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The Stories We Leave You
Between coming out, building a family and breaking cycles, we don’t know what the fck we’re doing but we sure as hell aren’t going to shut up about it.
The Stories We Leave You shares the messy, heartbreaking, and healing moments that make us who we are and make you say “holy sh*t same.”
Expect a little chaos, a lot of honesty and the kind of raw, unfiltered storytelling you needed to hear growing up. You might cry from laughing, or just flat out cry but no matter what, you’re going to feel something (for once).
Episodes
29 episodes
"Your Words Could Be Someone's Inner Voice 20 Years From Now" | Ripple Effects, Breaking Family Cycles & Teaching Kids to Lead With Kindness
In this episode, we're talking about ripples—the lasting impact our words, actions, and relationships can have on the people around us. Sometimes it's something seemingly insignificant that sticks with you for decades. Other times, it's ...
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"College Is Not the Only Option" | College Regrets, Career Changes & What We'd Tell Our Kids About Life After High School
In this episode, we're talking about college—what we thought we were supposed to do after high school, how we chose our majors and career paths, and what we wish we'd understood before making such a huge decision at 18. We look back at the very...
"I'm Not a Baby, I'm a Mommy Tiger" | Violet Turns Four, Sibling Bonds & the Bittersweet Last Firsts
In this episode, we're celebrating Violet's fourth birthday by capturing exactly who she is at this stage of life—from her big personality and even bigger imagination to the little quirks and sayings we never want to forget. We sit down with ea...
"Seconds Away From the Epidural" | Our Unmedicated Hospital Birth Story, Midwife Drama & the Birth That Completed Our Family
In this episode, we're celebrating Violet's upcoming fourth birthday by telling the story of her birth—and the chaotic final hours that brought our family’s last baby into the world. After previous birth experiences that included a C-section, P...
"You're Not Born Religious, You're Taught It" | Religion, How We Were Raised & What We're Telling Our Kids
In this episode, we're diving into one of the most personal—and sometimes controversial—topics we've ever discussed: religion. We share how two very different religious upbringings shaped us, from Ryann growing up in a Reform Jewish family cele...
"Who Are You Gonna Call to Help Bury a Body?" | Friendships Over the Years, Finding Your People & What We've Learned
In this episode, we're talking about friendship—how easy it seemed as kids, why it gets so much harder as adults, and what we've learned after decades of friendships that lasted, faded away, or ended unexpectedly. We look back on growing up in ...
"I Don't Wanna Talk About You, I'm Paying You to Talk About Me" | Bad Therapists, Finding the Right Fit & Normalizing Mental Health
In this episode, we're talking about something that affects so many people but still carries a surprising amount of stigma: therapy. After receiving a listener request, we share our personal experiences with therapy, what we expected before we ...
"I Am Shocked I'm Not Dead or in Prison" | Drinking, Drugs & the Reckless Decisions That Somehow Didn't Ruin Our Lives
In this episode, we're taking a walk down memory lane and sharing some of our wildest (and occasionally questionable) experiences with drugs, alcohol, college parties, and growing up. From first cigarettes and first drinks to college partying, ...
"You Don't Need to Take Up Less Space to Be Loved" | Body Image, Diet Culture & Breaking the Cycle for Our Kids
In this episode, we're diving into one of the most complicated relationships many of us have: our relationship with our bodies. From childhood insecurities and family influences to diet culture, weight loss, body image, and learning to treat ou...
"Can Everyone Just Be Quiet?" | Parenting Expectations vs Reality, Millennial Mom Guilt & the Moments That Make It All Worth It
In this episode, we’re getting brutally honest about parenting—the good, the bad, the exhausting, and the parts nobody really prepares you for. What started as a conversation about why having a baby won’t magically fix a struggling relationship...
"I Really Thought It Was a Sex Toy" | LGBTQ+ Marriage, Double Weddings & Chosen Family
In this episode, we’re telling the story of our two weddings—and why we ended up having both. Long before marriage equality became the law of the land, we found ourselves navigating proposals, wedding planning, legal roadblocks, family opinions...
"Something Gay Is Happening Over There" | How a Camping Trip Became 18 Years of LGBTQ+ Found Family
In this episode, we're talking about one of the most meaningful traditions in our lives: Pride Float. What started nearly 20 years ago as a random camping trip turned into lifelong friendships, chosen family, and a community that has supported ...
“Once a Cheater, Always a Cheater?" | Breakups, Jealousy & Finding Our Way Back
In this episode, we finish the story of how we got together—and honestly, it’s a miracle we made it. After breaking up, moving to different cities, dating other people, making questionable decisions, and repeatedly finding our way back to each ...
"Married Shmaried" | Falling for a Married Woman, Coming Out & Our Rocky Beginning
In this episode, we’re finally telling the full story of how we got together—and spoiler alert: it was messy. What started as a friendship through a summer job turned into flirting, late-night conversations, complicated feelings, and a relation...
"Sad Little Pancakes" | Big Boobs, Breastfeeding & Body Image at Every Size
In this episode, we’re talking about boobs—loving them, hating them, feeding babies with them, and in Ryann’s case, getting rid of them altogether. What starts as a funny conversation about aging bodies and “sad little pancake boobs” quickly tu...
"Luckily They Weren't D*cks" | Meeting My Half-Sister, Deadbeat Dads & Family Reunions
In part two of this unexpected family story, we finally meet the half-sister Julie discovered through a DNA testing website—and things get even more emotional. After weeks of processing the shock of learning she existed, Julie shares what it wa...
"Your Dad Was a Big Old Slut" | DNA Tests, Half-Siblings & Family Secrets Revealed
In this episode, we share one of the wildest plot twists our family has experienced so far: finding out Julie has a 16-year-old half-sister she never knew existed. What started as a casual search into ancestry and possible Canadian citizenship ...
"Suck My F*ing Ahole" | Couples Communication, Conflict Styles & Learning to Fight Fair
In this episode, we dive into one of the biggest reasons relationships either survive or completely fall apart: communication. After nearly 20 years together, we’re talking honestly about how our completely opposite personalities, childhood exp...
Holiday Jews & Paper Towel Fights | Growing Up Jewish, Family Dysfunction & Suburban Chaos
In this episode, we shift perspectives and dive into Ryann’s childhood—offering a very different experience from the trauma-filled upbringing shared in previous episodes. Ryann reflects on growing up in a suburban, middle-class household, where...
"Oh, That's Just the Meth Lab" | Drug Addiction, Family Secrets & Growing Up Too Fast
In this deeply personal and emotional episode, we continue the story with Part 2 of Julie’s childhood—diving into the reality of growing up with a parent struggling with drug addiction, abuse, and instability. From discovering her dad’s meth us...
Growing Up Walking on Eggshells: Childhood Trauma, Abuse & Toxic Family Dynamics
In this deeply personal episode of The Stories We Leave, we shift the focus to Julie’s childhood—growing up in a small rural town in Missouri with young parents, a close-knit family, and a life that from the outside might have looked s...
“So…How Do You REALLY Feel?” Coming Out, Reactions & Losing People
In Part 2 of Ryann’s coming out story, we move beyond the internal journey and into the real-life moments that follow—telling family, navigating reactions, and figuring out what happens next. From coming out as gay in college to later coming ou...
Coming out…again? From Lesbian to Trans Man
This episode is where everything starts to shift. We’re going all the way back—before the labels, before the language, before any of this made sense—to talk about Ryann’s earliest memories, identity, and what it felt like growing up without the...
The Sperm Change-Up: Sperm Banks, IUI & LGBTQ+ Family Planning
In this episode of The Stories We Leave You, Julie and Ryann continue their journey into LGBTQ+ family planning and share the real, unfiltered story behind growing their family beyond twins. Picking up where they left off, they dive in...
Where Do You Even Get Sperm? LGBTQ+ Family Planning & Our Donor Story
In this episode of The Stories We Leave You, Julie and Ryann take a deep dive into one of the most requested parts of their story — how they built their family as an LGBTQ+ couple. From always knowing they wanted kids to realizing just...