# Serena Mastin — Center Stage https://mornings.network/shows/center-stage/guests/serena-mastin Who owns the story you tell? A founder and memoirist on sharing difficult experiences with her children, choosing words carefully, and remaining more than what happened to her. ## Their story Serena Mastin founded Pulse Marketing and wrote the memoir Exposed: You Can’t Heal When You Hide. Her official biography describes her work in executive leadership, entrepreneurship and speaking. On Center Stage, she talks with Keith and Jon about her own history, how she shared it with her children, and why the language she uses to describe experiences matters to her. Her account is presented as personal experience. ## Full interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UkbS1cspyM ## Chapters 00:00 — Sophia's original guest introduction Entry point from the owner’s current opener-inclusive interview handoff. 02:04 — The story behind the public confidence Entry point from the owner’s current opener-inclusive interview handoff. 05:22 — What changed when she stopped hiding Entry point from the owner’s current opener-inclusive interview handoff. 13:37 — Talking honestly with her children Entry point from the owner’s current opener-inclusive interview handoff. 15:09 — Identity beyond the story Entry point from the owner’s current opener-inclusive interview handoff. 18:30 — Grief and the work still in progress Entry point from the owner’s current opener-inclusive interview handoff. 24:39 — The language she chooses Entry point from the owner’s current opener-inclusive interview handoff. 26:12 — Book, website and farewell Entry point from the owner’s current opener-inclusive interview handoff. ## Highlights ### Honesty With Your Kids Comes in Small Batches Asked how she told her children about her past, Serena explains that she integrated information in small batches. She wanted to be truthful without asking them to carry her emotions. That balance gives the clip its substance: sharing does not have to mean saying everything at once. She describes staying available to their feelings while thinking carefully about what to introduce and when. This is her account of parenting, rather than a universal prescription for every family. Asked how she told her children about her past, Serena explains that she integrated information in small batches. She wanted to be truthful without asking them to carry her emotions. That balance gives the clip its substance: sharing does not have to mean saying everything at once. She describes staying available to their feelings while thinking carefully about what to introduce and when. This is her account of parenting, rather than a universal prescription for every family. Optional guest post: I wanted to tell my kids the truth without asking them to carry my emotions. When Keith asked how I shared my story with them, my answer was small batches. I introduced things over time. I didn't want to hide forever. I also had to think about how to be honest in a way that allowed them to feel their own emotions without taking responsibility for mine. That balance mattered to me. My kids were seeing more than I realized while I was trying to protect them. When I began talking openly, they also saw how I chose to move forward. This is my experience, not a formula for every family. I shared it with Keith and Jon because the way we have a difficult conversation can matter as much as deciding to have it. How do you make room for honesty without putting everything on the other person? Watch this Center Stage moment below. ### Why She Changed the Language of Her Story Serena points to the words she chooses when discussing her late husband's actions. She explains why she does not want a victim-and-villain framework to organize her own story. The hosts respond to the agency in that choice. The point belongs to Serena's personal perspective: changing how she tells her experience helps her decide how to live with it. It does not erase what happened or tell other survivors which words they must use. Serena points to the words she chooses when discussing her late husband's actions. She explains why she does not want a victim-and-villain framework to organize her own story. The hosts respond to the agency in that choice. The point belongs to Serena's personal perspective: changing how she tells her experience helps her decide how to live with it. It does not erase what happened or tell other survivors which words they must use. Optional guest post: I don't want my past to write every sentence of my future. In my conversation with Keith and Jon, I explained why I pay attention to the language I use about my own story. I can acknowledge painful things without organizing the rest of my life around a victim and a villain. That is a choice I've made for myself. It doesn't change what happened, and it doesn't tell someone else which words they should use. For years, I was good at helping other people communicate while hiding parts of my own life. Learning to share honestly also meant noticing the stories I was repeating to myself. I'm still going through my process. I want the language I use to leave room for who I am becoming. Is there a way you describe your past that you've started to question? Watch this exchange from Center Stage. ## Full appearance optional guest post Looking strong isn't the same as letting people know you. I built a marketing agency and spent years trying to protect my kids, my staff and my clients from what was happening in my personal life. I thought hiding was helping. It was also exhausting. When I began being honest, I learned that people around me had seen more than I thought. Sharing didn't turn my life into a neat finished story. It gave me a different way to move through it. I told Keith and Jon that I'm still imperfect and still going through my process. Grief and change haven't stopped arriving. What has changed is how I choose to meet them and how openly I can speak about them. The full Center Stage conversation includes parenting, my book Exposed and the choices behind the life I'm building now. Who knows the person behind the strong version of you? Watch the conversation below. ## Sources Official biography: https://serenamastin.com/about/ Memoir and author website: https://serenamastin.com/