, journaling & connecting with your subconscious
23:30 — The power to rewrite your story
24:00 — Reframing your narrative & taking back your power
30:00 — Black Cherokee: identity, belonging & becoming
34:00 — Transformation and choosing your next chapter
34:50 — John Orpheus & the power of a creative alter ego
44:00 — Antonio's books, music & where to find him

Antonio Michael Downing is an Afro-Caribbean-Canadian author, artist, and speaker whose work explores identity, resilience, and the courage to reinvent yourself. Born in Trinidad and raised in Canada, he traded a successful career in tech sales for his true calling as a writer and musician — known as John Orpheus. He is the author of the memoir Saga Boy and the novel Black Cherokee, and host of Canada's top book radio show.

https://www.antoniomichaeldowning.com/

https://x.com/John_Orpheus

https://www.facebook.com/john.orpheus.3/

https://www.instagram.com/antoniomichaeldowning/

Connect with T&T:

IG: @TurmericTequila

Facebook: @TurmericAndTequila

Website: www.TurmericAndTequila.com

Host: Kristen Olson

IG: @Madonnashero

Tik Tok: @Madonnashero

Website: www.KOAlliance.com

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