Back on the Wire: Lijana Wallenda on Surviving Trauma, Fear, and a 25-Story Comeback

Be A Blaze Podcast – Episode #27

Have you ever experienced a fall so devastating—emotionally, physically, or spiritually—that moving forward felt impossible?

Not the kind of fall you dust yourself off from.
The kind that rattles your identity.
The kind that makes you question who you are… and whether you’ll ever be the same again.

If so, this conversation is for you.

In Episode #27 of the Be A Blaze Podcast, I sit down with Lijana Wallenda, seventh-generation high wire walker from the world-famous Wallenda family, to explore what it truly means to rise after trauma—and how courage is rebuilt one step at a time.

When the Wire Breaks Beneath You

Lijana was born to the wire. As part of a legendary circus family, walking high above the ground wasn’t just a career—it was her identity.

Until the day everything changed.

During a live performance, Lijana fell 35 feet from the high wire, sustaining catastrophic injuries, including breaking every bone in her face. The fall nearly took her life—and in many ways, it took the life she knew.

For most people, that would be the end of the story.

But for Lijana, it became the beginning of a deeper one.

Breaking, Healing, and Learning to Wait

Recovery wasn’t just physical. While doctors were astonished by how quickly her body healed, the emotional and mental journey required patience, humility, and faith.

Lijana shares openly about the internal battle—grieving who she was, wrestling with fear, and learning to sit in uncertainty without rushing the outcome. Healing, she discovered, wasn’t about forcing strength. It was about allowing it to return in its own time.

So often, we want the comeback without the pause.

Lijana reminds us that the pause is part of the becoming.

A Call to Return—25 Stories Above Times Square

When Lijana was asked by her brother to return to the wire—this time 25 stories above Times Square—fear showed up loudly.

Not because she was weak.
But because she was human.

Standing above the very thing that once nearly ended her life forced her to confront a painful truth: she had forgotten who she was.

And yet, step by step, suspended above the city, Lijana reclaimed herself.

Not by ignoring fear—but by walking forward anyway.

Fear Isn’t the Enemy—It’s the Invitation

This episode isn’t just about high wires and physical risk.

It’s about the internal wires we all face:

• The dream we stopped believing in

• The version of ourselves we left behind after heartbreak or trauma

• The place we’re afraid to return to because of what it reminds us of

Lijana’s story invites us to examine the narratives we tell ourselves after we fall—and to ask a powerful question:

What if this wasn’t the end… but the beginning of something braver?

What’s Waiting on the Other Side of Your Wire?

Every one of us has a wire.
A place we fear stepping back onto.
A moment that still echoes in our body.

Lijana Wallenda’s journey is a reminder that you are more than your fall—and that resilience isn’t loud or dramatic. Sometimes it’s simply choosing to take the next step.

If you’re navigating fear, healing from trauma, or standing at the edge of something you once loved… this conversation will meet you right where you are.

🎧 Listen to Be A Blaze Podcast – Episode #27:
“Back on the Wire: Lijana Wallenda on Surviving Trauma, Fear, and a 25-Story Comeback”

Available on your favorite podcast platform or to watch on YouTube.

Let this be the week you stop rehearsing the fall—and start imagining the return.

With you every step of the way,
💜 Polly Hamp