When Autumn Comes: Seasons of Hope for Medical + Disability Moms

Welcome back for the final episode of our summer book club with Jessica Fein. Today, we discuss writing. Jessica shares helpful advice for anyone looking to begin writing. The girls talk about the importance of sharing their stories in whichever medium is most relevant to them. They also talk about the importance of finding community in writing.

"When you say, 'I'm writing a book,' it changes everything." -Jessica

Here's what you don't want to miss:

• Advice for writing
• Mindset
• Writing to ourselves
• Met judging yourself

Connect with Jessica:

Jessica Fein

Buy her book

Summer is a new season with stress and relaxation together at the same time. We hope you can find a moment to relax with a good book, or whatever gives you a moment of peace. We are so grateful for Jessica taking the time to share her story for our summer reading series. Are you reading along with us? Do you have any good writing prompts you want to share? Let us know in the When Autumn Comes Society or send me a DM on Instagram! I'd love to hear from you!

When Autumn Comes:

WAC Instagram

WAC Facebook Page

WAC Society Facebook Page

WAC is a program of the Apricity Hope Project

Apply for a Caregiver Package

In today's episode of Summer Reading with When Autumn Comes, Suz, Katrina, and Jessica discuss joy. We always discuss what gives us hope, but where is the joy in this life of medical complexity? Maybe moms of medically complex kids mope around in black and grey all day long. Maybe some do, but not these girls! The girls discuss how they create moment's of joy, finding it in the every day, and intentionally seeking it out. They discuss the importance of finding joy, not only for their children, but also for themselves. Stay tuned for helpful tips they have discovered over the years.

"We can create corners of beauty in the midst of the chaos." -Jessica

Here's what you don't want to miss:

• Choosing to live in hope
• Creating moments of joy
• Skate parks
• Finding joy for ourselves

Connect with Jessica:

Jessica Fein

Buy her book

Summer is a new season with stress and relaxation together at the same time. We hope you can find a moment to relax with a good book, or whatever gives you a moment of peace. We are so grateful for Jessica taking the time to share her story for our summer reading series. Are you reading along with us? Let us know in the When Autumn Comes Society or send me a DM on Instagram! I'd love to hear from you!

When Autumn Comes:

WAC Instagram

WAC Facebook Page

WAC Society Facebook Page

WAC is a program of the Apricity Hope Project

Apply for a Caregiver Package

Welcome back to another episode of our summer book club. We hope you are reading along with us and joining in the conversation in the When Autumn Comes Society. This week we are discussing isolation in medical motherhood. We talk about the reasons why we feel isolated and how that impacts our families. We discuss ways in which we have found community both in person and online.

"Nobody can relate to you anymore" -Jessica

Here's what you don't want to miss:

• Relating to others
• Finding people online
• Isolation for the other children
• The village

Connect with Jessica:

Jessica Fein

Buy her book

Summer is a new season with stress and relaxation together at the same time. We hope you can find a moment to relax with a good book, or whatever gives you a moment of peace. We are so grateful for Jessica taking the time to share her story for our summer reading series. Are you reading along with us? Let us know in the When Autumn Comes Society or send me a DM on Instagram! I'd love to hear from you!

When Autumn Comes:

WAC Instagram

WAC Facebook Page

WAC Society Facebook Page

WAC is a program of the Apricity Hope Project

Apply for a Caregiver Package

Thank you all for joining us for round 2 of our Summer Reading Series. We hope you are loving Jessica's book! This week, she joins us again to talk about adjusting to the new normal. What we all know now is that the "new" normal is something that is ever changing. We are always adjusting. Adjusting to life after diagnosis, life after hospitalization. For some of us, life after they have left us.

"For all this time, they define our identity and what happens after?" -Jessica

Here's what you don't want to miss:

• Welcome back Jessica
• Always new normal
• Checking the box
• The importance of sharing

Connect with Jessica:

Jessica Fein

Buy her book

Summer is a new season with stress and relaxation together at the same time. We hope you can find a moment to relax with a good book, or whatever gives you a moment of peace. We are so grateful for Jessica taking the time to share her story for our summer reading series. Are you reading along with us? Let us know in the When Autumn Comes Society or send me a DM on Instagram! I'd love to hear from you!

When Autumn Comes:

WAC Instagram

WAC Facebook Page

WAC Society Facebook Page

WAC is a program of the Apricity Hope Project

Apply for a Caregiver Package

Happy summer friends! It is July in Virginia and the rainbows at the hideaway do not disappoint. So, we celebrate summer with a Summer Reading series. Please join us in welcoming back Jessica. Jessica last joined us in April of 2023, but today she returns, a newly published author! Throughout this series, we will discuss themes that run throughout Jessica's book. In this episode, we chat about "the diagnosis". Everyone's journey to a diagnosis is unique. Let's dive into Jessica's journey.

"And that's where the hammer came down, was in the genetic testing." -Jessica

Here's what you don't want to miss:

• Welcome back Jessica
• Dahlia
• Phases of the journey
• Diagnosis
• Advice

Connect with Jessica:

Jessica Fein

Buy her book

I don't know how you do it

Summer is a new season with stress and relaxation together at the same time. We hope you can find a moment to relax with a good book, or whatever gives you a moment of peace. We are so grateful for Jessica taking the time to share her story for our summer reading series. What are you reading? Let me know in the When Autumn Comes Society or send me a DM on Instagram! I'd love to hear from you!

When Autumn Comes:

WAC Instagram

WAC Facebook Page

WAC Society Facebook Page

WAC is a program of the Apricity Hope Project

Apply for a Caregiver Package

4AM: Retreats and Thunderstorms

Today Christi joins us again to try to convince Katrina to come to America for a retreat in August. Stay tuned to see whether she was successful.

Links and resources:

• Follow Suz: @suzgeoghegan
• Follow Katrina: @kattymac
• Join the conversation: www.facebook.com/WhenAutumnComesSociety
• Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WhenAutumnComesPodcast
• Follow us on Instagram: @WhenAutumnComesPodcast

Make sure you hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss out on our upcoming stories of medical and special needs parenting from families like yours.

And, if you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating and a review? Thanks!

Trigger Warning: Shaken Baby Syndrome

Some sources estimate that a parent makes 35,000 decisions per day for our child. Some of these are small, like what socks to wear. Others, more important, like who will care for them while we are away. We hope we make these decisions we make, both big and small, add up in ways that create a safe and healthy environment for our babies. But what if…What happens when the person we have trusted our baby does the un-thinkable?

Today we sit down with Christi. She bravely shares her story, of how her son was harmed by the very person she had trusted to care for him. She shares his medical journey, and the trauma her family has endured.

"Everyone knows not to do that to a baby." - Christi

Here's what you don't want to miss:

• Introducing Christi
• Shaken Baby syndrome
• The Incident
• The babysitter
• What if
• Decisions
• Mom gut
• Hindsight
• What gives Christi hope

Medical motherhood is challenging whether you are "born" into it, or through a tragic accident. In a world where life can feel isolating, please know you are not in this alone. Join us in the When Autumn Comes Society or send us a DM on Instagram! We'd love to hear from you!

When Autumn Comes:

WAC Instagram

WAC Facebook Page

WAC Society Facebook Page

WAC is a program of the Apricity Hope Project

Apply for a Caregiver Package

4AM: I see dead people

4AM is back! Today we are chatting about seeing things in our minds… or not. Welcome to the conversation!

Links and resources:

• Follow Suz: @suzgeoghegan
• Follow Katrina: @kattymac
• Join the conversation: www.facebook.com/WhenAutumnComesSociety
• Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WhenAutumnComesPodcast
• Follow us on Instagram: @WhenAutumnComesPodcast

Make sure you hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss out on our upcoming stories of medical and special needs parenting from families like yours.

And, if you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating and a review? Thanks!

100 episodes. We have now officially recorded 100 episodes. When we started this podcast, we hoped to connect moms. Moms of children with complex needs, feeling alone in the day to day of raising children who depended upon them in ways typical parents may not understand. This podcast has given us the opportunity to share our stories, to create community, to share hope.

Thank you to our listeners for joining us along this ride, whether you have been with us from the beginning, or just now at episode 100. We are so grateful for this community that we get to share in. For sharing your joys, your tears, your hope. These stories, your comments, your likes give us that sense of the sun's warmth during those cold winter days.

"Its gonna be beautiful in its own incredible way." - Suz

Here's what you don't want to miss:

• Why we started
• Priorities
• Anticipatory Grief
• Validation
• Who are you?
• Pure Magic
• Hope

Medical motherhood should not be undertaken alone. We understand the importance of community, in the celebrations and in the heartaches. In a world where life can feel isolating, please know you are not in this alone. Join our community in the When Autumn Comes Society or send us a DM on Instagram! We'd love to hear from you!

When Autumn Comes:

WAC Instagram

WAC Facebook Page

WAC Society Facebook Page

WAC is a program of the Apricity Hope Project

Apply for a Caregiver Package

This week, we chat birthday parties during heat waves, the difference between a Canadian heat wave and an American heat wave, and who punched Suz. Welcome to the conversation!

Links and resources:

• Follow Suz: @suzgeoghegan
• Follow Katrina: @kattymac
• Join the conversation: www.facebook.com/WhenAutumnComesSociety
• Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WhenAutumnComesPodcast
• Follow us on Instagram: @WhenAutumnComesPodcast

Make sure you hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss out on our upcoming stories of medical and special needs parenting from families like yours.

And, if you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating and a review? Thanks!