Is the foster care system in the US broken, or is it even worse than that? According to Rob Schreer, my guest in this episode of About Your Mother, the system is shattered and must be rebuilt.

A child enters foster care every two minutes, totaling around 700 children a day. Eighty percent of death row inmates were foster children, and only 54% of foster children graduate high school.

As a foster kid himself, Rob knows the system and its faults all too well. Listen in to learn about Rob’s story, how he turned pain into purpose through his nonprofit Comfort Cases, and the forever family he’s created with his husband and five kids.

Resources Mentioned

• Rob’s Viral Upworthy Video
• Rob’s Interview With Ellen DeGeneres
• Nelson Mandela Quote
• Educated by Tara Westover

Connect With the Guest

• Rob’s Book: A Forever Family
• Comfort Cases
• Rob’s Instagram

Ann Fessler's critically accompanied book, "The Girl Who Went Away," gives voice to the millions of women forced to surrender their babies in the decades before Roe v Wade. As an artist and a teacher, listening to Ann tell her story feels like you are walking into a lecture hall about to learn something new, and you are.

This episode originally aired in December of 2022.

Connect with Ann
Website
The Girls Who Went Away
A Girl Like Her

Learn more about the podcast at byjennifergriffith.com/category/podcast

This is the story of a mother who made the ultimate sacrifice for her and her daughter’s freedom. In this episode, I’m joined by Namratha Stanley, author of Vineyard Melody, and wine entrepreneur. Namratha shares about her own mother’s sacrifices and the example of unconditional love she set throughout her upbringing.

At age 24, Namratha married into an abusive family and lost her sense of self. Twelve years later, after a near-death situation, Namratha escaped with her daughter and started her life over. With the support of her entire family, she made the ultimate sacrifice to live without her daughter so she could establish a new life for them in France.

Listen in as Namratha shares the challenges of her journey to freedom, the contradictions of life in India for women, and how her family supported her throughout.

Resources Mentioned

• Gloria: In Her Own Words
• Pierce’s Pledge: Life After Tragic Loss With Lesley Hu

Connect with the Guest

• Namratha’s website
• Namratha’s book, Vineyard Melody