Stories in Our Roots

In this episode Lucy shares: What burning paper money on Chinese New Year has to do with honoring ancestors Why she is grateful for her grandmother The tradition of praying to, or for, ancestors About Lucy: Lucy Liu is a business and life coach helping women in life transitions unstuck, kiss overwhelm bye, cultivate rockstar confidence, see clarity, reach new goals, and live a joyful fulfilling li...

#53.  In this episode Andrea shares: The challenge her grandfather faced within the first weeks, and years, of purchasing a home heating business The moments the business almost didn’t stay in the family How her son’s school project led her to ask deeper questions about the history of her family About Andrea: Andrea currently lives in Mercer Island, Washington—about a mile from the house she grew...

#52. In this episode Victoria shares: How an inherited cameo piqued her interest in her great-grandmother Why moving across the world connected her to the women in her family How sharing pictures has drawn her extended family closer together About Victoria: From family research, to family tree presentation, to sharing with family, Victoria’s journey with ancestry has been a creative outlet for a f...

#51.  Gratitude helps us acknowledge the good in our lives and often that good comes from sources outside of ourselves. Looking for the good that has come from the lives of our ancestors helps us see the good things in our own lives and recognize hardships that were overcome, generosity that was given, and so much more. In this episode you will hear: How gratitude, optimism, and family are connect...

#50. The way we view money and finances is one of the big beliefs we can inherit from the generations before us.  Rob Cook’s view of money and wealth came from his Grandpa Schmidt, through both observation and moments of purposeful teaching.  Not everyone has had such a positive money script to follow and Rob gives listeners ideas of what they can do to gently change that mindset. In this episode...

#49. In this episode Lisa shares: Why family relationships are more than genetics Her experience as an adult learning about her birth families How she chose to respond to new information about her family which shifted her identity About Lisa: Lisa Zawrotny is the founder of Positively Productive Systems, host of the Positively Living Podcast, and a Productivity + Organizing Coach certified in time...

#48. In this episode Barbara shares: Her experience growing up overseas and in Hawaii and how that influenced her identity as an American How our perspective of events in our past and of the actions of others change as we get older Why the photo site Ponga is more like your living room and less like the town square of social media About Barbara: Barbara is a startup founder, passionate about visua...

# 47.  In this episode Ron shares: Why he decided to document the lives of his grandmother and her siblings What sources were invaluable to his research How his family research turned into a social history of the time and place in which they lived About Ron: Ron Seckinger is a native of Emanuel County, Georgia. After attending Duke University, he earned a doctorate in history from the University o...

#46.  In this episode Sheena shares: Why learning about her paternal ancestors is important to her even though she does not have a good relationship with her father How her family discovered they had indigenous roots How she honors the memory of her ancestors About Sheena: Sheena’s ancestry on both sides was a mystery until she became an adult. She always wondered where her ancestors came from and...

#45.  Dana Humphrey shares how knowing her ancestry, both through the research her aunt has done and through DNA testing, has influenced how she feels in her neighborhood, helps her see where her love of freedom may have come from, and inspires her to pursue aspects that make her unique. In this episode Dana also shares: Why her grandparents chose to move from Denmark to Canada after World War II...

#44.  Cassandra Lane began writing the story of Mary McGee and Burt Bridges as part of her Masters in Fine Arts degree, but as her life changed, so did the meaning of this project in her life. She found that “even within pain and tragedy, there are lessons.” In this episode Cassandra shares: Why she felt compelled to research her family history Why you shouldn’t feel reluctant to imagine the lives...

#43.  What started as a collection of stale facts turned into an exploration that connected Amanda Arthur to herself, cousins, and aspects of history that otherwise would seem cold and distant.  In so many ways researching her family history has helped Amanda gain a deeper sense of her own identity and anchored her to the people and world around her. In this episode Amanda shares: How she went to...

# 42.  Times of upheaval in our lives can create an opportunity to gain a better understand our identity and place in the world.  Peter shares how family history helped during a time of transition in his life, helps him be more curious about the places he visits, and gives him reasons to be grateful. In this episode Peter shares: How seeking a new sense of identity led him to his family history Th...

#41.  Researching and connecting with his ancestors affected Kael Sharman’s life in more ways than he expected. Knowing those stories helped him feel grounded and connected him to the greater historical narrative of Canada. In this episode Kael shares: How researching his ancestors grounded him in a time of change The impact of colonialism on people who wanted a better life for their family Why he...

#40.  Researching her ancestry has helped Angie to feel like there is a purpose and a place for her story.  Through her research she has been reminded of her part in our global story that spans oceans and continents. In this episode Angie shares: How she reconciled her connection to land taken from indigenous people generations ago Why she tries to keep her culture intact in spite of living in a “...

Having common life experiences with an ancestor can draw you into learning more about what you have in common.  Annette Gendler shares some of the stories within her family history which she learned in her efforts to research one individual. In this episode Annette shares: How learning of an ancestor with a similar love story inspired her to research her family history Unexpected discoveries that...

Family stories are not passive, they shape us into who we are.  Laura Roselle is an expert in storytelling and the psychology behind the stories we share.  We have the power to choose how we interpret the stories of our ancestors and what we choose to convey to others, and even ourselves, through the stories we tell and the way we choose to tell them.  In this episode Laura shares: How we can chan...

Beliefs that limit what you achieve in life are created by your experiences or passed down to you through your parents and the generations before you.  Learn how to identify those beliefs and give yourself permission to let go of the ones that do not make your life better.  Many of your beliefs were established as a young child, as an adult it is time you understand the sources of those beliefs an...

Carly Morgan’s family has lived in the United States for generations, but the two sides of her family are not equally represented in the records.  Despite the difficulty, Carly has dug into her Chinese roots and pulls her ancestors, and the traditions of their culture, to the present. In this episode Carly shares: What she did when she thought her inadequacies were the reason she couldn’t find rec...

With a Bolivian husband and biracial children, Jessica envisioned a trip to Bolivia as the perfect opportunity to visit churches and cemeteries to research her family’s history.  While there she had to redefine what success meant. Because of her curiosity and persistence, she came home with stories and photos that will be treasured for generations. In this episode Jessica shares: The contrast betw...

Randy knew since childhood he was adopted and in his late teens his parents helped him start the journey of finding his birth family.  On the cusp of the internet as we know it and well before DNA testing was popular, Randy found who he was looking for. In this episode Randy shares: The point in his life when his parents thought he needed to know his birth family What it meant to him to connect wi...

What does it mean to be self-aware and how can being self-aware improve your life?  Learn the answers to these questions and three ways you can use your family history research to increase your self-awareness.  Better understand your thoughts and feelings and the reasons behind them, whether they began with you or have their roots in generations past.  Use your family history research to get to kn...

What do you know about your family’s mental health history?  Christy Walton and I discuss the importance of knowing about mental health conditions within our families to help us better understand ourselves and those we love.   In this episode we talk about: Christy’s relative who disappeared from family memory The way our ancestors faced their challenges could result in generations of effects How...

Christy, a former secondary school history teacher, looked for ways to make history personal for her students so they could connect with events of the past. She knows family history can not only help us understand the past, but also help us with our identities. In this episode Christy shares: The experiences she’s had through connecting with DNA cousin matches Why she thinks family stories are mor...

Born in Canada to parents from Haiti, all Rachel Décoste knew of her family history was the names of her grandparents.  Thanks to the gift of time, Rachel had the opportunity to spend six months in Africa visiting countries listed in the ethnicity results of a DNA test. In this episode Rachel shares: The stories of strength she learned about her grandparents’ lives in Haiti Little things in her li...