Dear Family, is a podcast about our complicated families and achieving mental wellness.
Dear Family,
This is a love letter meant to stop you from writing yourself or your loved ones off.
Join me, Rachel Steinman, a writer, educator, and mental wellness advocate, along with my inspiring guests in an honest and open conversation. Together, we’ll find community and healing by ridding the stigma of family secrets and mental illness through eye-opening and entertaining personal stories. Besides practical advice, plan on laughing and maybe even crying. And besides feeling uplifted, maybe you’ll even look forward to your next family gathering.
Think of “Dear Family” as an intimate conversation you’d have when you confide in your sister or brother, or better yet, with your best friend, who we all know is your chosen family anyway.
Sincerely (and with LOVE),
Rachel
Featured Episode
Latest Episodes
My So-Called High School Rank- Documenting Teenage Loneliness and College Admission Pressures through a Musical
Kevin Hines- Golden Gate Bridge Suicide Jumper Saved by a Sea Lion Becomes Inspirational Storyteller and Filmmaker with Message of Hope and Resilience
Chris and Erik Ewers- Brothers/Co-Directors on Ken Burns Documentary about the Youth Mental Health Crisis
Julian Sarafian- Harvard Law-Educated TikToker Redefines Success After his Mental and Physical Breakdowns
Dr. Jonathan Goldfinger- Nationally Recognized Pediatrician on the Need For and Right To Mental Health Care
Michael and Gayle Zibilich- The Shocking Reality from their Only Child’s Suicide Leads to Life-Saving Conversations with College Students
Dr. Raghu Appasani- Psychiatrist and Neuroscientist Bridging the Gap Between Western and Eastern Health Practices Including Microdosing and Nutrition
Katie Hanus- Homesteader & Homeschooler Attains Comfort & Nourishment Through Hearth Medicine, Herbalism, Ritual, & Ceremony
Julie Lythcott-Haims- Former Stanford Dean Pens Groundbreaking Manual- Your Turn- How to Be an Adult
Aubert Bastiat- Stewarding a New Expression of Masculinity and Brotherhood with Men’s Circles and Man Camp
Rachel Lily Campbell- Former Self-Proclaimed Malibu Barbie Reclaims Her Wellness to Become the Madam of Mom Fitness
Chrissy Blumenthal- Modern Warrior Glam-Ma with 5 Biological Kids (2 from her Egg Donation) Creates Chords2Cure to Battle Son’s & Others’ Pediatric Cancer
Taun Hall- Call for Help During her Son, Miles Hall’s Mental Health Crisis Turns Into a Tragic Police Shooting
Jessica Lahey- The Addiction Inoculation- Raising Healthy Kids in a Culture of Dependence and the Gift of Failure
Dear Friends, You’re Like Family- What a Group Chat Taught Me about the Importance of Friendship on Our Health and Happiness
Susannah Cahalan- Reporter’s Brain on Fire with Extreme Psychiatric Conditions from Medical Causes Uncovers Great Pretender Story
Jay Jay and Antoine Patton- Father/Daughter Duo- Connecting Kids to their Incarcerated Parents with Photopatch & Teaching the World to Code
Dani Klein Modisett- Laughter as Medicine- Laughter On Call for a Mother with Alzheimer’s Becomes a Global Business
Twinpowerment- Nell & Tish- Identical Twin Trauma Specialists, Writers, & Crafters on Empowerment to Heal Your Body, Mind, & Spirit
Heather Vickery- Success Coach on Intentional Bravery- Everything You Want is on the Other Side of Uncomfortable
Nina Cudney- Real Talk with Certified Sex Coach Shining a Light on Taboo Subjects with Humor Including her Inappropriate OCD Thoughts
Yasmin Irfani- Pakistani-Muslim-American Speaks Up about Mental Health in her South Asian Community that Doesn’t Value Expressing Emotions
Jason Schneidman- Venice Beach’s The Mens Groomer to the Stars and the Homeless on Sobriety and How a Haircut Can Literally Change Someone’s Life
Lisa Klein- Granddaughter, Daughter, and Sister of Suicide Makes Touching Documentary about the Taboo Subject- The S Word
X. Ari- Performing Artist with Anxiety, Depression, PTSD, Psychosis, Sleep Paralysis, Bipolar, and ADHD Turns Pain Into Power
Adam Frankel- Obama’s Speechwriter on Identity Crises, Family Secrets, Intergenerational Trauma and Healing
Terri Cheney- Lawyer to the Stars-Turned Best-Selling Author’s Adventures with Mental Illness- An Owner’s Manual for Modern Madness
Dani Shapiro- Best-Selling Memoirist on Uncovering Family Secrets, Inheritance, Genealogy, Paternity, and Love
Oona Hanson-Educator and Parent Coach on Diet Culture and her Common Sense Camp to Teach Kids Practical Life Skills
Priscilla Molina- Daughter of Guatemalan Immigrants is Inspired to Become a Psychiatrist so Underserved Communities Receive Culturally Sensitive Care
Tracy Hargen- When Your Son Asks, “Mom, Can We Talk?” Stop & Listen- Helping Your Child Get Out of the Darkness of Depression & Feel the Light Again
Barbara, Dedan, and Ella Bruner- One Family/Three Generations on Healthy and Loving Single Parenting and Co-Parenting and the Beauty of Diversity
Laurie Kallen Schwent- My Creative and Eccentric Bipolar Mother Whose Parents Both Died By Suicide on Why Life is Worth Living in Color
Janice Hayes Kyser- Biracial Writer Navigates the Mental Health & Special Education System for her Adopted Black Son
Gregg Garfield & Anneliese Johnson- COVID Patient Zero Medical Miracle Survives 64 Days in the Hospital with Support from his Village
Pirie Jones Grossman- It’s Never too Late to Own Your Own Throne, Find Love from Within, & Heal a Community from Suicide
“Condom With a Conversation”- Sex & Consent Teen-Owned Business with Luca Wheeler, Charlotte Sedaka & Jed Siegel
Wally Lamb- “I Know This Much Is True” Author & Executive Producer of the HBO Limited Series about Paranoid Schizophrenia, Forgiveness, & the Power of Storytelling to Heal
Elsa Mora- Cuban-born Artist, Curator, & Paper Sculptor- Our Most Precious Possession is Our Mind & Creativity Can Solve Any Problem
Robert Kolker- “Hidden Valley Road” Author & Oprah’s Book Club Pick about The Most Mentally Ill Family in America
Dr. Sam Fink & Sarrica Fink, RN- Father/Daughter Duo Giving Factual and Realistic Answers about the Current Situation of Covid-19
Dwana White- Professional Funny Girl and Storyteller on Wellness and Mental Health in the Black Community
Terry & Rachel Winter- (Part 2) Award Winning Master Storytellers Share their Real-Life Marriage Story
Terry & Rachel Winter- (Part 1) Award Winning Master Storytellers Share their Real-Life Marriage Story
Tim & Ryder Davis- Father & Son- Different Generations, Perspectives & Challenges but Same Mental Health Advocacy
Catherine McCord- Keeping Our Families Healthy & Happy with Delicious & Nutritious Meals & Smoothies
Stephen Hinshaw- Award-Winning Author and Psychology Professor’s Very Personal Journey through the Stigma and Hope of Mental Illness
Rachel Steinman Discusses Sharenting- When a Child has to Teach their Parent About Consent and the Implications of a Digital Footprint She Didn’t Create
Turning The Tables: Rachel Is Interviewed & Shares Her Family’s Secrets Of Mental Illness, Suicide, Addiction & More
Ross Szabo- From Class President & Varsity Basketball Player- to Being Called Psycho after Ending Up in the Mental Hospital- to Pioneering the Youth Mental Health Movement
Rachel Steinman- If You Don’t Come From a Healthy Family, Make Sure a Healthy Family Comes From You.
Tami Strzelecki- From Savior in the ER to Letting her Patients Go- How Hospice Nursing Saved her Own Life
Rena Sofer- A Bold and Beautiful Actress Survives Her Mother’s Abandonment and Falls in Love with Her Ex-Husband In Real Life
Zack McDermott- Gorilla and the Bird- A Mother’s Unconditional Love for her Bipolar Son Whose Psychotic Belief He’s the Star in His Own TV Show Lands Him in Bellevue HospitalSubscribe to the Show
Get in Touch
Fans of the podcast can contact Rachel Steinman to provide feedback and ideas, or to become a guest on the show.
















































