Almost Grown Up

The votes were counted. The signs came down. And Lexi Melton — a mom of two and nuclear medicine tech — was left sitting in the silence that comes after you give something everything you have.

In Part Two of our conversation, Lexi unpacks what happens next — the grief, the relief, and the strange in-between where you’re rebuilding without a title, without applause, and without a clear next step.

This episode is about resilience, identity, and what it means to keep showing up when the big moment is over. It’s honest, raw, and quietly powerful — a story about finding purpose on the other side of loss.

Nobody plans to run for office. Especially not while working in nuclear medicine and trying to keep two kids alive and semi-fed. But one local issue shoved Lexi Melton out of the stands and onto the field.

In Part One of this two-part conversation, Lexi talks about what it’s like when an ordinary life collides with an extraordinary call - the fear, the chaos, and the kind of messy courage it takes to say yes before you feel ready.

It’s not about politics. It’s about what happens when life stops letting you sit it out.

If the first half was about the stories we were handed, this half is about what we do with them now in the middle of real, messy life.

In part two with Dr. Gwendolyn Dolske, we get practical about:

• Loving well when life feels overwhelming.

• Why certainty might actually be overrated.

• How to keep moving when you don’t have all the answers.

• Caffeine & Coping: the small, grounding things keeping us afloat this week.

Because maybe the good life isn’t about perfection or clarity. Maybe it’s about learning to stay human in the chaos.

linktr.ee/gwendolynd

We’ve all been told what a “good life” is supposed to look like: work hard, stay on the path, check the boxes. But what happens when you do all that and still feel like something’s missing?

In this conversation with Dr. Gwendolyn Dolske (philosophy professor & host of Good Is in the Details), we wrestle with:

• The recent death of Charlie Kirk and how moments like that force us to confront life’s fragility.

• The cultural blueprints we inherited about success and happiness.

• Why self-help quotes and Instagram memes don’t hold up when things get real.

This is the first half of our two-part series on rethinking what it actually means to live well.

Follow Gwendolyn & Listen to Good Is In The Details linktr.ee/gwendolynd

The second half of my conversation with Sean Critchfield is just as real, but with a whole different kind of energy.

We get into his experience on Queer Eye Season 9 - what it was like to let the cameras in during one of the most vulnerable times in his life - and how that experience changed him.

We talk about why he started sharing those quick hits of encouragement on TikTok, how family and nature have helped him slow down, and what he’s still learning about rebuilding life from the inside out.

We close it out with Caffeine & Coping (his answer is classic Sean), and honestly, this half of the conversation feels like a deep breath.

Sean Critchfield Instagram

Sean Critchfield TikTok

Sean Critchfield Linktree

Holiday season is here, and for a lot of people, that means family gatherings filled with mixed emotions. Some moments feel warm and familiar. Others feel uncomfortable, tense, or draining. And if you’ve ever walked into a holiday dinner hoping for a calm night and ended up dealing with old dynamics, hard conversations, and emotional pressure, you’re not alone.

In this solo episode, I’m talking about what really happens when we show up around family during the holidays — the good, the complicated, and the parts no one likes to admit. I share a story from when our oldest daughter was a baby that still sticks with me today, because it opened my eyes to how unpredictable and overwhelming family interactions can be.

We’ll get into:

• Why family gatherings feel heavier this time of year

• How old roles and old versions of ourselves show up without warning

• Why certain topics (faith, politics, parenting, money, careers) hit so hard

• Healthy ways to respond without losing yourself

• How to step back without feeling guilty

• What you actually can control in the middle of family tension

• Why this year feels especially difficult for so many people

This episode isn’t about calling anyone out or telling you to cut ties. It’s about helping you stay grounded, present, and honest with yourself while you’re around people who may not fully understand the person you’ve become. It’s about navigating real conversations without abandoning your own needs or slipping back into patterns you’ve worked hard to outgrow.

If you’ve ever felt pressure to “keep the peace,” bite your tongue, or shrink yourself to keep the vibe calm, this conversation is for you. You deserve to show up as the current version of yourself — not the outdated one someone else remembers.

Whether your family gatherings are supportive, complicated, or somewhere in between, I hope this episode gives you clarity, permission, and a little more confidence heading into the holidays.

If this episode resonates, share it with someone who might need it. And hit follow so you don’t miss what’s coming next.

Sean Critchfield spent 20+ years performing in Las Vegas until an injury ended that career overnight. You might know him from Queer Eye Season 9 or from his 30-second encouragements on TikTok, but this conversation goes deeper.

In Part 1, we dig into what it’s like to lose the version of yourself you thought you’d always be, the unlearning that happens when you finally let people take care of you, and why strength has nothing to do with staying quiet. It’s honest, a little raw, and exactly the conversation we all need right now.

Sean Critchfield Instagram

Sean Critchfield TikTok

Sean Critchfield Linktree

In part two of my conversation with Marissa Franks Burt, we shift from the past to the present and the future. We talk about what it means to reparent ourselves, raise kids without repeating the same cycles, and find some grace in the messiness of healing.

This episode is honest and hopefully a reminder that while we can’t rewrite where we’ve been, we can choose a different way forward.

• Instagram: ⁠@mburtwrites⁠  |  ⁠@kelseykmcginnis⁠

• Threads: ⁠@mburtwrites⁠  |  ⁠@kelseykmcginnis⁠

• Facebook: ⁠@mburtwrites⁠  | ⁠ @kelsey.kramermcginnis⁠

• Bluesky: ⁠@mburtwrites⁠  | ⁠ @kkramermcginnis⁠

• TikTok: ⁠@mburtwrites⁠  | ⁠ @kelseykmcg⁠

• Substack: ⁠@mburtwrites⁠ | ⁠@kelseykramermcginnis⁠

• YouTube: ⁠@mburtwrites ⁠

• Website: ⁠Marissa⁠ |

  
  

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⁠Bookshop book link⁠

If you grew up in church culture, you probably know the pressure to pray right, act right, be “good,” and somehow make your family look like a picture of holiness.

In this first part of my conversation with author and podcaster Marissa Franks Burt, we talk about what it felt like to grow up in that world, the invisible scripts it wrote for us, and how those patterns follow us into adulthood.

This isn’t about blaming parents. It’s about understanding the systems that shaped us and finally putting language to what so many of us have carried in silence.

• Instagram: @mburtwrites  |  @kelseykmcginnis

• Threads: @mburtwrites  |  @kelseykmcginnis

• Facebook: @mburtwrites  |  @kelsey.kramermcginnis

• Bluesky: @mburtwrites  |  @kkramermcginnis

• TikTok: @mburtwrites  |  @kelseykmcg

• Substack: @mburtwrites | @kelseykramermcginnis

• YouTube: @mburtwrites 

• Website: Marissa |

Pre-order bonus link

Find the book on Amazon

Order from Baker for guaranteed release day delivery

Bookshop book link

This week on Almost Grown Up, I catch up with my friend and former coworker Julian Vaca. Julian is an Emmy-winning writer and the author of two YA novels, The Memory Index and The Recall Paradox. He’s also a first-generation Mexican-American whose work often wrestles with themes of heritage, identity, and the stories that shape us.

In this conversation, we talk about:

• What it means to grow up between worlds as a first-gen creative

• The family stories and memories that keep showing up in his work

• Learning to rewrite parts of your identity while holding onto what matters most

Check out Julian’s work:

• The Memory Index

• The Recall Paradox

Follow Julian:

• Instagram: @JulianRayVaca

• Twitter/X: @JulianRVaca