​​In this conversation, Emily sits down with author, educator, and speaker Caroline J. Sumlin to explore the ideas behind her groundbreaking book, We’ll All Be Free: How a Culture of White Supremacy Devalues Us and How We Can Reclaim Our True Worth. Together, they unpack the systemic and cultural roots that shape our identity and self-worth, and how the beliefs we’ve inherited from society have kept us striving, performing, and disconnected from our inherent value.

This episode digs into the hidden characteristics of white supremacy culture including perfectionism, individualism, urgency, and fear of conflict, and how they quietly infiltrate our relationships, work, and daily lives. Emily and Caroline explore what it means to resist these patterns through community, rest, and intentional slowing down, and how collective liberation begins with personal awareness and small, everyday acts of resistance.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re constantly hustling to prove your worth, this conversation will help you trace that feeling back to its roots and offer a path toward freedom, healing, and belonging. Together, they remind us that reclaiming our worth isn’t just personal work, it’s cultural transformation.

In this episode, we explore:

• How white supremacy culture quietly shapes our standards of beauty, success, and worth
• The connection between perfectionism, hustle culture, and systemic oppression
• Why so many of us feel like we’re never enough—and how that belief is culturally conditioned
• The hidden traits of white supremacy culture (like urgency, individualism, and fear of conflict) and how they show up in daily life
• How burnout, self-criticism, and overachievement stem from systems designed to keep us striving
• What it looks like to begin unlearning urgency and embracing rest, community, and presence
• How reclaiming our inherent worth becomes a form of personal and collective liberation
• The power of curiosity, discomfort, and compassion in dismantling inherited conditioning

If this conversation opened your eyes to how deeply culture shapes our worth, don’t stop here. Share this episode, start a conversation in your community, and explore Caroline’s book, We’ll All Be Free, for a powerful next step toward personal and collective liberation.

Connect with Caroline J. Sumlin:

• Website: carolinejsumlin.com
• Grab her book — We’ll All Be Free: Amazon
• Instagram: @carolinejsumlin
• Threads: @carolinejsumlin

Connect with Emily:

• Website: www.EmilyReuschel.com
• Instagram: @emilyreuschel
• Facebook: Emily Reuschel
• LinkedIn: Emily Reuschel
• Join my Book Insiders List: Sign up here!

Resources and Links:

• Sign up here to get the inside scoop to my book writing journey!
• Book me as a speaker for your next event - email inquiries to emilyreuschel@gmail.com or schedule a call here
• Wild & Waking – Produced by Jill Carr Podcasting | Learn More