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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
16 episodes
"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...
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"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...
Trauma Dump: Coming Out, Oversharing & How We Fell in Love
In this episode of The Stories We Leave You, Julie and Ryann take a deeper dive into their origin story — from awkward early impressions to becoming best friends, falling in love, and navigating a relationship that didn’t exactly start...
Are You a Top or a Bottom? Opposites in Marriage & How We Work
In this episode of The Stories We Leave You, Julie and Ryann dive deeper into who they are as individuals and as partners, sharing the very different paths that shaped them long before they built a life together. From Julie growing up ...
“Mom, Are You Still a Lesbian?” LGBTQ+ Parenting, Gender Identity & Family Life
In this first episode of The Stories We Leave You, Julie and Ryann introduce themselves, their family, and the real reason this podcast exists. From raising four kids in a loud, chaotic household to navigating identity, transition, and...
Introducing The Stories We Leave You: LGBTQ+ Family Stories, Trauma, Love & Parenting
Welcome to The Stories We Leave You — a storytelling podcast about queer parenting, coming out, transition, trauma, love, marriage, money, and the messy, heartbreaking, healing moments that shape a life.This started as a simple ...