In this episode, I chat with my friend Emily about going through a three year divorce and how they ended up being friends in the end. Emily shares the other things she struggled through during that time and the things people said to her that helped her get back on her feet.

In this episode, I chat with Annie about her son's drug addiction that started when he was just a Junior in High School. Annie's own mother fed into her son's addiction by covering for him, keeping secrets for him and even taking him to get pills. This episode is a mother's perspective on her child's drug abuse and the great lengths Annie went to to investigate and prevent his addiction from going any further.

In this episode, I chat with Brandy about how growing up very sheltered and gendered (meaning girls did only certain things and boys did only certain things) affected her life as she got older. Once she was 18, she did all the things she'd never been allowed to do. Shortly after that, she found herself pregnant and in a sexually abusive relationship. After a chat with her therapist, she worked up the courage to leave him. She was still doing many self-destructive things and landed in jail. It was after she found out that her daughter had been sexually abused that she finally began to change. Brandy went on to remarry, have two more kids and get her Master's degree in Social Work.

For full show notes and links to everything referenced in this episode, please visit www.ourhardknocks.com.

Instagram Facebook page If you have your own story to share, please send me a DM or email (hardknockspod@gmail). I would really love for you to sign up for email notifications on the website, as well as rating and subscribing to the podcast so that others can find the words they need to hear.

In this episode, I read a story that an anonymous guest wrote in about her experience with abortion. She shares about when she found out she was pregnant, how she felt, how she tried to work through her tough feelings, but ultimately chose the decision of getting an abortion. She shares her raw and real feelings on this topic.

For full show notes and links to everything referenced in this episode, please visit www.ourhardknocks.com.

Instagram Facebook page If you have your own story to share, please send me a DM or email (hardknockspod@gmail). I would really love for you to sign up for email notifications on the website, as well as rating and subscribing to the podcast so that others can find the words they need to hear.

In this episode, I chat with my friend Emily about the project she started called - The Kindness Matters Project. There are eight different shirts to represent the word "kindness" and they each say something different, but encouraging. There is also a wonderful message on the back of every shirt. Emily's goal with this project is to help others - kids, parents, teachers, etc. - to recognize the good.

For full show notes and links to everything referenced in this episode, please visit www.ourhardknocks.com.

Instagram Facebook page If you have your own story to share, please send me a DM or email (hardknockspod@gmail). I would really love for you to sign up for email notifications on the website, as well as rating and subscribing to the podcast so that others can find the words they need to hear.

In this episode, I chat with Kirsten about two sexual assaults that happened to her - one that she hid for nearly 40 years. We also talked about her husband's porn addiction and the shocking truth that it revealed about her. Kirsten also talked about her experience with a miscarriage. She offers lots of great advice on how to make your marriage strong and how to get through a pornography addiction.

For full show notes and links to everything referenced in this episode, please visit www.ourhardknocks.com.

Follow on Instagram @hardknocks.podcast Like the Facebook page FB.com/hardknockspocast If you have your own story to share, please send me a DM or email (hardknockspod@gmail). I would really love for you to sign up for email notifications on the website, as well as rating and subscribing to the podcast so that others can find the words they need to hear.

In this episode I chat with Katelin about what it's like to be the single mom of two daughters only 14 months apart by two different fathers. She shares the struggles that she faces with her own self-image and how she has overcome some things that people, including one of the fathers, has said to her.

For full show notes and links to everything referenced in this episode, please visit www.ourhardknocks.com.

Follow on Instagram @hardknocks.podcast Like the Facebook page FB.com/hardknockspocast If you have your own story to share, please send me a DM or email (hardknockspod@gmail). I would really love for you to sign up for email notifications on the website, as well as rating and subscribing to the podcast so that others can find the words they need to hear.

In this episode, I chat with my friend Kenzie about having Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) while pregnant. I am so glad she reached out to me offering to share her story about this because it is not something that is widely known or talked about. Kenzie shares about how she lost nearly 35 pounds, was throwing up 15-20 times a day, constantly passing out, being put on Home Health, getting a feeding tube and being so sick and miserable that at some points, she just wished she could die.

For full show notes and links to everything referenced in this episode, please visit www.ourhardknocks.com.

Follow on Instagram @hardknocks.podcast Like the Facebook page FB.com/hardknockspocast If you have your own story to share, please send me a DM or email (hardknockspod@gmail). I would really love for you to sign up for email notifications on the website, as well as rating and subscribing to the podcast so that others can find the words they need to hear.

In this episode, I chat with an anonymous guest that we'll call Ava. Ava tells her story of being molested by multiple people - a neighbor, her father and brother. Because of all this, she suffers from depression and anxiety. In 8th grade, she started cutting herself and later in life she considered taking her own life. Ava became addicted to drugs and partying at 16 and then found herself pregnant. She is now a single mom of a child with Autism.

For full show notes and links to everything referenced in this episode, please visit www.ourhardknocks.com.

Follow on Instagram @hardknocks.podcast Like the Facebook page FB.com/hardknockspocast If you have your own story to share, please send me a DM or email (hardknockspod@gmail). I would really love for you to sign up for email notifications on the website, as well as rating and subscribing to the podcast so that others can find the words they need to hear.

In this episode, you'll meet Natalie. She talks about how she was able to get out of her marriage with an alcoholic, finding a new husband and suffering with infertility, including a stillborn son. You'll also hear Natalie talk about the loss of her sister, the shocking story behind what led her to home-school her children and at the end, how all of this led her to become an author.

For full show notes and links to everything referenced in this episode, please visit www.ourhardknocks.com.

Follow on Instagram @hardknocks.podcast Like the Facebook page FB.com/hardknockspocast If you have your own story to share, please send me a DM or email (hardknockspod@gmail). I would really love for you to sign up for email notifications on the website, as well as rating and subscribing to the podcast so that others can find the words they need to hear.