All The Wiser

Christopher Brune Horan shares his remarkable journey of fatherhood, the road he walked through fostering to adoption and into the heart-changing experience that is parenthood.

Christopher and his husband, Jesse, decided to marry, start a family and adopt within months of falling in love. Their story starts with a phone call that a little boy has been born to a mother addicted to crystal meth and has nowhere to go. The years that follow are filled with loss and love and, as Christopher shares, a “heart that was broke wide open.” He talks openly about the tragic loss of their infant son, Kaidon, and the courage to love again and foster two young boys they are now in the process of adopting.

Christopher confronts the realities of being a gay, married man on a quest to become a father and imparts the valuable lessons he and Jesse have lived as they bridge the gap of racial divisions and fight for their rights to raise a child. While Christopher’s life experience takes us up and down and ultimately into the belly of grief, he happens to be a Moth story-slam champion, and shares his path to family in the most poetic of ways, leaving us all softened in the light of hope that only the best storytellers can shine.

In Christopher's honor, we are donating $2000 to Inspire Spiritual Community 

IN TODAY’S EPISODE

• Baby Kaidon is born to a crystal meth addict and has nowhere to go (14:00)
• Learning his birth mom doesn’t want her son with two gay men (21:40)
• Kaidon goes from healthy a baby mom to sick in a matter of days (29:11)
• Kaidon passes from Kawasaki disease (33:19)
• Christopher and Jesse support his birth mother as she plans his second funeral (38:33)
• Finding the courage to love again and adopt Victor and Tony (47:20)

WISE WORDS

• We stopped at a gas station two exists away from the hospital. Jesse installed the car seat underneath the flourescence of the mobile station. The next thing I knew, we were meeting what would be our son. (22:03)
• I remember they told us, “There’s a baby. He’s being released from the hospital. He has nowhere to go.” There was something so powerful about that, and I knew that Jesse and I were capable. I was like, “No matter what, this kid needs help.” (22:29)
• I was holding him, and I remember this woman said to me, “He isn’t glass,” meaning, the way I was holding him was so fragile. I was like, “Okay.” That made me realize “Okay. He isn’t glass. Relax a little bit.? We were two men, and we hadn’t had this experience before, but we were in it together. It was beautiful. (24:42)
• Right away, in that first meeting, I said to her, I said, “I know you don’t want your son with two gay guys. Let’s talk about that.” (32:04)
• I think I said before what they don’t tell you about foster to adopt is if you really want to adopt, there’s this part of you that you need the parent to fail in order for you to be able to adopt. That didn’t feel good on our part. (33:15)
• Afterwards, there’s something that happens when a baby dies in a hospital that doesn’t happen when you lose any other loved one, not your spouse or sibling or anyone, a friend. What happens is afterward, they present your baby to you to hold. I remember very clearly, they very careful, almost ceremoniously wrapped this baby, which was the light of our life, Kaidon, in a hospital blanket, and they presented him to us. (43:27)

LINKS 

• HTTPS://WWW.INSPIRESPIRITUALCOMMUNITY.ORG/
• HTTPS://WWW.CHRISTOPHERBRUNEHORAN.COM/

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Matt Long’s extraordinary life story is a lesson in the power of perseverance. The best selling author, motivational speaker and former New York City firefighter has been to the brink and back. TWICE! Matt survived 9/11 and eventually found himself depressed, overweight and turning to booze to heal his emotional wounds. He rebuilt his life and body when he decided to turn things around and become an elite athlete and Iron Man.

Four years later, Matt was hit by a 40,000 Ib. bus on an early morning bike ride to work. His body was nearly severed in half and Long was given a 5% chance to live. Three years and 43 surgeries later, he fought his way back to the finish line of the New York City Marathon and completed another Ironman. Long was named as one of the top 25 fittest men in the the world by Men's Fitness.

Matt shares why he would not take the day of his accident back, the power of mindset and why waking up with intention and the words "I WILL" is the only way to start your day.

In Matt's honor, we are donating $2000 to the I WILL Foundation.

IN TODAY’S EPISODE

• What it was like to be a fireman on September 11 (14:00)
• Matt is hit by a 20 ton bus on an early morning bike ride (22:45)
• Finding the will to go on - one small step at a time (34:45)
• His wisdom and new perspective on life after surviving and thriving after two unthinkable experiences (46:15) 

WISE WORDS

• I just, as a fireman, I always pride myself on being so happy to go to work. There’s not many people in this world that love going to work. Firemen love going to work and weeks, months after 9/11, I didn’t love going to work anymore, and I couldn’t go to work if I wasn’t sipping a beer. My whole outlook on life had changed. (23:14)
• And the worse damage was, like you said, I was basically cut in half. My right leg they described to me as no longer functionally attached to my body. (37:00)
• The depression I was having wasn’t a full out pity party, wasn’t a “Why me?” specifically. “Why did I get hit by this bus?” It was more of, “Why did I live?” (39:30)
•  

LINKS

• MATT’S BOOK
• HTTP://MATTLONGSPEAKER.COM
• HTTP://WWW.IWILLFOUNDATION.US
• HTTPS://WWW.RUNNERSWORLD.COM/RUNNERS-STORIES/A20888542/A-SECOND-LIFE/

 

Support the show and get access to exclusive bonus content, quarterly live zoom hangs with Kimi and the team, and much more. Join us and become a member!

OR contribute what you can by making a custom pledge.

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Join host Kimi Culp (Good Morning America, The Oprah Winfrey Show) on her mission to change the world, one jaw-dropping story at a time, by donating $2000 an episode to charity in this ground-breaking one-for-one podcast. Ready for a little hope and inspiration? Subscribe now and don't miss an episode!

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