This episode of the Stories That Sparkle Podcast is the last one I recorded on the Discoball Tour and boy am I grateful that this, of all the episodes, is the one I recorded with Jenn. Curled up on the couch in her living room while a kid’s birthday party next door filled the air with sounds of joy, Jenn shares about her experience with postpartum depression, anxiety, and shame, and how, with the support of community, she moved into more of herself. It involved a desire to express more of themselves and explore more of their identity in all that word can include: parent, partner, child, adult, therapist, queer, creative, and Jewish. Jenn is an incredible example of someone willing to step out and say: “Here I am. I am here.”

This is the eighteenth recording session of the Discoball Tour, the last one of the tour, and the only one I recorded in Cleveland. Jenn’s thoughtfulness and sweetness are a gift and I am beyond grateful that we reconnected through this and that of all the conversations I had over the four weeks I was on the road, this is the one that closed out the tour. Jenn touched on all the key themes of the tour (Be Ready, Get Ready & Rest. Joy, Delight & Pleasure. Unshame Your Wants & Desires. Risk Stepping Out as Who You Are. I am Home (in Myself). There will be more about all that in an upcoming episode.

Now I invite you to get comfortable, sit back, and listen in.

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The Discoball Tour is a 30-day cross country drive I made to record eighteen women’s stories in ten different cities. Along with podcast episodes, I created a companion video blog, the Discoball Tour Docu-Series. New episodes release on Fridays (every other) so subscribe to my Substack or to my channel on YouTube.com/@hellarader for new releases.

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