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In the final of the Season 2 episodes, Jen and Producer Jess reflect on the season's storytellers. Listen in, and catch all the light you can!

In the second of this two-part series for "All I Know," Grace will take us through what happened in the wake of her cancer diagnosis.  This season is full of change and pain... but also flight. Grace finds herself at an aerial arts studio that came alongside her in the dark night of her soul and helped her find a new dawn.  So these days, quite literally, Grace spends part of her time making art and poetry with her body as she flies just below the ceiling, and performs a feat most have not dared to try.    I think Grace is wickedly strong.  And I'm not the only one, because listeners to Part One have already reached out with admiration for what they hear in Grace's voice.  Listen in, and catch all the light you can! Photo Credit: Scott Fischer

In the first of this two-part series for All I Know, we meet Grace and learn about one of the things that runs a thick highlighter over her strength. Even when one can survive - or even thrive in the midst of it - I think we can all agree that cancer sucks. Apart from being a Survivor, Grace fascinates us with her life as a Medico Legal Death Investigator and Aerial Circus Artist. Yep. She hangs from ceilings. By chains. And makes art and poetry with her body. "As my occupation, I dissect death. At the same time, I actively stare down my own mortality and shake my fist at its taunting. And also - I have, in fact, run away with the circus." Who can say they have walked these shoes? Only Grace. Pick up the first part of Grace's story here and prepare to catch even more light in Part 2!

In this episode of All I Know, we will hear from Aaron - who brings with him tales of adventure from Alaska and Nepal that will leave you wanting to hear more.  (Spoiler alert!  Aaron will be back in Season 3 to share more about his experiences that were ultimately rites of passage!)  But in this particular episode, Aaron shares a story of unthinkable loss.  We discuss what he learned in the wake of a tragic accident that took his son, and how he has lived on in the days since.  How can one face something so devastating and not live the rest of his life in the shadows? Listen in, and catch all the light you can.  

In this episode of All I Know, we meet Lori.  As an adoptive mom and advocate for ethics in adoption, she shares her experience plunging into the online adoption community with a "baptism by fire" that prepared her to be a voice for the importance of becoming educated about building a family by adoption - from all angles.  But before this chapter, Lori walks us through some powerful self-reflection about her childhood battling sickness, which ultimately empowered her to inhabit her body in a whole new way.  Listen in, and catch all the light you can! Lori and her work can be found at these additional links below! Website: LavenderLuz.com Book: The Open-Hearted Way to Open Adoption Podcast: Adoption: The Long View

(Listener, please note - In Jennifer's words, this is an "R-rated" conversation, and contains adult content.) In this episode of All I Know, Jennifer will introduce us to her boyfriend, with whom she is pictured here - "such a kind, loving, giving, huge man."  But before we meet him, there is a path to walk with Jennifer that is sensitive and vulnerable.  She takes us through her marriage of 25 years to a man, who six years ago, became her wife.  After feeling rejected and cast aside in that relationship, Jennifer crafted a comeback that is unlike any other story you will hear.  Listen in, and catch all the light you can!

In this episode of All I Know, we get a lesson in making the most of it. Twice. Kris' story left me wistful. I hunger for adventure and new experiences... and Kris found them when we were all asked to stay home to see if we could get the coronavirus to lay down. These stories may have taken place during the pandemic, but they are not stories about the pandemic. Instead, they are stories of life. Listen in, and catch all the light you can!

In this episode of "All I Know," Kim, an international adoptee from Korea, will relay her experiences with racism.  She shares some vulnerable and significant events, both from childhood and into her adulthood.  Kim will also explore the impact that racism has had on her development over the years, specifically when it comes to her sense of self.  It's a timely conversation, and one that we all should participate in.  Each of us has a part we can play in dismantling racism, so this is a "must listen."  Catch all the light you can! 

In the second of this two-part series for "All I Know," Andrea brings the threads of girlhood and womanhood together. She will share the parallels between the loss of her father and the loss of her husband, and share what was sacred in the processes of letting them go.  And Andrea will also leave us with an exclamation mark on the distinction between being selfish in one's life, and instead becoming "self-full."  Listen in, and catch all the light you can!

(Listener, please note - some of the content in this conversation may be disturbing for some, as there are references to childhood sexual trauma.) In the first of this two-part series for All I Know, you'll meet Andrea.  Hear what she has to say about being born female and navigating the gauntlet from being a girl to womanhood. She also gives an education around how some of life's greatest gifts come "in a really ugly package."  Listen in, and catch all the light you can!

In this episode of All I Know, my Mom, Mary, and I will take you on a journey to the Gila Wilderness. In April of 2015, we adventured to the place where my Granddad's plane went down in May of 1954 and revisited a moment that changed the trajectory of my Mom's life. What comes at the end of this conversation is part of why I think storytelling is so important. Listen in, and catch all the light you can!

In this epsiode, you'll meet Josie.  She healed her own broken heart after surviving a number of pregnancy losses, including a daughter - stillborn, at full term.  Part of her healing came through the accidental finding (of what the scientific community calls) "flow" using a watercolor set.  This conversation changed the way I think about most of the things I do each day - especially those that are mundane and repetitive.  This is a connection you don't want to miss!  Listen in, and catch all the light you can! Photo Credit: @amyandersonart

In this episode of All I Know, you'll meet Francis.  Francis immigrated to the United States from the Phillipines in his childhood, and walks us through his experience coming to the U.S.  He also shares how other events from his growing up years have shaped the path of his life, from falling in love with fashion, to being gay, and wrestling the demons he "inherited" from his childhood.  Listen in, and catch all the light you can! PS - Please forgive our ambient noise, like traffic, birds, and windchimes!  Our conversation was held on an early summer afternoon in the design studio where Francis works.  We opened the outside door to beckon a breeze, and ended up adding a "soundtrack" to our chat.

In this episode of "All I Know," you'll meet Bonnie. She walks us through the impact her experiences in childhood had on her development, on how that shaping played out into her adulthood. Bonnie has wisdom to share in how we nurture our relationships with ourselves, and discusses how a run to Scotland began to help her heal, and as she put it, to "go into the fires of my own soul." If ever you have felt weary and wanted rescue to arrive, Bonnie will meet you there!

In this episode, you will meet Sarah - a great overcomer. She invites us all into a deeper understanding of what it can be like to navigate the world differently abled because of cerebral palsy. Additionally, Sarah wades into her experience of pursuing her passion and will offer a spark to those of us who may feel stuck in our own pursuits of the things that make life worth living.

In the second of this 2-part series, hear what Taylor had to say about how she has managed to heal and find light in the aftermath of a shooting at her high school when she was 15 years old. (Listeners who have histories with gun violence will want to listen with caution, as this story may be especially triggering.) How can one find light in a situation this dark? Hear what Taylor has to say. Photo Credit: Olesja Allen

In this episode of All I Know, Taylor recounts her experience as a survivor of a shooting at her school when she was 15 years old. (As such, listeners who have experienced gun violence should listen with caution, as this episode may be especially triggering.) There are not enough of the right words to "tee up" this story, so listen in and see what can be learned from Taylor's lived experience in one of the darkest experiences a human being can have. "It's so important that we start having conversations about trauma, sbout mental health, about healing." Photo Credit: Olesja Allen

Rounding the bend on these stories of heartbreak, Episode 3 brings this story to a close. If you haven't already, be sure to listen to the previous two episodes before diving into this one! Part 3's artwork pictures Jen in a faraway land... The first time she'd gone to visit The Albanian, they went north to the border of Kosovo to explore. Here, Jen stands atop an abandoned bomb shelter constructed during the war in Kosovo.

The story continues! Jen and Producer Jess conduct the "post mortem" on lost relationships. In the artwork associated with this episode, Jen is pictured in the same time period as the second heartbreak. If you haven't already, you should listen first to Season 2, Episode 1!

Producer Jess sits down with Jen to dig a little deeper on the subject of heartbreak. If you haven't heard it before, Season 1 Episode 20 is where this conversation about surviving heartbreak opened. But during this opener for Season 2, Jess takes the story deeper, walking Jen down the "memory lane" of her most signficant heartbreaks. In this episode's artwork, Jen is pictured at a favorite family vacation spot, the summer before the first loss she discusses.