In Deep Shift with Jonas Elrod

- Season 1

(2015)

Dr. Mary Neal, an accomplished orthopedic spine surgeon, had a near-death experience and lived to tell her story of hope and purpose. She was forever changed after a kayaking incident where she drowned and was brought back to life.

Jen has battled obesity her whole life. However, after shedding almost 200 pounds through weight loss surgery, she still could not overcome feelings of inadequacy, fear and anxiety.

Amanda Lindgren survived the horrific Aurora, Colorado, movie theater shooting in 2012. Her boyfriend, Alex Teves, was killed while heroically saving Amanda's life. Amanda bravely learns how to move forward while still carrying her love for Alex as a positive force. She shares her story to be an inspiration to others who have experienced loss.

Vince Young was a superstar NFL quarterback with a promising career. After leading his college football team to a national championship, Vince was faced with a choice on whether to leave school early to join the NFL. Knowing how much the money would help out his family, he chose to go pro, but he was sidelined after a few good seasons. At what should have been the height of his career, he has to come to the realization that he might not play again, and losing his identity as an athlete has hit him hard.

Ester Nicholson lifted herself out of an abusive situation and a crippling drug addiction. She grew up being resented and abused by her mother, who called her a mistake. Drugs provided an escape from the battlefield of her home, and as she entered her teens, Ester turned to hard narcotics. When she became a teenage mother, she was terrified that this devastating cycle would continue with her own daughter.

Karen Perry, a pilot and flight attendant, was stricken with insurmountable grief after losing her three children in a plane crash in 2011. Filmmaker Jonas Elrod visits her in Arizona, where together they explore a path toward healing and embark on an emotional journey to climb Superstition Mountain, the site of the accident, to pay tribute to her children's memory.

TED Talk speaker and comedian Maysoon Zayid is a remarkable Palestinian-American woman living with cerebral palsy. Growing up in New Jersey with a loving family, she was never made to feel different. However, after making a name for herself as a comedian and television correspondent, she was shocked by the hateful comments she was receiving online.

In the season finale, Alanis Morissette discusses withdrawing from the public eye at the height of her career and the steps she took to renew her true sense of self.

Six months into his second tour in Baghdad, Brian was hit by a roadside bomb. He's on the mend from his physical injuries but still struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition that affects 1 in every 5 military personnel.