Hidden Chapters: Seeing the Story Beyond What You Can See

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My first keynote is officially in the books! 🎉

In this mini episode, I’m reflecting on speaking at the Alabama Veteran Affairs Association Conference in Orange Beach, Alabama, sharing my keynote “Everyone has a hidden chapter” with the Veteran Affairs staff who serve military-connected students and veterans every day.

After four months of preparing, I delivered my speech and came home with a full heart and new connections and friendships.  ❤️ I’m sharing what it was like to watch my story land in real time, the stories you trusted me with afterward, and how speaking live felt different from podcasting.

I don’t know exactly what comes next, but I’m grateful and excited to find out.

Thank you to everyone at AVAA, especially Nick Anderson, for inviting me to share my story. 

 🎧 And to my new listeners, welcome to Hidden Chapters. I’m so glad you’re here. 💛

In this episode:
• Reflections on my first keynote
• Why sharing our stories builds real connection
• Speaking live vs. podcasting
• Gratitude

🌐  Connect & resources:
•  🎤 Hidden Chapters: https://hiddenchapterspodcast.com/
•  📖 Book: Walking Away from the Ledge by husband, Chris Kruger: https://a.co/d/0f3VVxC0
 

Support the show

🎤  Visit my website: https://hiddenchapterspodcast.com/ and stay connected! 

🎧  Want to be a guest on Hidden Chapters.

📩  Send me a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/genevievekruger
or visit the website to apply to be a guest.

 🎵 Background Music: "In Time" by Folk_acoustic from Pixabay

Send me a message via text or voicemail!

What happens when you begin to see parts of your story differently than you did before?

In this conversation, Carine Van Hee shares how learning more about her mother's life led her to reconsider her own childhood and recognize a toxic relationship she hadn't fully understood while living through it. 

We  talk about recognizing patterns, finding the language to understand our experiences, and why sharing our stories can help someone else see a path forward.  

Carine also shares how art became part of her journey toward healing and freedom, and why she wants others to know they aren't alone in what they've experienced.

 🎧 In this episode, we talk about:

• The stories we think we know about our families
• Recognizing toxic relationship patterns and understanding the past
• Finding language for experiences we didn't understand at the time

📖  About Carine Van Hee

Carine Van Hee is an artist, speaker, and author whose work explores toxic relationships, healing, and self-discovery. Through her story, writing, and art, she hopes to help others recognize patterns and understand that they are not alone.

Find Carine's book, artwork, and more at carinevanhee.com.

New episodes of Hidden Chapters release every other Friday.

Hidden Chapters exists to honor the stories we don't always see.

Support the show

🎤  Visit my website: https://hiddenchapterspodcast.com/ and stay connected! 

🎧  Want to be a guest on Hidden Chapters.

📩  Send me a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/genevievekruger
or visit the website to apply to be a guest.

 🎵 Background Music: "In Time" by Folk_acoustic from Pixabay

Send me a message via text or voicemail!

Florian Kemmerich's story starts with a boy walking to school in a village where he didn't speak the language, getting bullied, and quietly asking not why he’s being bullied, but why someone would want to do that to another person.

That question never left him.

What followed was fifteen years of judo, a path toward the Olympics he walked away from, a corporate career he climbed and eventually left, and a moment in a jungle in Mexico that changed how he thought about purpose, success, and the life he wanted to build.

In our conversation, Florian and I get to talk about what happens when success doesn’t feel like your life anymore. We talk about identity, purpose, “golden handcuffs”, the difference between helping someone and actually empowering them, and what it looks like to stop living by someone else’s definition of a good life and start paying attention to your own. 

And when I asked him what his hidden chapter was underneath all of it?

His answer was inspiring.
 
📖 About Florian Kemmerich:

Florian Kemmerich is a global leader, impact investor, author, and advocate for helping people find alignment between who they are and the work they do.

💬 Connect with Florian Kemmerich

If Florian's story stayed with you, share this episode with someone who might need to hear it too. You'll find links to connect and learn more about Florian's work.

📖 Purchase his book: "On Vocation: How to Align your Purpose with your Profession"  https://on-vocation.com/books/

🌐 Florian's website: https://on-vocation.com/
 

Support the show

🎤  Visit my website: https://hiddenchapterspodcast.com/ and stay connected! 

🎧  Want to be a guest on Hidden Chapters.

📩  Send me a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/genevievekruger
or visit the website to apply to be a guest.

 🎵 Background Music: "In Time" by Folk_acoustic from Pixabay

Send me a message via text or voicemail!

What do you assume about someone who seems to have it all together?

Jody Hudson is a successful businesswoman, speaker, author, nonprofit leader, and mother. But behind that accomplished life is a hidden story of abandonment, foster care, adoption, alcoholic parents, divorce, financial hardship, and the devastating loss of her daughter, Alex.

In our honest, open conversation, Jody opens up about how her childhood shaped her, why becoming a mother meant so much to her, and the years of unanswered questions surrounding Alex’s illness before a Lyme disease diagnosis.

She also shares what grief taught her, how Alex transformed her faith, and why hope became something she chose every day.

Through My Promise to Alex and the Alex Hudson Lyme Foundation, Jody continues to honor her daughter while discovering that her own story is far from over.

📖 About Jody Hudson
 
Jody Hudson is a successful businesswoman, nonprofit leader, speaker, author, and mother. But the woman people see today was shaped by a childhood most people would never guess she had. And later, when the life she had worked so hard to build began to unravel, Jody had to figure out who she was when she could no longer control what came next.

💬 Connect With Jody

If Jody's story stayed with you, share this episode with someone who might need to hear it too. You'll find links to learn more about Jody, My Promise to Alex, and the Alex Hudson Lyme Foundation through the links below.

📖  Purchase her book: "My Promise to Alex": https://a.co/d/01SjKQLz

🌐  Foundation website: https://www.alexhudsonlymefoundation.org/

Support the show

🎤  Visit my website: https://hiddenchapterspodcast.com/ and stay connected! 

🎧  Want to be a guest on Hidden Chapters.

📩  Send me a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/genevievekruger
or visit the website to apply to be a guest.

 🎵 Background Music: "In Time" by Folk_acoustic from Pixabay

Send me a message via text or voicemail!

"Despite everything that happened, despite everything I've been through, I really like who I am."

In 2018, Niki Borger left Germany and moved to the United States to pursue a career in acting. But while she was building something new, she was losing everything familiar. Over the next seven and a half years, she lost nearly every parent figure in her life, along with the relationship she thought was heading toward marriage, all while navigating a new country, a pandemic, and an industry that kept shifting beneath her feet.

From the outside, people saw the actress, the writer, the playwright. They didn't see what it cost her to keep going.

This is not a story about grief alone. It's about what happens when you're becoming someone new while losing so many of the people who knew who you were.

📖  About Niki  Borger

Niki Borger is an actress, writer, and playwright whose work is shaped by deep personal experience, reflection, and transformation. Her creative projects include the play In Between, which explores the space between life and death, drawing from the emotional truths of grief, identity, and growth. She is currently in pre-production on a new TV show.

💛  Connect with Niki Borger

If Niki's story stayed with you, share this episode with someone who might need to hear it too. You'll find links to her work below, including her play In Between and everything she's created from this chapter of her life.

🌐 Website: https://nikijborger.com/ 

🎭 Her Play, In Between, and other works: https://nikijborger.com/plays/

📩 Reach out to Niki: [email protected] 

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NikiJBorger 

📷 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikijborger/ 

▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO8kBxwCdcLCjttdZi3X12A

Support the show

🎤  Visit my website: https://hiddenchapterspodcast.com/ and stay connected! 

🎧  Want to be a guest on Hidden Chapters.

📩  Send me a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/genevievekruger
or visit the website to apply to be a guest.

 🎵 Background Music: "In Time" by Folk_acoustic from Pixabay

Send me a message via text or voicemail!

Season 4 begins a little differently.

Before we officially begin Season 4 of Hidden Chapters, I wanted to share a little more of my own story.

If you've been listening for a while, you're used to hearing me ask the questions. This time, the roles were reversed.

I recently had the privilege of joining Tracy "Mrs. JDog" Flanagan on the Tactical Treasures Podcast, where she turned the questions toward me. We talked about my military journey, the experiences that shaped me, the transition into a new chapter of life, and the story behind creating Hidden Chapters.

When I listened back to our conversation, I knew it belonged here. Before I ask my Season 4 guests to open the hidden chapters of their stories, I wanted to invite you into one of mine.

A heartfelt thank you to Tracy and the entire Tactical Treasures team for inviting me onto their show and graciously allowing me to share this conversation with the Hidden Chapters community.

🇺🇸 About Tactical Treasures🇺🇸

Tactical Treasures uncovers the powerful stories of the military community, highlighting service, the transition to civilian life, and the invaluable "tactical treasures" that guide people along the way.

If you enjoyed hearing my story through Tracy's questions, I hope you'll take a moment to explore Tactical Treasures and the stories they're sharing with veterans, military families, and the broader military community.

Listen & Connect with Tactical Treasures

🌐 Website:
https://tacticaltreasurespodcast.com/

📺 YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@tacticaltreasures

👩🏻‍💻 Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/tacticaltreasurespodcast

🎙️ Watch the original conversation:
https://youtu.be/JjBQSgdencQ?si=j781smE9dxjVFW4M

Support the show

🎤  Visit my website: https://hiddenchapterspodcast.com/ and stay connected! 

🎧  Want to be a guest on Hidden Chapters.

📩  Send me a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/genevievekruger
or visit the website to apply to be a guest.

 🎵 Background Music: "In Time" by Folk_acoustic from Pixabay

Send me a message via text or voicemail!

Welcome to Season 4 of Hidden Chapters!  🎉

This is more than a new season. It's the beginning of a new chapter for the podcast.

In this short episode, I'm sharing the story behind Hidden Chapters' new cover art, why I've made the decision to move to a biweekly release schedule, and what you can expect from the conversations ahead.

"Hidden Chapters exists to honor the stories we don't always see," has become the heartbeat of everything I'm creating.

Thank you for being part of this community. Whether you've listened from the very beginning or you're just joining us, I'm grateful you're here.

🎧  🎙️Season 4 officially begins on August 21, and I can't wait to introduce you to the incredible guests and meaningful conversations ahead.

If you haven't already, be sure to follow the podcast so new episodes automatically appear in your library every other Friday.

Because every person carries a hidden chapter...and every story deserves to be honored.

Support the show

🎤  Visit my website: https://hiddenchapterspodcast.com/ and stay connected! 

🎧  Want to be a guest on Hidden Chapters.

📩  Send me a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/genevievekruger
or visit the website to apply to be a guest.

 🎵 Background Music: "In Time" by Folk_acoustic from Pixabay

Send me a message via text or voicemail!

☀️  As part of the Hidden Chapters Summer Replay Series, we’re revisiting conversations that shaped the heart of this podcast,  stories that continue to reflect the themes introduced in the Season 3 bridge trailer.  ☀️

Original Shownotes:
What if the cracks in your life could become your most beautiful part? Inspired by Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold, I share how heartbreak, disappointment, and loss can be transformed into strength, light, and beauty.

In this solo episode, I reflect on my own hidden chapters, stories from past guests, and what it truly means to be “mended with gold.” If you’ve ever felt broken or unfinished, this episode is for you, a reminder that healing is possible and beauty can emerge from the cracks.

Support the show

🎤  Visit my website: https://hiddenchapterspodcast.com/ and stay connected! 

🎧  Want to be a guest on Hidden Chapters.

📩  Send me a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/genevievekruger
or visit the website to apply to be a guest.

 🎵 Background Music: "In Time" by Folk_acoustic from Pixabay

Send me a message via text or voicemail!

 ☀️ As part of the Hidden Chapters Summer Replay Series, we’re revisiting conversations that shaped the heart of this podcast,  stories that continue to reflect the themes introduced in the Season 3 bridge trailer.  ☀️

Original Shownotes:
🎙️  Episode Summary

In this deeply moving episode, Mick shares his journey of navigating unimaginable grief after the loss of his son, the raw and authentic prayers that sustained him, and how his faith in God has transformed over 14 years. Mick also opens up about building his podcast from the ground up without financial compensation, trusting God every step of the way. From heartbreak to hope, and from uncertainty to purpose, this episode is a testament to how faith, family, and persistence can turn pain into blessing

🎧 What we talk about in this episode:

• Learning to pray authentically and be fully raw with God
• Mick’s faith journey: from early struggles to deep trust and spiritual growth
• Experiencing God’s provision, guidance, and blessings through life’s challenges
• Starting and growing a podcast without pay while trusting God for provision
• Lessons on faith, perseverance, and trusting God even when circumstances make no logical sense

📖  Mick's Hidden Chapter Moment 

Mick's hidden chapter is the long stretch between January 4, 2012 and March 2025 :the years most people never saw. The grief of losing his son. A miscarriage. The quiet rebuilding of a faith that started on his knees in a hospital hallway. It's the savings account meant for a mortgage that became a year of provision, and the job offer that fell through in a way that could only be described as God. The three words, sit, wait, and trust that asked him to trust completely before he had any reason on paper to do so. The hidden chapter is where God was building something Mick couldn't see yet. And everything visible now grew from what happened in that invisible season.

🔗  Resources & Mentions:

•  "The Awe of God" by John Bevere
• Ephesians 2:10, Luke 6:46, Matthew 6:26
• "When You Look Podcast", Episode 33 - Mick's full testimony
• 🔗 🎙️🎧 Mick and I connected with Podmatch.com https://www.joinpodmatch.com/genevievekruger

📩 Connect with Mick: Mick is the host of the When You Look podcast.
Website: whenyoulook.com

🎙️  Podmatch.com


Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Support the show

🎤  Visit my website: https://hiddenchapterspodcast.com/ and stay connected! 

🎧  Want to be a guest on Hidden Chapters.

📩  Send me a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/genevievekruger
or visit the website to apply to be a guest.

 🎵 Background Music: "In Time" by Folk_acoustic from Pixabay

Send me a message via text or voicemail!

 ☀️ As part of the Hidden Chapters Summer Replay Series, we’re revisiting conversations that shaped the heart of this podcast,  stories that continue to reflect the themes introduced in the Season 3 bridge trailer. ☀️

Original Shownotes:
If you haven’t listened to Part 1 yet, start there, it’s the foundation for everything in this episode.

🎙️  Episode Summary PART 2

In Part 1, Laura Engel shared what happened in 1967: the pregnancy, the unwed mothers’ home in New Orleans, the forced goodbye, and the fifty years of silence that followed. 

In Part 2, everything changes.

 In 2016, Laura submitted her DNA to Ancestry.com. A few months later, her firstborn son,  the one she’d been told to forget, actually found her. What followed was five years of reunion: of learning who he had become, of introducing him to family, of filling in the gaps on both sides. And then, in 2021, she lost him again in a way she never saw coming.

 She almost didn’t publish the book. In this episode, Laura talks about what changed her mind, what her story has meant to the thousands of adoptees and birth mothers who found themselves in its pages, and why she’s still speaking for all the women who can’t yet.

🎧  What We Talk About in This Episode

• The DNA test that changed everything and the moment Laura realized her son had found her
• What the reunion with Richard was like after 49 years apart
• The grief of losing Richard in 2021 and what she calls “the most complicated grief I’ve ever lived through”
• Why she almost pulled the book from publication after he died and what made her say yes

📖  Laura's Hidden Chapter Moment

After Richard died, Laura’s husband Gene said something to her that she couldn’t shake.

She told him she wished Richard had never found her. And he said: "don’t ever say that again. Because look what you learned. Look what you got. You loved him. He loved you. And we have three grandchildren we never would have known existed."

That’s the hidden chapter in all of this. Not just the shame, not just the grief, but the love that was there the whole time, even in the parts that hurt the most. 

 🔗 Resources Mentioned:

• Laura’s memoir: You’ll Forget This Ever Happened by Laura L. Engel: available on Amazon and through She Writes Press
• Laura’s website and the Family Secrets podcast episode where she first shared her story: lauralengel.com
• Adoption Knowledge Affiliates: adoptionknowledge.org — education and support across the adoption triad
• CUB – Concerned United Birthparents: cubirthparents.org — support for birth parents
• Adoptee Rights Law Center: adopteerightslaw.com — check your state’s current law on original birth certificate access
• ISRR – International Soundex Reunion Registry: isrr.org — mutual consent reunion registry
• DNA Detectives on Facebook — volunteer search angels to help adoptees and birth parents connect
• Alliance of Hope for Suicide Loss Survivors: allianceofhope.org
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988

Support the show

🎤  Visit my website: https://hiddenchapterspodcast.com/ and stay connected! 

🎧  Want to be a guest on Hidden Chapters.

📩  Send me a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/genevievekruger
or visit the website to apply to be a guest.

 🎵 Background Music: "In Time" by Folk_acoustic from Pixabay