Milkweed & Monarchs

EP76 - Angels and Demons

Today’s episode is different. It’s heavier, more vulnerable, and rooted in a truth I carried quietly for a long time. What you’re about to hear isn’t easy — not for me to say, and not always easy to take in. But it is part of my life, part of what shaped me, and part of why I tell stories at all. I believe in honesty. I believe in naming what happened. And I believe that even the hardest chapters deserve to be witnessed, not hidden. So as you listen, I hope you’ll hold this story gently. It comes from a place of courage, survival, and the kind of truth that changes a person.

EP75 - It Takes a Whole Family

Some stories break your heart a little, but somehow leave it bigger than before. Today’s episode is one of those. It’s a reminder that even in the hardest moments, people show up for one another in ways that are quiet, unexpected, and deeply human. This isn’t a story about perfection or happy endings. It’s a story about kindness, about the way we carry each other, and about the beauty that can rise out of something painful. I’m grateful to share it with you.

EP74 - The Struggle Was Real

Some people enter our lives as teachers. Others as companions. And then there are the ones — like my brother — who arrive as walking, talking tests of patience. Growing up with him was… a lot. He could push every button I had, sometimes just by breathing in my direction. I spent years thinking he was simply determined to make my life harder. But as I got older, I began to see the currents underneath his behavior — the expectations placed on him, the pressure he carried, and the unspoken rules of our household that shaped us both in ways we didn’t understand at the time. This episode is about that journey: the exasperation, the unraveling, and the unexpected compassion that comes when you finally understand the “why” behind someone’s chaos.

EP73 - Urgency!

There are some stories that sit in two places at once—where your heart aches and softens at the same time. This episode is one of those. It’s a chapter filled with endings and beginnings, with the kind of tenderness that only shows up when life asks you to hold joy in one hand and grief in the other. Today, I’m sharing something that’s both sad and good, heavy and hopeful. It’s a reminder that we don’t get to choose the shape of our seasons, but we do get to choose how gently we move through them. And sometimes, even in the hardest moments, there’s a small light that finds its way in. So take a breath with me. Settle in. This is a story about loss, love, and the quiet beauty that rises when we let ourselves feel all of it.

EP72 - Lighthouses and Tina Turner

Some stories don’t start with sunshine — they start with rain clouds rolling in over Lake Michigan, muddy shoes, frizzy hair, and a husband with a stubborn streak of optimism. Today’s episode is one of those stories. In this chapter of Milkweed & Monarchs, I’m taking you with Craig and me on a lighthouse adventure up the northern coast — the kind of day that begins as a simple escape from a long winter and slowly unravels into something much more memorable. You’ll hear about tiny lighthouses and towering ones, the history tucked inside their walls, and the way Michigan’s shoreline can surprise even a lifelong New Englander. But the heart of this story isn’t the lighthouses. It’s what happens when you’re soaked to the bone, covered in sand, convinced you look like a disaster… and the person across the table sees Tina Turner instead. This is a story about partnership — the push and pull, the steady and the wild, the moments when someone loves you not despite the mess, but because of it. It’s about finding beauty in the unexpected, humor in the uncomfortable, and grace in the places you least expect it. So settle in. Let’s head north together.