The Shadows We Cast

In this powerful follow-up to last week’s episode, we continue our sister series exploring early adulthood after growing up with a parent facing untreated mental illness and addiction. This chapter focuses on the emotional impact of setting boundaries with our mother—while becoming parents ourselves. I’m joined by my sisters, Kate and Teresa, as we share personal stories of trauma, family estrange...

This is the first of a three-part series exploring the messy, complicated years of early adulthood—when my sisters, Kate and Teresa, and I began to navigate the emotional weight of our mom’s mental illness and addiction in a new way. We weren’t estranged yet. But the tether was fraying. In this episode, we reflect on the years after leaving home—when we were starting careers, becoming parents, and...

Unmasking Mental Health: Real Support, Real Change with CMHA’s Liz Grummett In this special Mental Health Week episode, Jenn sits down with Liz Grummett of CMHA Simcoe County to explore what it really means to unmask mental health. With over 20 years of experience in outreach, crisis response, and education, Liz shares how connection, compassion, and accessibility are transforming lives—from youth...

In this moving and deeply honest conversation, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau joins Jenn to talk about what it means to heal—individually, in our relationships, and across generations. With wisdom, warmth, and vulnerability, Sophie reflects on her own mental health journey, from childhood trauma to eating disorders, motherhood, and having her voice through it all. They explore the ripple effect of inheri...

In this powerful and emotional episode, maternal mental health advocate Candice Thomas shares her raw journey through postpartum depression, suicidal ideation, and ultimately—hope. After nearly losing herself in the early days of motherhood, a simple act of kindness changed everything and set her on a path to create real, lasting change. Candice opens up about the barriers mothers face when seekin...

In the final chapter of this three-part sister series, we look back at the breaking point that changed everything. Joined once again by my sisters Kate and Teresa, we reflect on our final years living under the same roof with our mom—years marked by addiction, instability, and the slow unraveling of the only structure we knew. From her escalating substance use to a devastating car accident that ne...

Survival: Sisterhood, Poverty, and the Moments That Shaped Us In this second episode of The Shadows We Cast , I sit down again with my sisters, Kate and Teresa, to pick up where we left off—navigating the turbulence of growing up with a mother struggling with undiagnosed and untreated mental illness. This chapter explores what survival really looked like for us: wearing the same pair of pants to s...

A Sister Conversation About Childhood, Coping, and Connection In this deeply personal second episode of The Shadows We Cast , I sit down with my two sisters, Kate and Teresa, for a raw, revealing conversation about our early years—growing up with a mother whose mental illness shaped every corner of our childhood. We talk about what poverty looked and felt like, how instability became our norm, and...

Podcast Trailer: The Shadows We Cast Welcome to The Shadows We Cast —a podcast about the legacies we inherit, the stories we carry, and the light we create in the process. Hosted by mental health advocate, writer, and speaker Jenn St. John, this series opens the door to raw and real conversations about living through, loving through, and learning from mental health challenges. In this short previe...