S7-EP9: Rodney Phillips on Dissension, Conflict, and the Courage to Finish 37 Years Later

Some stories don't die.

They wait.

At 19 years old, Rodney Phillips began writing a novel about conflict — about how a single disagreement can fracture trust, unravel loyalty, and ignite consequences no one can control. Then life happened. Career. Coaching. Fatherhood. Leadership. And the manuscript — handwritten in notebooks and on furniture store layaway cards — sat untouched in a filing cabinet for 37 years.

Until one quiet weekend in an empty nest, he opened the drawer.

In this powerful episode of Spirit Talk Show: Bedtime Stories for Grown-Ups, Rodney shares the journey behind Dissension: A Disagreement That Leads to Discord — a gripping cartel thriller set in Miami that explores loyalty, betrayal, ambition, communication breakdown, and the fragile line between order and chaos.

We explore:

What 19-year-old Rodney understood about conflict

How 37 years of life experience reshaped the story

Writing strong female characters in male-dominated worlds

Loyalty versus blind obedience — and where the line sits

The psychology of disagreement and fractured trust

Why unfinished dreams don't disappear — they wait