In this episode, meet Kara Rubinstein-Deyerin founder of Right To Know, an organization dedicated to helping people who, like her, encounter a life-altering encounter with the Truth about who they are – versus who they thought they were. Kara grew up believing she was half white, half Black. A DNA test – taken to investigate…
In a few days, as of this writing, I, Donna, will turn 50 – halfway to 100. In this episode, my producer Alan sits in and we talk about how we got here – how our paths crossed and resulted in this podcast. We’ll also talk about how doing this podcast has changed both our…
On this podcast, we adore people who care deeply about other people. That’s the kind of person Morris Derry is. While a convict in 1996, Morris had an epiphany about himself and the inmates around him. That led to Morris creating No More Pain, an organization that mentors individuals who suffer from substance abuse, domestic…
My friend Victoria – Tori – survived a childhood as harrowing in its way as mine was in mine. Lots of our mutual friends compare Tori’s childhood to the TV show “Shameless”. It was that kind of family. Tori’s mom was a caregiver on the one hand (a nurse) but an addict on the other.…
Though Donna has known her friend Katie O’Donnell for twenty years, it wasn’t until Katie sat for this conversation that Donna learned the whole truth about Katie’s childhood. Katie’s independent spirit clashed with her parents’ more middle class values. She was a runaway from 14, doing what she had to to survive on the streets.…
As Donna herself admits, when it comes to terrible, challeging childhoods, hers can’t hold a candle to episode guest Eric Ruth’s childhood. Eric, as you’ll hear, grew up with a mother who couldn’t overcome her own addictions and circumstances. Despite that, Eric found his way out of that cycle and into law school where he…
Sit in on a sisterly conversation between Donna and her half-sister Beth. Beth is one of Donna’s other donor-conceived siblings. Like Donna, Beth is a massage therapist and bartender. That’s where the similarities justbegin. Theirs is an unusual – and unusually deep relationship and, in this episode, you’ll get to eavesdrop on a truly heartfelt…
A big part of Donna’s story was her discovery – at age 40 – that she was donor conceived. As unsettling a revelation as that was, it explained a lot. Like why she always felt “other than” or “different from” the siblings and family in which she grew up. In this episode, you’ll meet Donna’s…
Domestic violence can take unexpected forms. A former boyfriend of Donna’s – Christopher George – took to abusing Donna’s dog Rocky when they all lived together. It took Donna a while to catch on, but when she did – she wanted justice for Rocky. Jonathan Long, then a prosecutor in Pennsylvania, took up Donna’s case…
In this episode: A little while ago, while cleaning out a drawer, Donna found an old diary she’d kept during her childhood – a diary she feared was lost. But, the new-found diary verified still more of Donna’s story. In this deeply emotional episode, Donna reads from her diary and discusses it with The Hall…