Fireside with Blair Hodges Blair Hodges

Jessica Pryce believed a career at Child Protective Services would be a rewarding way to help keep kids safe. What she learned on the job completely changed her mind, as the system itself kept getting closer and closer to home. So she became a scholar of the system and now works as a public advocate to help change it for the better. 

Caregiving for aging and dying parents can be tough for anyone, but it's even tougher when it forces you to confront longtime family dynamics of abuse. Sociologist Deborah Cohan blurs the lines between academic research on family caregiving and violence, and her own personal story about a father she calls both adoring and abusive. Her memoir is called Welcome to Wherever We Are: A Memoir of Family, Caregiving, and Redemption.

The path to becoming a parent is complicated for LGBTQ people. Dr. Abbie E. Goldberg has evidence-based advice to help make it happen, debunking stereotypes and increasing the visibility of queer families. Her work can benefit all families. Including yours.

Divorce can be a difficult process today, but it's nothing compared to what it used to be. In the late 1800s, women from around the country had to fight for the right to separate from their husbands on their own terms. April White tells their stories and how they still impact us today in her fascinating book, "The Divorce Colony: How Women Revolutionized Marriage and Found Freedom on the American Frontier."

When Angela Tucker was adopted into a white family it couldn't sever her from her Black roots. Today she advocates for open adoptions and mentors transracial adoptees. In this episode we discuss her book, "You Should Be Grateful."

There was more than one closet in Jessi Hempel’s church-going family. And after she came out of hers, the doors kept bursting open.

Jessi joins us to talk about her memoir, "The Family Outing."