Refamulating

Lauren always knew she wanted a family. The way she imagined it, she’d meet a great guy, get married, and have babies. But when she finally met Dan in her late 30s, that’s not how it happened. Dan was a divorced dad with two small kids, so their family became a blended one. Lauren’s transition from Lauren to Mama (aka Llama), led her on a journey to grieve her single life, learn her new role as a bonus parent and grapple with her least favorite word: step-mother. Along the way she gained more love than she ever imagined was possible. 

The episode transcript can be found here. 

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EMAIL: [email protected]. 

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Subscribe to our Substack if you want a monthly newsletter about all things refamulating. We share resources for people refamulating, upcoming events and links to other podcasts/articles/books that discuss refamulating topics. 

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Our team 

Host: Julia Winston

Producer: Claire McInerny 

Manager of Engagement: Grace Barry

Audio Engineer: Josh Gilbert

Theme Music: Luke Top

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We are a member of the Feelings and Co network. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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When Jen was pregnant with her daughter, she had one of those unicorn pregnancies you never hear about in real life: she wasn’t tired or sick, and she felt energized by it all. But she and her husband didn’t want more biological kids, so Jen started thinking about how she could experience the magic of pregnancy again. That’s when she became a surrogate and found her life’s purpose. 

The episode transcript can be found here. 

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Resources mentioned in this episode: 

What do surrogacy laws look like in your state?

Maternal mortality statistics- CDC

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Connect with us: 

EMAIL: [email protected]. 

WEBSITE

INSTAGRAM

TIK TOK

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Subscribe to our Substack if you want a monthly newsletter about all things refamulating. We share resources for people refamulating, upcoming events and links to other podcasts/articles/books that discuss refamulating topics. 

_

Our team 

Host: Julia Winston

Producer: Claire McInerny 

Manager of Engagement: Grace Barry

Audio Engineer: Josh Gilbert

Theme Music: Luke Top

–

We are a member of the Feelings and Co network. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Four years ago, Lindsay and Jeff were just starting their family. The 32-year-old couple had recently bought a house. They were talking about getting married and they knew they wanted kids…one day. Then, Lindsay’s step-sister collapsed, and overnight everything changed. Lindsay’s sister had 10-year-old twins, and as their mom lay unconscious in a hospital, Lindsay wondered if she and her boyfriend could take care of and parent these kids.

The episode transcript can be found here. 

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Connect with us: 

EMAIL: [email protected]. 

WEBSITE

INSTAGRAM

TIK TOK

_

Subscribe to our Substack if you want a monthly newsletter about all things refamulating. We share resources for people refamulating, upcoming events and links to other podcasts/articles/books that discuss refamulating topics. 

_

Our team 

Host: Julia Winston

Producer: Claire McInerny 

Manager of Engagement: Grace Barry

Audio Engineer: Josh Gilbert

Theme Music: Luke Top

–

We are a member of the Feelings and Co network. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tony Lilios always imagined himself as a father. When he was younger, the picture he had in head included a wife, a few kids, and a white picket fence. Then he came out as gay and had to totally re-imagine his vision for family. It took him almost 20 years, but Tony finally created a family that’s better than he ever could have dreamed. And he couldn’t have done it without the help of two very special women.

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The episode transcript can be found here. 

_

Connect with us: 

EMAIL: [email protected]. 

WEBSITE

INSTAGRAM

TIK TOK

_

Subscribe to our Substack if you want a monthly newsletter about all things refamulating. We share resources for people refamulating, upcoming events and links to other podcasts/articles/books that discuss refamulating topics. 

_

Our team 

Host: Julia Winston

Producer: Claire McInerny 

Manager of Engagement: Grace Barry

Audio Engineer: Josh Gilbert

Theme Music: Luke Top

–

We are a member of the Feelings and Co network. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wait...what is a family? When host Julia Winston donated her eggs to a gay couple in her late 30s, it blew up her idea of what it means to make a family. That’s how “refamulating” was born – it’s a noun, a verb, a show. This show!

Through this journey, Julia realized she’s been refamulating her whole life. She went from a traditional nuclear family, to divorced parents, a gay dad, and eventually, a whole new understanding of family. But it took a long time to get there. In this episode, Julia interviews her mom, dad and sister as she prepares to embark on an unknown future as a known egg donor (aka “fairy godmother). 

You can hear more about Julia’s experience as an egg donor in the Terrible, Thanks for Asking Episode "Becoming Fairy Godmother". It’s also Episode 0 in our feed. 

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The episode transcript can be found here. 

_

Connect with us: 

EMAIL: [email protected]. 

WEBSITE

INSTAGRAM

TIK TOK

_

Subscribe to our Substack if you want a monthly newsletter about all things refamulating. We share resources for people refamulating, upcoming events and links to other podcasts/articles/books that discuss refamulating topics. 

_

Our team 

Host: Julia Winston

Producer: Claire McInerny 

Manager of Engagement: Grace Barry

Audio Engineer: Josh Gilbert

Theme Music: Luke Top

–

We are a member of the Feelings and Co network. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two years ago Julia Winston was asked to help a gay couple start a family by donating her eggs. At the time, she was 38, single, and had no idea if she’d start her own family. Sometimes that made her feel insecure, so the opportunity to donate her eggs allowed her to help create a family, just not the one she imagined in her head. Since the donation, she’s gone through an emotional transformation that opened her eyes to all the different ways a family can look. 

This episode originally aired on Terrible Thanks for Asking, hosted by Nora McInerny.

The episode transcript can be found here. 

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Tell us how you’re refamulating! If you want to share your family’s story or connect with us, shoot us an email at [email protected]. 

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Learn more about Refamulating on our website.

Follow us on Instagram and TikTok.

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Subscribe to our Substack if you want a monthly newsletter about all things refamulating. We share resources for people refamulating, upcoming events and links to other podcasts/articles/books that discuss refamulating topics.

_

Our team 

Host: Julia Winston

Executive Producer: Claire McInerny 

Manager of Engagement: Grace Barry

Audio Engineer: Josh Gilbert

–

We are a member of the Feelings and Co network. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Refamulating is a new podcast that celebrates different ways to make a family.

Episodes 1 and 2 drop April 2. 

A generation ago, most Americans were guided by the idea of the nuclear family: a mom, a dad, two kids, and a derpy dog. Many still have a family like this, and that’s great!

But the numbers show it doesn't represent the majority of American households. In fact, there is no one-size-fits-all for what a family should look like. We’re collectively reformulating our understanding of what makes a family in today’s world. We call this refamulating, and this show invites us to understand it one story at a time. 

On each episode of Refamulating, host Julia Winston and producer Claire McInerny deliver emotionally honest stories of real people with nuanced experiences that census data could never tell us.

Think queer parents, egg and sperm donors, surrogates, blended families, child-free folks, tales of communal living, and much more.

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Learn more about Refamulating at refamulating.com. 

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Follow us on Instagram.

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Tell us how you’re refamulating! If you want to share your family’s story, send us an email at [email protected]. 

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A member of the Feelings and Co. network. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices