Should Have Listened to My Mother Podcast

Linda, one of six siblings, left home  at 17-18 years old. She had a terrible childhood with an verbally and emotionally abusive mother. She did eventually embrace her relationship with her mother and forgave her. My guest, Gina is convinced that she can help with ones sobriety. She's living proof that you can change your life and be healthy and happy. "I have dedicated myself to creating a transf...

It was such a joy to speak with my guest, Bonnie Kelso.  A graduate of Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), she's  been working in the arts her whole life and it seems to fit her perfectly.  As an illustrator of kid's books, she loves sharing her adventures in the outdoors from around the world with her readers. Her books are fun, informational and beautiful to look at. Bonnie was given some soun...

Jeremiah joined me to share stories of his mother, who in his mind was "a straight shooter," she told you exactly how and what she felt. She was a huge inspiration in his life and had hoped to take her on a special trip to Israel for her sixtieth birthday. He did eventually get to bring her with him but not exactly as they had imagined. At the same time that his mother was ill, his father had a st...

My guest is a licensed professional clinical counselor in the state of Ohio.  She has over 30 years experience working with children and parents. Friedman passionately emphasizes, "I love struggling moms, they're trying to heal generational trauma through their own parenting." Ms. Friedman also provides services through  a membership program called childanxietysupport.com, for parents who are pare...

Sharon, Shaun's mom had 2 kids and  was living in subsidized housing when she  started her janitorial  business in the CD, central district of Seattle, WA.  People laughed and were critical of her because she was 'cleaning houses' but mother knew best.  Lots of drugs and crime hit their neighborhood in the 1980's and she knew she had to make a living to get her kids out of that neighborhood. Mom's...

Donna Burke explains that her mum gave birth to seven children of which there are two sets of  twins. Donna is the first born twin to a boy and the second set of twins was also boy/girl. She basically in the middle of the seven children. To add to Donna's many talents, she is also the long time English announcer on the Shinkansen bullet train, from Tokyo to Osaka.  She refers to herself as an entr...

I  wanted to give you an update on Lorraine's mom, since our original publication of the episode was in November, 2021.  Lorraine's mom, Angelina, passed away in March 2023, at 100 years old. And Lorraine let me know that it was taking some time to adjust to not having her mom with her by her side. Lorraine  took care of her mother for many, many years. I'm also attaching a copy of Lorraine's NY T...

Speaking with Stephen was just such a delight. He's easy going, insightful, entertaining and talented.  He clearly loves his kraft. He's an accomplished                                                                                                                               pianist, drummer, guitarist and vocalist. My guest studied jazz, pop and classical music genres. When Stephen was a young...

It was an absolute pleasure to have this open conversation with Anthony about where his journey started as a young boy full of sadness, frustration resentment and despair and the miraculous transformation he has made as a young man.  He had to learn some really tough lessons but to his credit, he feels that he had to go through everything that  he did to become the person that he is today.  Someti...

"Grenada is  very traditional" says my guest, Moksha, who was born and raised on the island and now lives in the US. "A large portion of  Grenadians still believe that 'little girls should be seen and not heard' and girls should concentrate on domestics and house keeping," continues my guest. Coincidentally, that 'saying' about little girls is an English proverb.   Grenada was colonized by the Eng...

Today, Kevin Jerome is the proud owner of four companies, a far cry from what  he thought his future would be when he was a teen.  " A kid who grew up in a 2 bedroom apartment, living with 14 people, evicted twice as a teen," says Jerome, " I'm  a true example of how you can turn your life around." At a young age, Kevin  taught himself to read and eventually how to drive out of necessity.  He real...

Costas Schuler is a Graphic Designer/Marketing and Branding Specialist. He lives in the Fort Lauderdale area of  Florida. You'll find links below to catch up on the latest from Costas. The thought of his mother finding out about the  crazy stuff Costas was up to as a teen, kept him on the straight and narrow.  He says, "she was the bad cop, dad was the good cop."  Costas and his mom are very close...

Kaye and her family traveled from to the Pacific Northwest and eventually settled in White Salmon, WA. In order for them to have food on the table and a roof over their head, they had to work hard.   With all those mouths to feed and though at times there wasn't much to go around, they felt blessed because they had each other. Nothing could get in Kay's way.  Nothing stopped her from doing what  s...

He's not a professional comic but laughter comes easy for David Thomas. It's actually one field that he hasn't tried professionally, but would love to some day.  Thomas is a Global Professional Speaker and a CEO Presentation Skills Coach. In case you haven't heard about his crazy memory abilities,  he's also an International Grandmaster of Memory, broken Guinness record for reciting Pi to 22,500 d...

My Guest says he "has absolutely no fear of rejection." and he wants you to understand that "you  only have one life, don't let fear hold you back from living your life's potential." Sean Kelly has this magic of making you feel that anything is possible .  He loves helping people achieve their dreams. That said, he's launched "Do the Big Dream." You can find more information about his 15 step form...

"My parents pushed me to do my best," say Gina. "They had high expectations all the way."  It didn't help Gina's cause that one of her teachers told her mother that "you could be an outstanding student if you tried." But in time the message paid off. Now a proud mother of three and a Childbirth Attorney, Gina works full time as did her mother. It's that balance of working all day and time to spend...

Lyvita Brooks says her mission in life is "to help people get the clutter out of their lives so they can go and do what God calls them to do." Lyvita is an author, bible teacher, founder of "The Me Project" and host of the podcast "Hanging Out With Jesus."   Lyvita credits her mother for inspiring her to write and love books. The book that my guest recently published, "Nugget's for Thought-A Mothe...

In addition to film and tv acting, Russell is passionate about theatre and stage acting. With over thirty years of experience, he's now written his first book titled, "Shoes," and it is a significant story because it mirrors his youth  and his relationship with his mother. As one of the founding members and producing artistic director of "Stagewalkers Productions",  based in Los Angeles, CA,  it g...

Dr. Landers' mother completed her master's degree in library science and  worked  full time as a school librarian in the 1950's and  60's long before that was the norm for  women/mothers. "My mother grew up on a farm, lived through the Great Depression and met my dad, a WWII veteran after the war," says Landers. "She was a natural born giver, always looking after the needs of others," say the doct...

 Jeannine's  biological mother got pregnant In her early 20's and was unwed. Her family  sent her away for months to a facility in Evanston, IL,  for single mothers until her baby was born, never to speak of the incident again. Though it was a closed adoption, eventually my guest was able to track down her biological mother.  The unfortunate part of the story was the unsettling abuse that Jeannine...

Father Jim  can hardly contain himself when asked about his mother.  "She was my biggest supporter, she's one of the main  reasons I became a priest."  Renea loved all her children equally, so she said on a regular basis, but Father Jim is convinced he was her favorite.  The only sibling to attend college, Father Jim completed his undergraduate and 2 graduate degrees from Seton Hall University, So...

Before  her children were born, Betty was a teacher. Later in life, when the kids were older, she began working at the Tennessee Aquarium and worked there for more than twenty five years, some of the happiest years of her life.  John is the oldest of three children, two boys and one girl. His parents raised him from a young age, with the understanding that  children had to learn how to do things o...

Sara comes from a long line of well educated women in her family , including her mother, grandmother and great grandmother. It's no wonder that Sara has continued this passion for higher education as do her seven children. She's had several remarkable careers but she cherished the sixteen years that she had with her mom exclusively. They were  very close and had a wonderful relationship. Sara Chan...

Thierry mentions a number of times how his mom never complains, no matter what she's up against. He says she's really remarkable. When he was a young boy, he told his mom that he was going to be the president of France one day and his mom was so proud and excited. She still to this day shows her support for her son and her daughter. Leila has always been an inspiration to her son, including helpin...

My guest, Ritzy Periwinkle, host of the podcast "Word To Your Mama,"  survived her mother's abusive partner but at a very young age, she believed she was powerful enough to harm him in order to save her mother.   At a young age,she knew she wouldn't repeat her mother's choice to stay in an abusive relationship but her mom often felt helpless with all her limitations as a female immigrant and a mid...