If You Knew Me

What does breaking from the fundamentalist Christian church and forging your own identify and sense of sanctuary look like? Hannah Aldridge’s story paints a picture.

Hannah Aldridge’s music has been described as “dark country”. She grew up in a musical family. Her dad worked as a musician in Fame Studios, a recording studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where some of the most well-known singers of our time cut records, including the Rolling Stones and Aretha Franklin. Hannah grew up running around in that studio. She also grew up in a family that was fundamentalist Christian. In her early twenties, she started playing music on stages close to home. After she broke from the church, she started playing on stages all around the world. Her songs strike a delicate balance between rebellion and self-discovery. This episode is the first story on our show where we will weave a woman’s story with her own, original music. You’ll hear snippets of Hannah’s music throughout. Hannah came-of-age in the South but she’s spent a lifetime trying to create an identity outside of it. 

Hannah Aldridge’s forthcoming album ‘Dream of America’ will be released in early 2023.

SEE HANNAH’S SPECIAL PATRON PERFORMANCE

If you’re a patron of the show, Hannah has offered a special video recording of her track “Unbeliever.” Head over to Patreon to watch it! 

GET YOUR FREE COFFEE MUG

Become a patron of the podcast before March 1st, and we will send you an exclusive coffee mug as a thank you gift. See blog for images. Pledge any amount to get behind-the-scenes extras, discounts on merchandise and patron-only gifts. Become a patron today. 

JOIN OUR WALL OF FLAME

Help us improve women's well-being through the power of story. Pledge $600 or more here and your name, bio and portrait will be added to our virtual monument: The Wall of Flame!

REVIEW US

Help other women find us. Rate us on the Apple podcast app or on our website. 

SOCIALS  & WEB

If You Knew Me website

Instagram

Facebook

Linkedin

Sign Up for our Newsletter!

CREDITS

Produced by Jamie Yuenger and Piet Hurkmans. Our show’s musical intro and outro is taken from the track “Thursday” by the independent artist Nick Takénobu Ogawa. You can listen and support his music on bandcamp here. 

Other music in this episode is by Blue Dot Sessions

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we have a story from a woman named Catriona Ni Aolain. Her friends and family call her Kate. Kate’s story, on the surface, looks like the story of a hero - a heroine. She does something incredibly generous. After learning that a woman in her neighborhood needs a kidney donation, Kate decides to donate her own kidney. She goes through with it, gets the operation, and gives away one of her kidneys. But it’s not so simple. The emotions that Kate ends up having aren’t what she expects them to be. 

Content: kidney transplant, kidney donation

Catriona's socials

Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook

GET YOUR FREE COFFEE MUG

Become a patron of the podcast before March 1st, and we will send you an exclusive coffee mug as a thank you gift. See blog for images. Pledge any amount to get behind-the-scenes extras, discounts on merchandise and patron-only gifts. Become a patron today.

JOIN OUR WALL OF FLAME

Help us improve women's well-being through the power of story. Pledge $600 or more here and your name, bio and portrait will be added to our virtual monument: The Wall of Flame!

LETTER WRITING CHALLENGE

We invite you, dear listener, to join our letter writing challenge! Our guest Brinda wrote a letter to her kids. You can write your letter to anyone you love: your kids, your spouse, your lover, your best friend, or your great aunt -- whoever it is you’d like to (re)connect with.

1. Write your letter

2. Post a photo of the envelope or a snippet of the letter online on your socials before March 1st 2023, using #brindaletterchallenge and tag us @ifyouknewme.show (IG)

3. Tag a friend to join you in the challenge

REVIEW US

Help other women find us. Rate us on the Apple podcast app or on our website.

SOCIALS & WEB

If You Knew Me website

Instagram

Facebook

Linkedin

Sign Up for our Newsletter!

CREDITS

Produced by Jamie Yuenger and Piet Hurkmans.

Our show’s musical intro and outro is taken from the track “Thursday” by the independent artist Nick Takénobu Ogawa. You can listen and support his music on bandcamp here.

Other music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we begin a special, new series on our podcast called "Where She is Now". In the series, we do follow-up interviews with previous show guests. We ask what's happened in our guest's life since sharing her brave, personal story on our show. If you've ever wondered, "what happened to that woman?!" this is a beautiful opportunity to go deeper. In this first episode of the series, Brinda van den Berg follows-up on her powerful story of early mother-loss that she told in episode one. This is what's happened in Brinda's life since.

Be in touch if there are other show guests you'd like us to do a "Where She is Now" episode with! Send us a voice memo on our website or shoot us an email. 

Content: mother loss, trauma, early mother loss, child abuse

Letter writing challenge

Use #brindaletterchallenge

So in this episode we are challenging you, the listeners here with Brinda. Brinda has taken on the challenge to write a love letter to her kids. You can write your letter to your kids, your spouse, your lover, your best friend, or your great aunt who you love, whoever it is, where you want this person to know who you really are and what your life was about and why you love them. So that's the challenge.

Post a photo of the envelope or a snippet of the letter online on your socials before March 1st 2023, using #brindaletterchallenge and please tag us @ifyouknewme.show (IG)

Join the If You Knew Me community: If you love what we are doing here, we invite you to become a patron! You can pledge any amount to get behind-the-scenes extras, discounts on merchandise and patron-only gifts. 

Rate & Review Us!

Reviews help other women find us. Rate us on the Apple podcast app or on our website. 

Socials & Website

If You Knew Me website

Instagram

Facebook

Linkedin

Sign Up for our Newsletter!

Producers:

Jamie Yuenger and Piet Hurkmans

Music: 

Our show’s musical intro and outro is taken from the track “Thursday” by the independent artist Nick Takénobu Ogawa.

You can listen and support his music on bandcamp here. 

Other music in this episode is by Blue Dot Sessions

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week: Is this what I actually want to be doing?

This week, we have an interview episode with Wendy Perrotti, a Mid-Life Coach. She helps women in their 40s, 50s and 60s figure out how to pivot, change course and create a new professional and personal path for themselves. 

Wendy helps us deal with our critical inner voice, provides us with practical actions to get clarity on what we want and don’t want in our lives, and how to explain what is on the other side of the fear that’s holding you back. 

This week’s episode is entitled: “Tell Saul to Shut Up”

Content: reinvention, mid-life, inner voice, personal transformation

Join the If You Knew Me community: If you love what we are doing here, we invite you to become a patron! You can pledge any amount to get behind-the-scenes extras, 

Rate & Review Us!

Reviews help other women find us. Rate us on the Apple podcast app or on our website. 

Connect with Wendy:

Website ~ LinkedIn ~ Facebook ~ Instagram

Socials & Website

If You Knew Me website

Instagram

Facebook

Linkedin

Sign Up for our Newsletter!

Producers:

Jamie Yuenger and Piet Hurkmans

Music:

Our show’s musical intro and outro is taken from the track “Thursday” by the independent artist Nick Takénobu Ogawa.

You can listen and support his music on bandcamp here. 

Other music in this episode is by Blue Dot Sessions

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week: How can you honor your parents and radically choose your own path?

Mali’s parents were intense, devoted political activists who worked tirelessly alongside the American labor leader Cesar Chavez in the 1960s and 70s. Mali continued her parents’ legacy by co-founding a non-profit in California called Encinitas4Equality to disassemble structural racism. Her story, though, is not about farmers’ rights or racism. It’s about a universal question many women face: how can I pursue my own ambitions in life and also devote time to becoming and being a mother? Even if you don’t dream of motherhood, the question remains: What do we do when we are faced with two competing desires? Can we make space for both of them?

This week’s story is entitled “Deciding Between Motherhood and Personal Ambition”

Content: activism, farm workers’ rights, motherhood, ambition, alcoholism, recovery

Join the If You Knew Me community:

If you love what we are doing here, we invite you to become a patron! You can pledge any amount to get behind-the-scenes extras.

Rate & Review Us!

Reviews help other women find us. Rate us on the Apple podcast app or on our website.

Connect with Mali:

Website ~ Facebook ~ Instagram

Socials & Website

If You Knew Me website

Instagram

Facebook

Linkedin

Sign Up for our Newsletter!

Producers: Jamie Yuenger and Piet Hurkmans

Music:

Our show’s musical intro and outro is taken from the track “Thursday” by the independent artist Nick Takénobu Ogawa.

You can listen and support his music on bandcamp here.

Other music in this episode is by Blue Dot Sessions

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week: What if you saw a white spot, got “the” call, or fainted without reason?

Red Nilsson grew up in Sweden. In early adolescence, she found a tiny white spot on her leg. Then it became a small dot, and then it spread and spread. In her mid-30s, Red got a call from her gynecologist while she was on vacation in Argentina with her brand-new boyfriend. The news was shocking. Years later, she was in good shape and hanging out with a friend. Suddenly, she felt faint and within minutes, she was in the emergency room. Today, Red lives with three, invisible autoimmune disorders. But Red’s story isn’t about the illnesses. It’s about her mindset. What choices do you make when you’re faced with challenge after challenge?

This week’s episode is entitled, “I was never meant to be like others.”

Content: Vitiligo, diabetes, premature ovarian insufficiency, autoimmune, mindset

Join Us!

Become a patron of this show, and get behind-the-scenes extras and patron-only content. It starts at $3/month. Go here: https://www.patreon.com/ifyouknewme and pledge any amount. 

Rate & Review Us!

Reviews help other women find us. Rate us on the Apple podcast app or on our website. 

For more of Red Nilsson:

You can find Red on Instagram, Linkedin and Facebook

Red’s company Redcircle International

For more of us: 

Website: https://ifyouknewme.show

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ifyouknewme.show/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ifyouknewmeshow/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ifyouknewme/

Sign Up for our Newsletter!

Producers: Jamie Yuenger and Piet Hurkmans

Music:

Our show’s musical intro and outro is taken from the track “Thursday” by the independent artist Nick Takénobu Ogawa. You can listen and support his music on bandcamp here. 

Other music in this episode is by Blue Dot Sessions

Content: bonus, league of women

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week: ‘The Forgotten Sister’

In this BONUS episode: Meet the editor and co-creator of this podcast, Piet Hurkmans. Piet shares some of his own back story and his connection to the mission of this show. Born in the Netherlands, he grew up in a family that didn’t talk about one major thing: the death of his sister Heleen. His childhood experiences and his later work with public speaking inform his approach to sharing women’s deeper stories.

We'll be back with the fourth season on January 6th.

Patreon

To become a patron and help this show continue, plus get access to patron-only content, go to https://www.patreon.com/ifyouknewme and pledge any amount. 

Reviews

Online reviews help others find us. Leave 5 stars or a written review on Apple right now, or go to our website. 

For more of us: 

Website: https://ifyouknewme.show

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ifyouknewme.show/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ifyouknewmeshow/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ifyouknewme/

This episode was produced by Jamie Yuenger and Piet Hurkmans. 

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions

Content: bonus, back story, editor, co-creator, loss, inspiration, motivation, women, deeper stories

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week: “Our not so secret society”

In this BONUS episode our host Jamie Yuenger talks about how we are developing our first ever League of Women. This League of Women, it's not quite a secret society and it's definitely not a traditional advisory board.

This League will support and expand the work of If You Knew Me. We are in the midst of building a team of smart, brave, and bold women who want to contribute to something bigger than themselves. Our mission with If You Knew Me is to improve women's wellbeing through the power of story.

Once a woman shares her story on our show, she changes her personal narrative forever. She's no longer trapped inside her own head. She's put her truth into the world, and that act alone connects her with other women. This work helps the guests on the show and the listeners of this show feel less alone, less weird, less awful.

We've invited a list of women to join the league, but perhaps you know women in your world and your network who would love to get involved in what we are doing here to help strengthen this show's impact. Maybe you're an amazing woman yourself, or maybe you're thinking of your aunt or your boss, or your friend or your neighbor, basically, who is it that you admire?Who makes it her business to give back?

League members will be invited to gather several times a year as a group, as well as offer a meaningful financial contribution. We would be happy to send you a document that outlines what it means to join the League.

We will we're happy to send you a document that outlines the details of what it means to join the league. To get in touch, just find our details in these show notes. 

We'll publish one special episode in December and it's gonna be with Piet Hurkmans. Piet is Jamie's husband and the co-creator of this show, and he's going to share his story and why he is a man helping to create a show that's all about women.

We'll be back with the 4th season of If You Knew Me on January 6th 2023.

Patreon

To become a patron and help this show continue, plus get access to patron-only content, go to https://www.patreon.com/ifyouknewme and pledge any amount. 

Reviews

Online reviews help others find us. Leave 5 stars or a written review on Apple right now, or go to our website. 

For more of us: 

Website: https://ifyouknewme.show

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ifyouknewme.show/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ifyouknewmeshow/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ifyouknewme/

This episode was produced by Jamie Yuenger and Piet Hurkmans. 

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions & Epidemic Sound

Content: bonus, league of women

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week: “I only had two left slippers.”

Theo Manusaride is a photographer and our creative partner in the development of the If You Knew Me book. This week, we share her story of growing up in Romania with "only two left slippers" and how she's creating a new life in a new country after her dad suddenly passed away.

Theo is an award-winning photographer. She does documentary wedding, family portrait, and business photography. Originally from Romania, she is based out of the Hague in the Netherlands. 

For more of Theo:

Instagram @theomanusaridephotographer

Website: https://www.theomanusaride.com

To become a patron and help this show continue, plus get access to patron-only content, go to https://www.patreon.com/ifyouknewme and pledge any amount. 

Online reviews help others find us. Leave 5 stars or a written review on Apple right now, or go to our website. 

For more of us: 

Website: https://ifyouknewme.show

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ifyouknewme.show/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ifyouknewmeshow/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ifyouknewme/

This episode was produced by Jamie Yuenger and Piet Hurkmans. 

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.

Content: new life, new country, communist Romania, photography, expat

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week: “What if I’m Not Invincible?”

Dulcie Witman broke seventeen bones in her body and entirely lost her sense of smell before she realized she wasn’t invincible. As a little girl, Dulcie wrote poetry. After her spirit was crushed in her 40s, she used writing as a road back to herself.  Today, she works as a therapist and writer. Along with her partner, she created Wide Open Writing, a creative and supportive community for writers. In this episode, Dulcie shares her incredible story of a childhood plagued by fear, adulthood heavily defined by alcoholism, and a present life filled with hope, creativity and expression. 

For more of Dulcie:

Instagram @wideopenwriting

Website: www.dulciewitman.com

To become a patron and help this show continue, plus get access to patron-only content, go to https://www.patreon.com/ifyouknewme and pledge any amount. 

Online reviews help others find us. Leave 5 stars or a written review on Apple right now, or go to our website. 

For more of us: 

Website: https://ifyouknewme.show

Instagram: https://www.facebook.com/ifyouknewme

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ifyouknewmeshow/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ifyouknewme/

This episode was produced by Jamie Yuenger and Piet Hurkmans. 

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.

Content: alcoholism, child abuse, car accident, poetry

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.