Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Talana Bard-Allen of Vineland

We recently had the chance to connect with Talana Bard-Allen and have shared our conversation below.

Talana , we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What are you chasing, and what would happen if you stopped?
What I’m chasing right now is complete obedience to God and alignment with my divine assignment. I know that I’ve been called to impact and transform lives, and if I were to stop, the people I’m called to serve would be left without what I’ve been entrusted to give them.

This season of my life is about walking boldly in purpose, being intentional with my time, and fulfilling the call that God has placed on my life. It’s not about titles or recognition — it’s about obedience, impact, and legacy. Every day I remind myself that being anything less than who I was created to be is simply unacceptable. My pursuit is purpose, and my mission is to remain faithful to the assignment until every life I’m meant to touch has been transformed.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Talana “Lady T” Bard-Allen, and my life’s mission is to help people experience transformation from the inside out. I’m a Speaker, Certified Life and Relationship Coach, Counselor, and Empowerment Pastor who believes that when people truly understand who they are in God, everything about their life can change.

I’m the Founder of Lady T Talks Empowerment Ministries, a movement built to inspire and equip individuals to walk boldly in their God-given purpose. What started as a personal journey of healing and restoration has grown into a global community that includes the Transforming Me Community, Morning my Time with God Prayer call, and Mornings with Lady T Talks morning broadcast. Through these platforms, I help people overcome trauma, rejection, and self-doubt so they can step confidently into the life God designed for them.

My message is simple: you don’t have to stay stuck in who you were — transformation is possible. I live by the truth that obedience to God isn’t optional; it’s the pathway to impact. Every day, my goal is to help others renew their minds, rediscover their worth, and rise into purpose with power.

At the heart of everything I do is this unwavering commitment: to transform lives, empower purpose, and lead people to experience freedom through Christ.

Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
To answer this question honestly, I have to be transparent. Before I truly knew who I was in God, I allowed my life experiences to tell me who I was. I didn’t realize that the labels, pain, and trauma I carried were never part of God’s plan — they were the lies life taught me to believe.

I endured five years of mental, physical, emotional, psychological, and sexual abuse. Those years stripped away my confidence and left me with deep wounds of rejection and shame. By seventeen, I was suicidal, and by twenty-one, I was a young mother of four, a high school dropout, living in the projects, on welfare, and feeling completely unworthy of love or success. Society had already written my story — “least likely to succeed” — and for a long time, I believed it.

But somewhere deep inside, a quiet voice reminded me that this couldn’t be all there was. One day, I made a decision: I refused to let my pain define me any longer. I started the hard, intentional work of healing, forgiving, and rediscovering myself. I learned that transformation isn’t instant — it’s a process of confronting who you’ve become so you can return to who you were always meant to be.

As a little girl, I used to dream of going to college, getting married, raising a family, and living a life filled with joy and purpose. For years, I thought that little girl was gone forever. But the truth is — she never left. She was buried under the trauma, waiting for me to find her again.

When I found her, I found me. And when I found me, I found my purpose. Today, I stand as living proof that your past does not disqualify you — it prepares you. My story is no longer one of survival but of transformation. I’m walking in the fullness of who God called me to be, and I’ve made it my mission to help others do the same.

What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
As I shared earlier, I’ve faced many defining wounds throughout my life — wounds that came from trauma, abuse, rejection, and the pain of my past. For a long time, I carried those wounds silently, believing that avoiding them would make the pain disappear. But healing doesn’t happen by running from what hurt you — it happens when you make the decision to face it head-on.

Confronting my past was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. It meant revisiting moments I wanted to forget and forgiving people I once swore I’d never forgive. But choosing to face those wounds, rather than hide from them, was the turning point in my transformation.

Through prayer, counseling, intentional self-work, and a deep relationship with God, I allowed Him to take the broken pieces of my life and make me whole. Healing was not instant — it was a journey of unlearning lies, rebuilding confidence, and rediscovering my worth.

Now, I can say with confidence that I am walking as the healed, whole version of myself — the version God always intended me to be. And because I faced my pain, I can now help others face theirs. My healing allows me to show up for people who feel lost, broken, and stuck in their past, showing them that transformation is possible.

When you show up wounded, you stay stuck in a place you were never meant to remain. But when you show up healed, you walk in freedom, purpose, and power. That’s the gift of resilience — turning pain into purpose and wounds into wisdom.

Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Is the public version of you the real you?
Is the public version of me the real me? Absolutely — yes. What you see is what you get. I don’t know how to be fake or phony. After dealing with enough fake people in my life, I made a commitment to always show up as my authentic self.
For years, I hid behind a mask, trying to fit into what others expected of me. But once I healed, I learned the power of being real — and I’ve never gone back. I refuse to live a double life or pretend to be one person in public and someone else in private. I am who I am, wherever I am.

Whether you meet me on a live stream, a Zoom call, in person, or on the phone — you’re meeting the same woman every time. I’ve learned that authenticity is freedom. And I’m not willing to trade my peace, my truth, or my purpose just to make people comfortable.

Love me or not, you’ll always get the real me — transparent, genuine, and unapologetically walking in who God created me to be.

Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
What I understand deeply — and what many people often overlook — is that your life is not just about you. Every experience, every trial, every victory is connected to someone else’s breakthrough. We were all created with purpose, and when you walk in obedience to that purpose, you become the answer to someone else’s prayer.

I’ve learned that legacy isn’t about fame, money, or recognition — it’s about impact. It’s about how many lives you touch, how many people you help heal, and how much light you bring into a world that’s growing darker by the day. My legacy is not built on perfection but on transformation — on allowing God to use my pain, my story, and my journey to inspire others to believe that change is possible.

I understand that when you stop making excuses, surrender fully to God, and do what He’s called you to do, you don’t just live — you make history in Heaven’s record. That’s the kind of legacy I want to leave: one where generations can say, “Because she obeyed, I believed I could too.”

Contact Info:

Image Credits
All photos feature my family and ministry — my husband, children, grandchildren, and myself.

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