Family By Heart

In this solo episode Dustin talks about recent events that caught him off guard and made him reflect on the original pain felt in an infertility diagnosis, the sense of loss when their first foster placements returned home and some of the ways in which he and his wife have been able to heal.  IG: instagram.com/familybyheartpod TikTok: @familybyheartpod

Most people know the 5 love languages and relationships are strengthened when you learn to speak your partner's love language. But what happens when you do the opposite of communicating in their love language? In this episode Dustin goes over the 5 love languages and examines their inverses and the potential effects they can have on your partner, your children, your coworkers and your life.

In this episode of the Family By Heart Podcast host Dustin Gruss speaks with father, family man, rapper and music producer, Reggie DeVore, also known as Blacklight. Together they discuss how Reggie came up with his artist moniker and how it relates to some of the racial injustice he has faced, how that has affected him as a father and husband as well as his experience being on Season 6 of Netflix'...

Being a good husband and a father is a big priority for a lot of men, but often the idea of financially providing for the family overshadows the importance of being there, physically, for the family. Brendan Wall realized this had gotten to be the circumstance for him when the COVID-19 pandemic forced him to be home and make him see with his own eyes everything he was missing with his wife and kid...

Fertility struggles. Foster care confusion. Adoption anxiety. Marriage stress. Each of these issues and more can cause mental anxiety and chaos to swirl inside your head and affect the way you function in life. After experiencing infertility, spending over two years as a foster parent and waiting on the official clearing of their adoption, podcast host, Dustin Gruss, had plenty of chaos going on i...

We have broken systems all over this country, one of which is the foster care system. On July 23, 2022, Family By Heart podcast host, Dustin Gruss, filled in at Independence United Methodist Church in Ohio and gave a sermon detailing his experience within the broken foster care system. Despite the fact that Gruss and his wife adopted their two sons from the foster care system, they acknowledge tha...

In the world of foster care, foster families and the foster youth alike can use all the help they can get. That's why there are incredible foster care non-profit organizations like the Cleveland Angels. In this week's episode of the Family By Heart Podcast, host and foster to adopt parent Dustin Gruss, sits down with foster care volunteers, Seth, Cynthia and Sarah Tomasch to discuss their experien...

Justin Black is a foster care alumni, author, foster youth advocate, speaker and host of "Rose from Concrete" podcast. Black and his wife, Alexis, wrote "Redefining Normal: How Two Foster Kids Beat The Odds and Discovering Healing, Happiness, and Love". Together, written in alternating chapters, they reveal how two people brutalized in childhood managed to defy the odds, get healthy, and build a n...

In this week's episode of Family By Heart, host, Dustin Gruss, speaks with Simon Benn, host of the Thriving Adoptees podcast. In this episode Benn and Gruss discuss Benn's thriving podcast, some of the guests he has had and topics covered, Benn's idea of society being trauma obsessed versus hope obsessed, what his experience podcasting has taught him and Benn's experience being an adoptee himself....

Fertility struggles take an emotional and physical toll on any woman looking to have a baby. And it can certainly put a strain on a marriage or relationship when having difficulty trying to conceive. But what about the emotional and mental toll it takes on the husband or male in the relationship? Author Keegan Prue joins host Dustin Gruss in this episode of Family By Heart to talk about the male p...

At the heart of each family, no matter in what form the family is created, lies the head of the family. It might be the parents, a guardian, a foster parent, an older sibling, etc.. But while taking care of the kids of the family is a HUGE responsibility to the head of the family, so is taking care of themselves. And if the heart and head of the family is a married couple or a team of two people w...

Infertility is an issue that many couples never think they will have to face. But when they do, infertility slaps them in the face- hard. In this week's episode host, Dustin Gruss, shares a message he gave at a local church's meditative service. In his message he details the journey that he and his wife went through from just their second date, through the rough times during their early discovery...

After 8 episodes, 6 guests and 2 Awareness' periods (Infertility Awareness Week and Foster Care Awareness Month)- it is time for a recap episode! In this episode host, Dustin Gruss, tips his cap to each episode and guest. And to show there is always room for improvement, Gruss shares the books that he has read or is starting to read to further educate himself on the topics of infertility, foster c...

You don't need to be a foster parent to have an impact on the foster community. That's the message that Executive Assistant, Hannah Budic, learned when she joined the Cleveland Angels, a non-profit organization in Northeast Ohio that supports the families and children in the foster community. Listen to Hannah's experience growing up with parents that fostered, her continued passion to help and how...

May is Foster Care Awareness Month and as more people become aware of the need, many people ask if they would "qualify" to be a foster parent, unsure if they are up for the large task. In this episode podcast host and Family Transition Coach, Dustin Gruss, breaks down an infographic that featured some of the more relevant qualifications to become a foster parent as well as his own knowledge and ex...

In this episode, Family By Heart host, Dustin Gruss, speaks with Mt. Motivator himself, Jamole Callahan, about all things foster care. Callahan spent six years in foster care living in nine different homes until he was emancipated at age 18. Although he had doting and attentive grandparents the state of Ohio still decided to put Jamole in foster care. He moved to nine different homes before he rea...

It's National Infertility Awareness Week and in this episode of Family By Heart host, Dustin Gruss, interviews Lauren and David Raczkowski as they get ready to start round 2 of IVF on their "Journey to Baby Razz."   In this episode they discuss any familial or societal pressure they might've felt to start a family, what their fertility struggle diagnosis is, how they have been handling the gr...

In this 4th episode of the podcast, and special Infertility Awareness Week episode, host Dustin Gruss talks all things Overcoming Infertility with Dr. Maria Rothenburger. Rothenburger is a Therapist, Coach, Amazon Best Selling Author (Transcending Infertility) and host of her own podcast, Miracles Happen Fertility Podcast. Gruss and Rothenburger discuss healthier ways families going through fertil...

In part one of their story, you heard host Dustin Gruss and his wife Leanne tell how they met, their journey to marriage and how everything they had planned and hoped for came crashing down just 8 months in. Then they shared their story of healing and hope and how it showed up in the form of fur and four legs.  In this episode the Gruss' talk about their journey through foster care licensing, the...

In this special two-part episode, Dustin is joined by his wife, Leanne, to share their story. From the day they met, through Leanne's calculated risk of putting all her cards on the table on date two, on to their infertility diagnosis and how they found healing where Leanne least expected it- the four legged variety. Stay tuned for part 2 where they discuss their journey from foster licensing to t...

Welcome to the family as it is the launch and the first episode of Family By Heart. In this kickoff episode host, Dustin Gruss, introduces himself and a little bit about his story. In addition, he shares some of the alarming statistics in fertility and foster care that all led to him starting this podcast- to make sure the people going through any part of a similar journey had somewhere to go for...

One journey but we were in search of many answers throughout different parts of our infertility, foster care and adoption journey. This is the official trailer for the all new podcast from Dustin Gruss and Step Up To Greatness LLC.