Dear Family,

An Unforgettable Two-Part Series- Here's Part ONE Terry and Rachel Winter aren't just my Dearest Friends turned Dearest Family members, they're also the second married couple in history to ever be nominated for Academy Awards during the same year but with different movies. Terry was nominated for writing The Wolf of Wall Street and Rachel for producing Dallas Buyers Club. Terry loves to tell a goo...

This is a very personal and touching solo-podcast episode about the love of the game of basketball, of Kobe, of our daughters, and of the importance of girls sports.    Kobe's intense drive, work ethic, athleticism, and Mamba Mentality made him our hero. His pure love for his daughters made him human and relatable. After Kobe and his beloved Gigi's tragic passing, the hashtag GirlDad reminded us h...

Today we are doing something different, but perfectly aligned with Dear Family's mission. We are having a father and son together as Dear Family, guests.   Tim Davis was just 11 when he lost his mother. Never properly dealing with the trauma, he ended up struggling with substance abuse throughout high school and got into a lot of trouble. But high school wasn't all bad because Tim fell in love and...

If you knew your baby would inherit bipolar disorder would you gene edit or consider abortion? It's a tough ethical question. We could risk making the world a blander, more homogenized place if we get rid of the genes for manic-depressive illness.   I'm the daughter and granddaughter of creative bipolars. My grandparents took their lives and Mom has considered it. My daughter is a born creative. B...

Brit Bronson, the oldest of three sisters, was just eight years old when her mother died suddenly while on vacation in Mexico. Brit developed an eating disorder as a means to cope. At nineteen years old she was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Bipolar 1. Brit was extremely lost because her illnesses felt like a death sentence. She never could have imagined her disorders would one...

Let's face it, we love stories of epic family feuds and family dramas. Just think of Romeo and Juliet , The Sopranos , Greek tragedies, The Godfathe r, Cain vs. Abel , Dynasty , Succession , and the list can go on and on. By now, you are likely aware Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are involved in a real-life family saga as they publicly declare they are stepping back from the str...

Happy New Year! Catherine McCord is here to inspire and motivate us to get and stay healthy and happy all year long.   Catherine has the Midas touch. She's a successful entrepreneur, food blogger, writer, TV personality, wife, and mother to three.  On top of all of that, she's beautiful and one of the nicest people you will ever meet. I honestly don't know how she does it all, but she does and wit...

Forget the empty promises of the get rich and skinny resolutions of the past. The goal for this new decade is to strive for inner peace, a most worthy objective and the new definition of happiness and success. A resolution is a decision you make on the first day of the year about things you intend to do or stop doing that year. It's been proven most people don't keep their resolutions past January...

Jonathan Leeper's life story is extraordinary because he's overcome major obstacles to become one of the most compassionate, strong and inspiring people you will ever meet. Jonathan was born in Yakota, Japan as a result of being a military brat before moving to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He spent 8 years in the navy, with his last tour in Port Hueneme, which is located in Ventura County, California....

It's the holiday season, a time some of us look forward to celebrating with our families, whereas others, and I used to be in this camp, dread it. Even during the best of circumstances, there are expectations, longings, guilt, people keeping score, and past hurt feelings to get in the way. Behind the camera of those picture-perfect holiday cards and Instagram posts of family vacations is the messi...

Dr. Stephen Hinshaw grew up in Columbus, Ohio with Quaker roots. He went on to attend Harvard and UCLA, becoming a professor of Psychology and the Department Chair at UC Berkeley, in addition to becoming a professor at UC San Francisco and the Vice-Chair.    Professor Steve is an international presence in clinical psychology and mental health whose work focuses on developmental psychopathology, cl...

Sharenting (or oversharenting )- noun- When parents overshare photos and other data of their children on social media. Sharenting is the overuse of social media by parents sharing content based on their children, such as baby pictures or details of their children's activities. It's related to the concept of TMI, or "Too Much Information." Pediatricians are starting to consider how sharenting affec...

One-click ordering, free delivery, storage units, sentimental stashing, hand-me-down furniture…Our families are dealing with a clutter crisis.   Enter Tracy McCubbin to the rescue, as she jokes, "You can't scare me with your junk. I throw away dead people's sex toys."   Tracy grew up with family members who hoarded and knows firsthand the effects of living amongst too many possessions goes far bey...

Rachel Steinman, the host of Dear Family, becomes the guest as her Dear Friend, Benjamin King flips the tables to interview her about her family's legacy of mental illness, suicide, addiction, and more. Rachel was a psychology major who received her Masters in Education and multiple subject teaching credential from UCLA. She's taught every elementary school grade, K-6 and has even been the school...

We consider pets part of our Dear Family. This is a story about how a family dog became the ultimate therapist, the wisest master-teacher, and the best birthday present I thought I never wanted.    I'm doing something different this episode by sharing the very first essay I ever published publicly. A year and a quarter later I'm still walking down the path of finding love, healing, connection, and...

Ross Szabo was his high school student body president, played varsity basketball, and he volunteered for the Special Olympics and Students Against Drunk Driving. He looked perfect on the outside.   Ross didn't dare tell anyone he was diagnosed as bipolar with anger and psychotic features at 16 years old out of shame and pride because he was a scholar-athlete. But on the inside, he couldn't hide be...

Rachel is here to let you know regardless if you grew up in a family shrouded in secrets or if you or a loved one experiences mental health conditions, you are not alone and there is real hope.  Rachel shares her thoughts on how podcasting and writing about her family secrets saved her and her mother, and how she was able to find mental wellness to create a healthy family.  Rachel shares some time...

Tamara Strzelecki, aka Nurse Tami, is a blue-haired mama, wife, nurse, and creative entrepreneur. She's worked in the ER, NICU, Pediatrics, HEDIS (stands for Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set) and long term care. Currently, the fierce and awesome Nurse Tami is a hospice nurse.    Tami survived postpartum depression, bullying, nursing burnout, disordered eating, early-onset osteopor...

Dear Family and Friends, This is Rachel Steinman and in less than three months we will be in a new decade- The Roaring 20's. So let's seize the day and make bold resolutions. One of my resolutions is to connect with you. It's why I'll be podcasting weekly. And it's why I want to invite you to PLESE JOIN MY PRIVATE FACEBOOK GROUP- "Dear Family Members." (Link in bottom of show notes.) I've been say...

Rena Sofer is a brilliant, bold, and beautiful actress, best known for her striking blue eyes. She was born in Arcadia, California. Her mother was a housewife who walked out on her family when she was just two years old. Her father picked up the reigns of being both parents to her and her older brother, David.   Rena was discovered at age 15 by a New York talent agent and started modeling before t...

Zack McDermott is the author of Gorilla and the Bird . His witty, intimate and personal memoir is the tale of a mother's unconditional love for her bipolar son. Zack grew up working-class, hovering above the poverty line and witnessing crime in Wichita, Kansas. His mother was a schoolteacher who tutored Crips and Bloods, giving Zack the desire to give back by becoming a public defender for the Leg...

Devorah Heitner is not just another mom concerned about raising a digital native. She uses her Ph. D. in Technology to research, teach, write, and lecture about how families everyday lives are affected by digital media, smartphones, and video games. She's the author of Screenwise: Helping Kids Thrive (and Survive) in Their Digital World. And her work has appeared in the N ew York Times, The Wall S...

S. Wills is a millennial musician and songwriter running a successful music entertainment business booking bands for big events. In his adolescence, he felt coerced into participating in what he describes as a vitriolic divorce that lasted years and followed him into his college days. The divorce shaped his experience of love, his values, his ambitions, and his analytic nature. He is here today to...

Jessica Berman Goldklang has a zest for life and has always found joy gathering with people for meals. It's why she's the perfect special event planner.  However, Jessica has struggled most of her life with anxiety, having had her first panic attack shortly after her parents divorced when she was 13.  Nobody discussed panic attacks thirty years ago, so she believed there was something wrong with h...

Andy Behrman is a larger than life personality, a nonfiction writer, and a national speaker. Andy was the subject of a New York media scandal for counterfeiting the Modern Art of Mark Kotsabi, the same art he once sold, putting him in federal prison for five month s. Andy spent numerous sleepless nights fueled by drugs, had anonymous sex, traveled aimlessly, went on midnight binges and was even a...