A Normal Family: a show about healing and growth

Leah fell in love and a few months later found herself living as part of a blended family of three young children... during the pressure cooker of COVID. No pregnancy, no precedent, and resources that mostly said: just detach. As part of our Matrescence series, Leah and I talk about what it really means to step into a caregiving role you never planned for. The chaos, the identity loss, the powerle...

What money behaviours did you inherit from your family — and are they actually yours? In this episode, Anna is joined by Carla Hoppe, a former solicitor and founder of Wealthbrite, a financial education business working with UK legal professionals. Carla's family roots span Holland, India, Canada and the Falklands. This is a story of understanding yourself, by understanding those who came before....

A short episode from Anna Wallace, host of A Normal Family. During her coaching certification, Anna encountered a poem that resonated with her: An Autobiography in Five Short Chapters by Portia Nelson, from There's a Hole in My Sidewalk: The Romance of Self-Discovery (1977). In this episode, she reads it aloud and reflects on why it speaks so directly to the patterns we repeat in our relations...

Becoming a mum isn't just sleepless nights, research is now showing how it changes you at a physical and mental level. In this episode of A Normal Family, I’m joined by my old school friend Rebecca to continue our series on matrescence – the often invisible transition into motherhood. 👉 Watch to find out how becoming a mum can quietly rewrite who you are, what it really feels like to parent witho...

We all came from a woman’s body, but have you considered what that experience was like for her?  In this short episode Anna offers an apology to her mother friends and an experiment for you.  A big aim of A Normal family is to help you lead better relationships and more fulfilling lives. Stepping into someone else’s shoes is a great way to build compassion, so I invite you to  a (potentially awkwa...

Is trauma 'in your genes' – and if so, can you ever really break the cycle for your kids? In this special episode, Anna sits down with epigenetics researcher Ryan Smith (TruDiagnostic) to explore why DNA is not destiny, and how generational trauma and healing both leave traces in the body. Together they explore: how your grandmother, mother and you once shared the same body and what it means for w...

In this episode of A Normal Family, family therapist Anita Sommers paints a picture of what life was like growing up in a large, chaotic Catholic household and what it taught her about family patterns. Drawing on her work as a family systems therapist we also talk about how intergenerational trauma created a self‑sacrificing mother and a larger‑than‑life, sometimes narcissistic father, anxious att...

Emma went no‑contact with her mum, was made homeless at 17 and still chose to live child‑free in a world that keeps telling women they’ll “change their mind”. In this episode of A Normal Family, Emma shares the long road to choosing estrangement from her mother, navigating addiction and self‑harm in her family, and why she believes having children should be a deeply selfless decision rather than a...

What if family isn’t just the people you share DNA or paperwork with, but the people who show up for you – especially when you mess up? In this episode of A Normal Family, Anna talks to Richard Angell, Chief Executive of Terrence Higgins Trust, the UK charity named after one of the first people in the UK to die from an AIDS‑related illness. Together they explore chosen family, queer love, HIV stig...

I'm taking a short break for some quality family time over Christmas. Thank you to all my guests for sharing their story and to you for tuning in. More in the New Year on chosen families, fertility and matrescence....Please get in touch if you'd like to share a story And let me know in the comments below what you'd like to hear more about. Anna

My guest this week suddenly lost her daughter Ruby aged just 17. Losing a child suddenly changes everything in a single moment. Trigger warning - this episode deals with sudden child death and bereavement. Please be kind to yourself if you have been affected by these issues. It started as a normal Thursday morning and ended with Jo and her husband Nev leaving the hospital with just a folder of han...

These are ten, gentle affirmations for grief, inspired by the many conversations I have had with people on the Normal Family podcast who have suffered loss. They are designed to help you on your healing journey. Download or save so that you can listen to them daily to help rewire your thoughts for kindness. Please remember this is not therapy. If your grief feels overwhelming, reach out for profes...

In this special episode for Grief Awareness Week, my former colleague Emma Charlesworth talks openly about life after losing her partner Charlie to covid in 2020. *Trigger warning, this episode deals with loss and death - please look after yourself if you have been affected by these issues* They had already learned to be resilient having survived Charlie’s cancer and a missed miscarriage.  We also...

This week I talk to Vikki-Kate who got in touch to share her experiences as a ‘one and done’ mum, the friends and family who supported her and the judgement of people online. Vikki-Kate shares her parenting hacks for raising a girl, managing screen time and getting your kids to open up. We also talk about being a pet parent and how rituals help build belonging. Please note, this episode contains s...

Family isn’t just about where we come from—it’s about the patterns and lessons we pass down. In this episode, Ruth shares the stories of three generations of women in her family who shaped her life. We talk about mother-daughter relationships , what it has taught her about being a ‘good enough’ parent and how to break the cycle.  If you’ve ever wondered why your family does things the way it does—...

Join Anna for the first-ever interview she conducted for a Normal Family, featuring Tommy from California. At 66, Tommy discovered the man who raised him wasn’t his biological father—a story shared by many as DNA testing uncovers family secrets. In this episode: • Navigating DNA surprises and paternity revelations • Compassion and forgiveness in families with hidden secrets • Reflections on father...

Welcome to A Normal Family - a mini-series packed with intriguing stories, relatable experiences, and a fresh perspective on what family really means in the 21st century. In this full length interview, Denise shares her story from adoption to becoming a teenage mum to finding her family with Tarot. She talks about the power of therapy and her healing from years of shame.  Stories help us understan...