In this one, Cody talks to Robert Stark. He’s a former army infantryman and the author of Warflower, a book about his upbringing in Alaska and his time in the military. His upbringing was a turbulent one — his dad was absent, his mom struggled with addiction, his brother spent time in prison and his step-dad is serving life in prison for murder. He says he was known as the kid with the family of degenerates — people who drank alcohol, did drugs, stole, and went to prison. Eventually, he found himself struggling with his own alcohol and drug problem. So, he joined the army to travel and to learn more about himself. It was a part of his life that altered his way of thinking and understanding of the world.
It’s been 20 years since he served in Iraq, and he says he’s still working through it. He talks about an experience when one of his fellow infantrymen shot and killed an Iraqi man under questionable circumstances. It was a moment that made him start questioning everything — what were they really fighting for, and how was this man’s act so much different than the one that put his step-dad in prison for life? There was so much to work through after finishing his military service — on top of his family history, he was now thinking about the fog of war. So, he found himself dissociating from his memories and isolating himself for days at a time, smoking weed and drinking.
It took him years to step away from his substance abuse and to gain some clarity and accept the things he had seen and the things that he had done. He spent some time in India and Nepal doing yoga retreats and meditations. He would sit there and visualize the situations he struggled to understand — he would work through them as if he were the people acting them out and then he would embrace them with love and understanding of what led them to making the decisions they made. It’s a technique that helped him understand what he didn’t understand.
Today, in times of personal crisis, he regains his equilibrium by going on walks on his property in Happy Valley, Alaska. Peaceful walks in the woods, among the trees and the birds and the mountains in the distance. He thinks of his wife and his daughters and the man he wants to be — loving, dependable and present.
EP 102 The story of Turnagain Hardcore with Sebastian and Giles Landry
Chatter Marks EP 032 Kelp farming in Kodiak with Chloe Ivanoff
Chatter Marks EP 030 Creating podcasts about Alaskans with Alice Qannik Glenn, Ralph Sara and Daniel Buitrago
EP 101 The podcast that saved his life with Ralph Sara
2021 Recap: EP 089 Inspiring you to be better with Preston Pollard
2021 Recap: EP 090 The artistry of snowboarding with Pika Burtner
2021 Recap: EP 091 King of the Hill Part 4 with Nick Perata, the director and event promoter
2021 Recap: EP 088 King of the Hill Part 3 with Dan Coffey, one of the youngest competitors
2021 Recap: EP 087 The past, present and future of snowboard media with Brooke Geery
Chatter Marks EP 028 Teen Climate Communicators on talking about climate change
EP 100 Writing about a life spent living off the land with Seth Kantner
EP 099 The reality of doing stand-up comedy in Alaska
Chatter Marks EP 027 How mapping affects our perspective and understanding of land and our place in the world
Chatter Marks EP 026 How Alaska is contributing to the global conversation surrounding climate change with Brian Brettschneider
EP 098 Veterinary medicine in the wild with Dr. Michelle Oakley
Chatter Marks EP 25 The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act shapes Alaska’s past and future with Aaron Leggett
Chatter Marks EP 024 What food tells us about love, identity and culture with Julia O’Malley
EP 097 A lifetime of exploring Alaska’s natural world with Roman Dial
EP 096 A leukemia diagnosis at 32 and the power of a strong support system with Mitch Kitter
Chatter Marks EP 023 Cultural burning and Indigenous knowledge with Dr. Amy Christianson and Matthew Kristoff
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Modern West
Just Dumb Enough Podcast
Voices of Misery Podcast
House of Whimsical Terror
Stuff You Should Know
Timcast IRL