Pt 2 Tara Punzone and Deborah Mars

This week on Bucketwish, host Ericka Nicole Malone continues her conversation with Tara Punzone, owner of a vegan Italian restaurant born out of the pandemic and a lifetime of conviction, and Debra Mars, whose corporate career and entrepreneurial reinvention took a very different path. Punzone opens up about growing up vegan out of love for animals long before it was a trend, and how simple, honest ingredients — just flour and water — became the foundation of a restaurant that keeps every promise of real Italian comfort food. Mars shares how a mentor pushed her into a business career in a field where she rarely saw herself represented, and how decades in corporate America eventually led her toward an unexpected new venture and product line she never could have prayed for. Together, the two guests dig into what it means to build a life around self-worth instead of self-neglect, why understanding your purpose — not just your gifts — changes everything, and how forgiveness, quiet moments, and music keep them grounded. The episode closes with a deeply personal reflection: what would each of them say to God about the life they've lived? Equal parts joyful, funny, and moving, this episode is a reminder that reinvention is always possible, dreams don't come with expiration dates, and sometimes the wildest wishes are the ones that quietly come true.