A rock star’s journey to healing veterans
Tanya O’Callaghan is a renowned bassist, wellness advocate and longtime vegan. She also has a heart for veterans, as evidenced by her work with her neighbor, who served in the Vietnam War, to improve the lives of other veterans.
“I’ve had a lot of veterans in my life,” she said. “The music industry crews tend to be military because it’s very similar to deployment on being on the road for so long.”
O’Callaghan helps kick off Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, which dovetails nicely with The American Legion’s Be the One mission to eliminate veteran suicide.
With an extraordinary musical journey, her prowess ignited the Irish music scene before propelling her to global acclaim. She has toured with a wide range of artists from major theater shows such as The Riverdance and Cirque du Soleil to hard rock artists like Whitesnake and Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson. From pop, to rock, to metal and theatre, her musical diversity has kept her in demand and on the road nonstop.
Over time, O’Callaghan has become a certified plant-based health coach with a passion for food, staying healthy on the road and inspiring others to take their health into their own hands.
“I’ve been touring basically for 10 years straight,” said O’Callaghan, who was born in Ireland and lives in the U.S. now. “If I didn’t take care of my mental health and my physical health, I’d be in a very different state by now. I’d be falling apart.”
That expertise was the connection to Bob, her neighbor. He lost his son, who had cerebral palsy, and his longtime wife who died by suicide the same day. “Bob lost a lot in one day. It’s just bonkers to me. He’s one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. Bob is such an inspiration.”
Fortunately, O’Callaghan was at home briefly before heading out on touring again so she could be there for Bob. Their bond grew as he processed his losses and she prepared some food for him. “He never ate so many vegetables or had so many smoothies in his life. We packed his freezer full.”
Motivated by helping Bob, O’Callaghan is now taking a year off touring to work on a documentary with him. They are recruiting veterans and experts to test how health and wellness can positively influence the lives of veterans. “I wanted to bring a team of experts so that basically on day one, all blood, all biomarkers, everything will be done. From there we will implement these lifestyle changes — a combination of food, exercise, movement and mindfulness.”
At the end of the process, the data will be remeasured to see the results. “This could save a lot of time and a lot of lives,” she says.
Co-host Stacy Pearsall gave the keys to the podcast studio to the guys for this — a “Bro Down” — the first of three episodes featuring just Adam Marr and Joe Worley. Don’t worry, Pearsall will be back and get things under control once again.
In the meantime, co-hosts Adam Marr and Joe Worley discuss:
• The Richard Star Act and how it represents significant change for veterans.
• The additional suicide prevention training opportunities available this month. Find one that suits your schedule and sign up here.
• Newly crowned Miss USA Alma Cooper, an Army 2nd lieutenant who graduated in the top 5% of her class at Westpoint.
Check out this week’s episode, which is among more than 260 Tango Alpha Lima podcasts available in both audio and video formats here. You can also download episodes on Apple Podcasts, Google Play or other major podcast-hosting sites. The video version is available at the Legion’s YouTube channel.