#41.  Researching and connecting with his ancestors affected Kael Sharman’s life in more ways than he expected. Knowing those stories helped him feel grounded and connected him to the greater historical narrative of Canada.

In this episode Kael shares:

• How researching his ancestors grounded him in a time of change
• The impact of colonialism on people who wanted a better life for their family
• Why he thinks studying family history has the power to heal nations

About Kael:

After 20 years of teaching, more than a decade of historical research, and several years of genealogical research, Kael Sharman has a message that is timely in the current context of growing social and political divisions: Know your family stories. Understand who you are, where you came from, and how you got here. in his Podcast Maple Family Treehouse, Kael shares his family stories, which include infidelity, heartbreak, love, violence, ethnic cleansing, religious miracles, and just plain survival. The driving force behind sharing his stories has been to understand how his family stories have changed how he walks around North America as an aging, white, working-class trans man. Understanding where he came from has brought a new complexity to his understanding of who he is, and his own privilege. Kael has also found pride and validation for those aspects of himself that have been traditionally aligned with marginalization or oppression. Kael claims, that kind of shift can happen if you frame your family stories in the larger narratives of settlement and colonization.

Connect with Kael:

Website          maplefamilytreehouse.squarespace.com
Facebook        @maplefamilytreehouse
Instagram       @maplefamilytreehouse
Twitter            @KaelSharman

Episode sponsored by Heather Murphy's signature 1:1 service, Resilience in Your Roots.

Get a free workbook, "Release Limiting Beliefs by Understanding Your Family History " to help identify your beliefs, where they come from, and how to choose your beliefs moving forward.

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