What new titles should I use? "Updates from the US"? "Missives from America"? I don't know if this will be a series... I'm just writing and speaking on what we're living with right now in the United States and what I'm doing to cope. Thank you for listening in!

[I am recovering from the flu- forgive my voice.]

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The American people are under assault by the incoming regime. People here are being targeted, having rights stripped, and facing further persecution.

I am a mother. I want you to know how this is impacting my family.

Join me in resisting this aggression.

By the time your kids are seventeen, you're feeling like a pretty seasoned parent, right? Kind of got most things down pat.

And then you're thrown into new territory as your child becomes an adult and suddenly we are navigating new situations, scenarios, boundaries, expectations, and realities.

It can be disarming and quickly become a negative situation for everyone involved. It takes a ton of patience, self-exploration, and work to make it through this period with your relationship intact.

Join me as I explore the unique challenges of parenting a young adult, and learn from some mistakes I made. We can all grow and learn together.

- - - -

Just a reminder that you can financially support this project in a couple of ways:

You can support the project on Patreon here: patreon.com/counterstorymedia

You can support the project on Substack here: counterstorymedia.substack.com

Under the umbrella of CounterStory Media, we have several existing projects:

The Light at the Other Side- podcast and written word that is more general stories about life beyond trauma

Adoptere- written word from the exclusive perspective of adoptees and birth mothers.

Served- written word from the exclusive perspective of US military veterans

Deconstructing Dogma- written word from those exploring their spiritual journey during or after leaving an organized religion

New: Our Appalachian Spirit: an upcoming charity anthology sharing the works of Appalachian authors, poets, and artists.

Thank you so much for joining me, and I hope you enjoy this season of The Light at the Other Side.

~m

We're looking today at the differences in how we collectively parent our children, from strict authoritarianism to free-range "permissive" parenting, and the whole spectrum in between.

Gentle parenting, when applied correctly, can provide the fertile soil for healthy and long-lasting relationships between parents and children that carry them well into adulthood.

Authoritarian parenting, requiring complete and total obedience and immediate submission, can foster low self-esteem, lack of confidence, and the inability to advocate for oneself later in life, in large and small ways.

We as parents must also been keenly aware when we make a joke at our child's expense how that impacts them and can live in their minds for decades, if not forever.

- - - -

Just a reminder that you can financially support this project in a couple of ways:

You can support the project on Patreon here: patreon.com/counterstorymedia

You can support the project on Substack here: counterstorymedia.substack.com

Under the umbrella of CounterStory Media, we have several existing projects:

The Light at the Other Side- podcast and written word that is more general stories about life beyond trauma

Adoptere- written word from the exclusive perspective of adoptees and birth mothers.

Served- written word from the exclusive perspective of US military veterans

Deconstructing Dogma- written word from those exploring their spiritual journey during or after leaving an organized religion

New: Our Appalachian Spirit: an upcoming charity anthology sharing the works of Appalachian authors, poets, and artists.

Thank you so much for joining me, and I hope you enjoy this season of The Light at the Other Side.

~m

Our family is very close, and I’ve been providing my kids’ civic education their entire lives. They have stood where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spent his last moments before his assassination in the Lorraine Motel. They’ve traced the steps of slaves on plantations in South Carolina. They’ve explored almost every single Smithsonian Museum and civil rights monument and landmark.

I wanted to put their feet there. Immerse them in history and reality.

Now, they are living through history themselves. One is a 20 year old white man. The other is an 18 year old trans man. Hear the differences in their reality yourself.

We have a responsibility to this generation, the lost ones, the kids who fell through the cracks during Covid and are now being spit on by our politicians and made to be sacrificial lambs for their agendas. Let’s listen, and really hear them. We must work with them to secure our collective futures.

- - - -

Just a reminder that you can financially support this project in a couple of ways:

You can support the project on Patreon here: patreon.com/counterstorymedia

You can support the project on Substack here: counterstorymedia.substack.com

Under the umbrella of CounterStory Media, we have several existing projects:

The Light at the Other Side- podcast and written word that is more general stories about life beyond trauma

Adoptere- written word from the exclusive perspective of adoptees and birth mothers.

Served- written word from the exclusive perspective of US military veterans

Deconstructing Dogma- written word from those exploring their spiritual journey during or after leaving an organized religion

New: Our Appalachian Spirit: an upcoming charity anthology sharing the works of Appalachian authors, poets, and artists.

Thank you so much for joining me, and I hope you enjoy this season of The Light at the Other Side.

~m

My family shouldn't threaten anyone, and we should not be threatened.

This week, we're going to explore family from the kitchen to the dinner table... all things FOOD. Family dinners are a cornerstone of our family connection, so I'm sharing with you some of my thoughts about how food builds a family.

Just a reminder that you can financially support this project in a couple of ways:

You can support the project on Patreon here: patreon.com/counterstorymedia

You can support the project on Substack here: counterstorymedia.substack.com

Under the umbrella of CounterStory Media, we have several existing projects:

The Light at the Other Side- podcast and written word that is more general stories about life beyond trauma

Adoptere- written word from the exclusive perspective of adoptees and birth mothers.

Served- written word from the exclusive perspective of US military veterans

Deconstructing Dogma- written word from those exploring their spiritual journey during or after leaving an organized religion

New: Our Appalachian Spirit: an upcoming charity anthology sharing the works of Appalachian authors, poets, and artists.

Thank you so much for joining me, and I hope you enjoy this season of The Light at the Other Side.

~m

This week, we're going to explore family through the lens of adoption.

Just a reminder that you can financially support this project in a couple of ways:

You can support the project on Patreon here: patreon.com/counterstorymedia

You can support the project on Substack here: counterstorymedia.substack.com

Under the umbrella of CounterStory Media, we have several existing projects:

The Light at the Other Side- podcast and written word that is more general stories about life beyond trauma

Adoptere- written word from the exclusive perspective of adoptees and birth mothers.

Served- written word from the exclusive perspective of US military veterans

Deconstructing Dogma- written word from those exploring their spiritual journey during or after leaving an organized religion

New: Our Appalachian Spirit: an upcoming charity anthology sharing the works of Appalachian authors, poets, and artists.

Thank you so much for joining me, and I hope you enjoy this season of The Light at the Other Side.

~m

As parents, we are expected to be the ones 'in charge,' and that is obvious most of the time. However, we are merely human, and we still have much to learn. When we open our minds and ears to listening, truly listening, to our children, or watching them, we can learn so much from them.

Our children are unique and singular human beings. They contain seeds of wisdom that they will share with us, if we are open to receiving.

Just a reminder that you can financially support this project in a couple of ways:

You can support the project on Patreon here: patreon.com/counterstorymedia

You can support the project on Substack here: counterstorymedia.substack.com

Under the umbrella of CounterStory Media, we have several existing projects:

The Light at the Other Side- podcast and written word that is more general stories about life beyond trauma

Adoptere- written word from the exclusive perspective of adoptees and birth mothers.

Served- written word from the exclusive perspective of US military veterans

Deconstructing Dogma- written word from those exploring their spiritual journey during or after leaving an organized religion

New: Our Appalachian Spirit: an upcoming charity anthology sharing the works of Appalachian authors, poets, and artists.

Thank you so much for joining me, and I hope you enjoy this season of The Light at the Other Side.

~m

I'm so glad to be back behind the mic! I'm glad you're joining us again, and I hope you'll enjoy this newest season. With the theme "Family", we're going to explore many aspects of family from various viewpoints and about several different types of family. Adopted, step, chosen- there are many kinds of family, and we all must learn to navigate our way in them.

I've also launched my overarching project, CounterStory Media, which exists to audit the existing narrative and amplify the stories of those who have traditionally been silenced or shunned.

You can support the project on Patreon here: patreon.com/counterstorymedia

You can support the project on Substack here: counterstorymedia.substack.com

Under the umbrella of CounterStory Media, we have several existing projects:

The Light at the Other Side- podcast and written word that is more general stories about life beyond trauma

Adoptere- written word from the exclusive perspective of adoptees and birth mothers.

Served- written word from the exclusive perspective of US military veterans

Deconstructing Dogma- written word from those exploring their spiritual journey during or after leaving an organized religion

New: Our Appalachian Spirit: an upcoming charity anthology sharing the works of Appalachian authors, poets, and artists.

Thank you so much for joining me, and I hope you enjoy this season of The Light at the Other Side.

~m