In this week’s North of Normal, Jess O’Leary sits down with Amanda McKeen for a conversation that moves from lighthearted to life-shifting in the span of an hour — the way all good morning coffee chats should.
Jess is the founder of Mountain Mermaid, the veteran-owned food trailer bringing clean, locally sourced nourishment to the climbers, hikers, and wanderers of the White Mountains. But her story started far from Warren, NH. Jess shares her path from Massachusetts to deployments in Syria, rescuing a puppy out of a war zone, navigating close-call travel experiences across Europe, and eventually finding both healing and home in the North Country.
This is an episode about purpose, roots, resilience — and the small moments that change everything. Jess’s story is raw, brave, and deeply human.
