Becoming Parents Podcast

Carrie and I discuss having a child with autism, being raised in a family with older kids, a mom from Denmark and the devastating diagnosis of her husband.

http://yayapodcasting.com

In her words:

I'm a mom to an autism kiddo (now 18) and my husband who received a devastating diagnosis in 2010 that required the removal of part of his skill, dead brain tissue and part of the cervical spine. This meant we went from being comfortable financially to dirt poor. My hubby now suffers from chronic pain and cognitive issues. I had to step up, so I began picking up gigs teaching scrapbook page design and started a memory keeping podcast that paid for itself and helped me establish my authority in the niche.

Jasmin is an internationally published model and upcoming actress. I am so proud she shares her story of domestic violence and loved learning about her modeling career and discuss Playboy and the stigma vs her experience. She told me "after you fold a piece of paper and flatten it out, it may still be a piece of paper but it will never be the same" and that's what it's like with abuse. She hated feeling weak or anyone else feeling that way. She had the power of 1 on 1 therapy, put effort into herself. She took TIME, no medication and was authentic and thankful. OF COURSE, I asked her about breast size, plastic surgery and feeling your best.

In her words:

Jasmin is an internationally published model and upcoming actress. I am so proud she shares her story of domestic violence and loved learning about her modeling career and discuss Playboy and the stigma vs her experience. She told me "after you fold a piece of paper and flatten it out, it may still be a piece of paper but it will never be the same" and that's what it's like with abuse. She hated feeling weak or anyone else feeling that way. She had the power of 1 on 1 therapy, put effort into herself. She took TIME, no medication and was authentic and thankful. OF COURSE, I asked her about breast size, plastic surgery and feeling your best.

In her words:

Nancy Allen, from Georgia by way of Massachusetts, is a father-daughter incest survivor. Her story moved me literally to tears in this interview.

Physically and emotionally abused from early childhood, Nancy was briefly mandated into a kinship foster care placement by social services at age 14, a year after the abuse turned sexual. This removal and related court ordered “punishment” of therapy made Nancy feel that she was as equally at fault as her father. Within a few months of her return home, the incest resumed, and over the next decade, her father created an escalating abusive environment to indulge his sadistic fantasies. When she was 28, her father died, and her repressed world exploded. She checked herself into an acute psychiatric hospital and began her healing journey. 

Nancy spent the next two decades channeling this experience into becoming a successful, strong woman both personally and professionally. On a personal level, she firmly believes in giving back to the community and helping others help themselves. She’s been an advocate for abused children and intellectually challenged adults, has fostered and adopted children, and served on the board of two related non-profits. Professionally, she has over 30 years of leadership experience in the financial services industry across numerous disciplines, with a passion for empowering individuals in the workplace. Initially focused on her teams' development, she later extended her reach and launched a comprehensive cross culture mentoring program for female colleagues based in India. 

Unfortunately, at age 49, Nancy’s world was turned upside down again when her husband of 28 years committed suicide while she was away from home for work. Compounding this trauma, she was forced to address the resurfacing of her childhood demons, having lost the “safe place” of her high school sweetheart's embrace. Although devastated by his loss, Nancy stepped up as the sole parent for her traumatized sons. She soon discovered that, even decades later, there were still very limited resources beyond therapy to help incest survivors through life’s difficult moments. Nonetheless, with assistance from her employer, family, and friends, she made a fresh start, relocated to Georgia, continued her healing journey and started the next chapter of her life. 

Enough is enough! Nancy’s focus after decades of repurposing all of her experiences, both good and bad, is to help create a world where incest survivors have a different life experience than she did. Feeling outside of the norm and disconnected from the larger community, resources didn’t exist to prevent her from feeling different, misunderstood and alone. She wants to champion others to say “I am an incest survivor” without shame, guilt, or fear of repercussions, and to open a dialogue which removes the societal taboo of acknowledging and discussing incest. Just as we rush to put out a house fire and support the survivors with love, compassion, and help, Nancy dreams that one day we will rush without judgment to extinguish the fire of incest. 

A strong voice for those shamed to silence and the long-term impacts of child sexual abuse, Nancy hosts Tail of the Bell podcast available on most podcast platforms. Each episode focuses on a specific topic interpreted through a featured incest survivor’s personal story and, where needed, further explored by experts. A trained life coach, Nancy also helps incest survivors help themselves through Tail of the Bell, Inc's programs. 

Website: www.tailofthebell.com

My 21-year-old daughter, Alana and I co-host once a month, while we strip it down and bare it all discussing topics from traditions to sex, divorce to depression, abuse to drug use and everything in between. With the perspective of the parent AND the child, both perspectives can be brought to the table simultaneously.

Today we discuss healthy sexual relationships, dysfunctional sex, rape, being tied up, bisexuality, replacing negative emotions, sex toys, your "gaydar" being off, respect, communication, being open in a relationship, and setting personal boundaries among other things.

Jump on board and join us for mother/daughter conversations that are raw, genuine and unbarred.

Belinda opens up about growing up with a Mom who was raised strict Catholic and a Dad who was a Holocaust survivor. It was an unhappy environment focused on pain, struggle, and conflict. We discuss her parents getting divorced, her father's terminal lung cancer, college and embracing the entirety of her life: choices, thoughts, traumas, and upbringing. This embrace, not the embrace of a lover, led her back home, to herself, to love. That's how she found the unconditional passionate love relationship she had been longing to create. Through all of the conflict, change, and transition she discovered what she longed for even more than love – her purpose.

www.paikeamediation.com

IN HER WORDS:

I fell in love, a real, deep, challenging and satisfying love, with myself.

And I started a business to help couples and families move through conflict and challenging life events armed with a greater capacity to be with the dark and welcome the light. I’ve journeyed with hundreds of families through separation, divorce, re-committing in relationships, co-creating, co-parenting, re-partnering and living in blended families, and even experimenting with the possibility of “starting from scratch” in a long-term relationship.

Recently re-married and navigating my way in my great, big, blended family, my life centers around one theme: the possibility of what life could be when I embrace the pain, the conflict, and the transition. Thus the work I do within my own family and with my clients is to discover our inner knowing and experience conflict as an opportunity, hardships as lessons, and solitude as a time for reflection.

Belinda opens up about growing up with a Mom who was raised strict Catholic and a Dad who was a Holocaust survivor. It was an unhappy environment focused on pain, struggle, and conflict. We discuss her parents getting divorced, her father's terminal lung cancer, college and embracing the entirety of her life: choices, thoughts, traumas, and upbringing. This embrace, not the embrace of a lover, led her back home, to herself, to love. That's how she found the unconditional passionate love relationship she had been longing to create. Through all of the conflict, change, and transition she discovered what she longed for even more than love – her purpose.

www.paikeamediation.com

IN HER WORDS:

I fell in love, a real, deep, challenging and satisfying love, with myself.

And I started a business to help couples and families move through conflict and challenging life events armed with a greater capacity to be with the dark and welcome the light. I’ve journeyed with hundreds of families through separation, divorce, re-committing in relationships, co-creating, co-parenting, re-partnering and living in blended families, and even experimenting with the possibility of “starting from scratch” in a long-term relationship.

Recently re-married and navigating my way in my great, big, blended family, my life centers around one theme: the possibility of what life could be when I embrace the pain, the conflict, and the transition. Thus the work I do within my own family and with my clients is to discover our inner knowing and experience conflict as an opportunity, hardships as lessons, and solitude as a time for reflection.

The Haven is a home for animals, it is a peaceful environment centered around our herd of horses who provide healing for people to help them find balance and harmony in their lives (see Healing with The Herd). We also offer a service of holistic rehabilitation for horses and ponies recovering from illness, injury or trauma.

Fostering

We have a limited number of places to offer to horses and ponies that have been removed from abusive situations. We provide a safe haven and gentle holistic care. An experience is created to help them regain confidence and rebuild trust in the human-horse connection. Our main support for fostering is through community-based fundraising.

Helen is an author, instructor, equine bodyworker and animal communicator. She practices Yoga and Meditation and combines these practices with horse and human. Becoming an Equine Touch practitioner took her into another dimension of the horse's world. She communicated on a deeper level and realized the true healing power of the horse. She constantly works towards improving the domesticated horses' managed environment, finding improved solutions to create stimulation and good health.