Back Porch

Some lessons come softly, others split you open first. In this porch talk, Jennifer shares how trauma can turn self-sufficiency into armor—and what happens when grace finally breaks through it. She begins with the biblical story of the donkey that spoke the truth, reminding us that God will use any voice to reach us, even when we resist. From there, she unpacks the myth of independence, the vacuum...

Some days you can push through; some days your body makes you stop. Both are part of the story. In this porch talk, Jennifer shares what it looks like to navigate the limits of testing — and the recovery that follows — in real time. Right in the middle of neuropsych assessments, therapy, and the exhaustion that comes after, she talks about what it means to listen to your body without judgment. She...

Some days you’re put together; some days you slide in sideways. Both count. In this porch talk, Jennifer shares what it looks like to practice space (permission to be where you are) and grace (the kindness you give yourself while you’re there) in real time—right in the middle of neuropsych testing, therapy, and a brain running on fumes. She talks about saying “I don’t have the capacity for that to...

Healing doesn’t move in straight lines. It’s whiplash moments of laughter that feel suspicious, anger that becomes fuel, diagnoses that shift as the language catches up, and the messy reality of carrying both good days and hard days at the same time. In this episode of The Back Porch , I talk openly about what it’s like to live with CPTSD. I share how blasting music and cleaning become a survival...

For a long time, I thought strength looked like putting on the armor. Holding the line. Carrying the weight for everyone else. But lately, I’ve been asking a harder question: What if the bravest thing isn’t holding on? What if it’s daring to tell the truth about who you are—underneath it all? In this episode of The Back Porch , I talk about identity and truth. About how easily we let the world def...

For a long time, I thought strength looked like holding it all together. Holding my role. Holding the peace. Holding other people’s expectations. But lately, I’ve been asking a harder question: What if the bravest thing isn’t holding on? What if it’s learning how to let go? In this episode of The Back Porch , I talk about the slow unraveling that happens when we start questioning the weight we’ve...

For a long time, I believed being needed meant being loved. That showing up, giving more than I had, and being endlessly useful was just the cost of connection. But lately, something in me has shifted — and this morning, it came out in one sentence: “God, I am tired of being harvested by people who never planted anything in me.” In this episode of Back Porch , I talk about what it means to stop tr...

Emotions aren’t the enemy. For years, I believed mine made me weak—that hiding them was strength, that silence was holiness. But what I learned is that burying feelings isn’t strength at all. It’s control. And that control nearly broke me. In this episode of Back Porch , I push back on the idea that “the devil wants you focused on your feelings, God wants you focused on His truth.” Because feeling...

Healing doesn’t look tidy. It looks like confusion, breakdowns, breakthroughs — and a whole lot of misunderstandings. In this first full episode of Back Porch , Jennifer opens up about what it’s like when you’re not who people expect you to be in your healing. She shares stories of being misread, the loneliness of isolation, and the pain of reaching out only to be met with judgment. Jennifer speak...

Back Porch isn’t a tips-and-tricks podcast or curated girl talk; it’s an honest space for truth. I’m Jennifer Shatzer, a writer, strategist, and survivor who’s spent years wrestling with silence, faith, trauma, and the messy work of starting over. For most of my life, silence was my default. I carried family secrets, swallowed my own words, and lived with the wound of not being heard. After an inj...