Milkweed & Monarchs

EP78 - The Paint Can

Some stories feel dramatic in the moment not because of what actually happened, but because of what we didn’t know. This episode is one of those. For years, I carried the weight of thinking I had done something wrong — replaying conversations, filling in the silence with blame, trying to make sense of a situation no one ever explained to me. What I didn’t realize then was that the truth was missing, not my worth. And when the truth finally surfaced years later, everything I thought I understood shifted. This episode is about that gap — the space where communication failed, assumptions grew, and clarity arrived long after the moment had passed.  And that’s where this story really begins — not in the moment itself, but in the space between what happened and what I understood. So let me take you back to that day. I didn’t know it then, but this was the moment that would sit with me for years. The moment that made me question myself, replay every detail, and wonder what I had done wrong. I walked into it with good intentions and walked out with confusion I couldn’t name. Only later — much later — would I learn the truth that changed everything.

EP77 - The Final Chapter

There are stories women carry in their bones — stories of being dismissed, doubted, or dragged through systems that were supposed to protect them. Stories of judges who didn’t listen, lawyers who didn’t care, and a culture that still asks women to be both the evidence and the advocate for their own suffering. This episode is the final chapter of my life with my narcissistic ex‑husband. It’s the chapter where the system failed me, but I refused to fail myself. It’s the chapter where I learned that justice doesn’t always come from a courtroom — sometimes it comes from finally telling the truth out loud, reclaiming your story, and walking away with your head high. This is the ending he never expected and the freedom I always deserved.

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.