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Farhat came from India to Canada as a young 20-year-old excited to further her studies in journalism. Unfortunately, those dreams didn’t come to fruition, as she soon had 3 children to take care of. Farhat’s son began showing signs of mental illness when he was in high school, and as he grew older, he lost control over his mental well-being. He was arrested in February of 2001, just months before 9/11. Farhat discusses the difficulties of being a Muslim man in a Canadian prison in a post-9/11 world.

Wendy was an involved and pro-active mother when her son was growing up, but it just didn’t seem to be enough to keep him out of trouble. She thought maybe the discipline of the military or police work would help him straighten out– she never expected he would end up on the other side of the law. Michael served his time in the Aboriginal rehabilitation program in Canada. Wendy muses on how she feels lucky, comparatively, even considering the very difficult circumstances her family has faced.

Jackie is a communications technology teacher at a high school in Stoney Creek, Ontario. Her son, Peter, was arrested for attempted murder when his daughter, Lyla, was only a few months old. Jackie explains the struggles of taking care of her son when facing every systemic and logistic barrier.

The memories of her son that Rebecca is most fond of involve the family sitting together on the couch watching a movie and enjoying their downtime. These are still some of her favourite times shared with her son, except now they occur during private family visits at a Canadian federal prison. In this episode, Rebecca exemplifies her unwavering loyalty to her son, even in the most extreme of circumstances.

Dinny is a retired social worker who enjoys singing opera and describes herself as a bit of a diva. Her son is currently serving a life sentence without possibility of parole for 25 years. Can you love your child, even after they do something very wrong? Dinny answers that question in this episode of Unconditional.

Welcome to the first episode of Unconditional. Hosted by Annalise Nielsen, this podcast examines the experiences of a mother after the arrest of her child. In the first episode, we meet Annalise’s grandmother, Yvonne, who will help introduce this mini-series exploring a mother’s love.