Welcome to Connected Chaos: The Family Table

With Sonja Merritt, Shawn Bradbury, Lisa Brody, Melinda Burkhart, & Niyati Patel

What happens when the plan changes, life gets messy, and a real conversation turns out to be more powerful than anything you originally set out to create?

In this debut episode of Connected Chaos: The Family Table, we share how this podcast was born from an honest, unfiltered conversation about parenting, family stress, personal struggle, resilience, and the very human work of trying to live well. You’ll meet the voices behind the podcast and hear the experiences that shaped each of us, from supporting families through job loss, teen conflict, and special needs parenting to helping parents reconnect with themselves and guiding people toward greater clarity, grounding, and connection.

At the heart of this conversation is one shared truth: there is no handbook for family life. There is no perfect formula. There is only the daily work of showing up, learning, adjusting, and loving people through hard things. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed, underprepared, or alone in the middle of family life, this table is for you.

p.s.

In the beginning of this episode, you’ll hear us introduce the podcast by its original working title, 'Becoming the Resilient Family'. As it turns out, the conversation kept evolving, and so did we, which is how Connected Chaos, The Family Table was born!