When real life finds its way onto your TV screen at night, how accurate does the portrayal feel? The hit show every unmillennial seems to be talking about - This Is Us - touches at issues that hit close to home. But for one foster parent, the storyline of Randall's family's choice to become a foster family missed the mark.

Today's podcast features foster parent, Elana Natker. Elana approached me a few months ago as a fan of the show wanting to share her story of how disappointed she was in the way This Is Us has handled the foster parenting story. With more than 428,000 children living in foster care in the U.S. alone, it's important to tell the foster parenting story, beyond primetime TV. On the show we discuss: 

• How the storyline on foster parenting is presented on This Is Us
• How a real-life foster parenting experience differs from what's shown on TV
• How a family might come to the decision they want to become a foster family
• What "respite care" is in the foster parenting framework and how it might be a fit for some families
• What happens when a foster parenting situation isn't a good fit
• How people who might be interested in considering foster parenting can get involved

To close out the show, I share a quick preview into the future of self-driving cars or perhaps, more importantly how GenX is not having it... yet... and also give a quick recap of the things fans of this show DO love about This Is Us.

If you've been listening to the show for a while or are a new listener and have thoughts about what you like/don't like, I'd love for you to share them with me through this very brief LISTENER SURVEY. Thanks for your feedback! 

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Until next time,

~Regan

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This week’s episode is sponsored by HealthyAperture.com — the web’s first and only dietitian-curated recipe discovery site.

Musical support provided by Ben Williams at Kudzu Studio. Website support provided by Katy Widrick at MakeMediaOver.com. Additional support provided by Robin Plotkin of RobinsBite.com.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit reganjonesrdn.substack.com