Claim OwnershipLet Perfect Burn
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© 2025 Tara Beckett
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I'm Tara Beckett and I am a recovering perfectionist. Welcome to LET PERFECT BURN. For so long, the world saw me as a woman who proved there was nothing she couldn't do, nothing she couldn't achieve, nothing she couldn't hold. All the while, the woman inside of me was a mess. This woman inside felt rage, grief, emptiness, longing... I buried her deep in the ground. There, I figured, she would stay quiet. But in the Fall of 2021, something snapped. The woman I buried deep in the ground wanted out. And 24 hours a day, thoughts that I could not control because of a mental health crisis started hammering at me. Those thoughts of depression told me that the only way to escape the flooding of pain that had broken loose was to end my own life. When I came out of the hospital, I knew I needed to reclaim my own voice. I created this podcast in the hopes of bringing women onto the show, not because they have figured it all out, but because they have or are currently facing crossroads of their own. The women you will hear may be trying to release themselves from perfectionism. They may be grappling with their own personal growth born out of grief or upheaval. They may have a story to tell about letting their authentic self come out, and what they have won and what they have lost in the process. And it is my hope, that in all of the voices you hear, you find a moment here or there that makes you feel seen, and heard. And gives you hope. And makes you believe, that when you let perfect burn, what's left is really, really beautiful.
19 Episodes
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Teddy Frank is a Licensed Master Social Worker, a Reichian Psychotherapist with a love for leadership facilitation and coaching in the corporate arena. Teddy works locally with scientists from Colorado State University that are looking at diversity, equity, justice, and inclusion within academia. Teddy works with collective trauma healing and ancestral healing, including her own, on what she names “The Hera’s Journey.” Throughout the recording of her Let Perfect Burn episode, I kept thinking,...
In this episode, I sit down with Emily Krempholtz, a writer, creator, and an all-around amazing human that I have the pleasure of calling my book coach as I write my memoir. In her interview, she takes us through her life going from doing what she thought she should, to now doing what she loves. “I knew that writing books was what I wanted to do for a living. I knew that working with stories was what I wanted to be when I grew up. And even knowing that, it took me a really long time. I let a ...
Comedian Antonia Lassar self-identifies as 60% Jewish, 30% Chronic Illness and 10% Bisexual chaos and recently their standup addressed embracing the term disabled. “Prior to this, I was like, ‘Yes, I’m exhausted all the time. Yes, when I lie down, I choke on my own stomach acid. Yes, I don’t poop.’ But that’s not because I’m sick. I was like, ‘That’s because I am morally inferior.’” During this set, Antonia’s crowd laughed, but Antonia shines in their ability to take truth and push the envelo...
In honor of National Suicide Prevention Month, I sit down with Liz Sweigart, an Award-Winning Mental Health Advocate, former PwC Partner, Author, Keynote Speaker, Advisor, Coach and Adjunct Professor. Liz understands to her core that the only way to save lives and to improve the lives of those suffering with their mental health is to speak truth without shame. “Until we put our voices together, we’re all just individually shouting into the void. But when we come together, that’s when I think ...
Only 9 months ago now, I was leaving a psychiatric hospital, the moment in my life that inspired me to create this podcast. The laughter and the joy during these months on Let Perfect Burn were moments where my depression lightened, because I felt full- I was having these intimate, rewarding conversations with my guests. These women on the show were real, they were vulnerable, they were raw, they were gracious, they were funny, they made me laugh (hard) and they made me feel so very al...
In this episode, I sit down with Christine Hamel, an artist, educator and author the book, Sounding Bodies: Identity, Injustice, and the Voice. Before she landed where she is, she studied art, critical theory, English, classical voice, and opera. She was even the first website designer for the Independent Film Channel. But at this moment, Christine feels like it may be time to knock it all down. “It’s getting to the point where I feel like just because I’ve found success or that people want m...
In this episode, I sit down with actor, singer, musician & songwriter, Eleri Ward. And if you have been listening to Let Perfect Burn, then you have heard Eleri's incredible voice and her soulful original music. This summer, Eleri is opening for Josh Groban for his "Harmony Tour". Her signature indie-folk sound is most notable on her album A Perfect Little Death. This album was produced by Ghostlight Records, and features Eleri’s covers of Stephen Sondheim classics. In speaking ab...
In this episode, I talk with Artist, Musician and Educator, Paige Clark Perkinson. Paige was a working actor, when she decided to start her family. She talks about her struggles with anxiety and depression while her son was still in her belly, and how after he was born, she found herself questioning if the decision to create a family meant that parts of her would have to disappear. “Things were fine for a while. And then it came time to get back in the game and start acting again. And then th...
In this episode, I sit down with the wildly funny, authentic-as-hell Michelle Cove, the Senior Communications Manager for Experience Camps for Grieving Children. When Michelle was 20 years old, she lost her father. She continued by living in a state of shock, until 12 years later, she fell apart. She was in a loving, supportive marriage with a young child, and the trauma of her young adulthood hit hard. “It threw me because I didn’t know why. And the reason why was that I was safe. I was in a...
In this episode, I speak with Whole Body Coach, Alyssa Keegan. Growing up in rural Michigan, Alyssa Keegan was working as a professional actor and voiceover artist. Alyssa got married and had a son, identifying during that period of their life as monogamous, straight and cis. Yet when Alyssa began their poly journey, they came to know their true self— polyamorous, pansexual, queer, kinky and gender non-conforming. When the pandemic hit and Alyssa lost their acting career, they decided to make...
In this episode, I speak with Hannah Husband, who started her career as a personal trainer. In the process of interviewing dozens of clients, she found that every single woman had the goal of losing weight. It didn’t matter if she was a size 0 or a size 20, there was this shared idea that the smallest body was the best body. Hannah decided to make it her mission to investigate what it meant to help her clients liberate their bodies— to move in the ways that felt good, to give attention to a b...
In this episode, I sit down with Alicia Hunt, a Commercial Pilot and Flight Instructor. Before becoming a pilot, Alicia had a 13 year career in film, commercial work and theatre in Los Angeles. Alicia found she could never stop looking for her next gig and never turn off her phone and risk missing a call from her agent. She burnt out and planned a trip to Asia with her best friend. But the trip didn’t rejuvenate Alicia, it confirmed her life needed to shift. She says, “I thought I would come ...
In this episode, I sit down with the insanely brave, Alex Highsmith. She is a writer, producer and company member of Don, Pat & Tom, a multimedia company. Inspired by her own sobriety journey, she is also the founder of Sober Sallys, a support group created during the pandemic for sober women experiencing extreme isolation. Alex was an actor in college, and because she was easily finding success, she had a lot of time on her hands to drink and socialize. Right out of school, she wa...
In this week's episode, I sit down with Kate Eckstein, of Kate Eckstein Design. Kate left the corporate world to realize her dream of owning her own interior design business. When she began her company, she had become the mother of two small children, she was married and believed herself to be living a fully authentic life. Yet when Kate discovered that the woman she was presenting to the world was not her true self, she also had to acknowledge she was not her true self in her marriage. Kate ...
In this week's episode of Let Perfect Burn, I sit down with Cloteal L. Horne— an actor, a director and an educator who currently resides in Brooklyn, New York. Cloteal's most recent work was in Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye at The Huntington Theatre. This production was adapted for stage by Lydia R. Diamond and directed by Awoye Timpo. Cloteal speaks to her deep-rooted belief that every time she walks into a room, whether it be as an artist or educator, that she has her ancestors, both know...
In this week's episode of Let Perfect Burn, I sit down with Lorraine Shedoudi— a yogi, a yoga teacher and the co-owner of LPY Yoga with studios in Lexington, Woburn and Burlington, Massachusetts. One of Lorraine's greatest passions is her Gratitude Adjustment— a 12-week training program for one's brain and heart that she created after the death of her mom, and a diagnosis for her young son. Above all, Lorraine seeks to cultivate a safe place to land, and the opportunity to exhale. A graduate...
In this week's episode of Let Perfect Burn, I sit down with Sarah Tomakich, a Licensed Sex Therapist. Sarah learned to fly airplanes as a young woman in her attempt to escape her home of origin. Later in her life, Sarah's divorce brought her back to the ground— she found her own therapist and was forever changed. Through her own therapy, Sarah began a journey of unpacking all of the pieces of herself that she had kept closeted —her perfectionism being very effective at protecting her from pa...
In this episode of Let Perfect Burn, I sit down with boudoir photographer, Caroline Talbot, of Caroline Talbot Studios. Her clients are women who want to reclaim their bodies, typically after a significant life event: marriage, divorce, health crisis, trauma and many more. They want to be vulnerable by choice. Caroline talks about one of the most amazing moments in her sessions is the moment she watches her client let go. It is in the letting go that the woman in her lens truly gives herse...
Oh my God, it's finally here! I am so, so proud that I am launching this podcast, a creation that began as an idea during recovery after a mental health crisis. Now Let Perfect Burn is a lifeline to me that I believe in more than anything else I have ever done as a professional, working artist. In this episode, I will bring you my story, how Let Perfect Burn was born and my mission in its creation. Some highlights in this Episode from me: "It is extremely hard for a perfectionist to need ...
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