Real Talk with Tina and Ann

Ann Kagarise
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Weekly

Tina and Ann met as journalists covering a capital murder trial, 15 years ago. Tina has been a tv and radio personality and has three children. Ann has a master's in counseling and has worked in the jail system, was a director of a battered woman's shelter/rape crisis center, worked as an assistant director at a school for children with autism, worked with abused kids and is currently raising her three children who have autism. She also is autistic and was told would not graduate high school, but as you can see, she has accomplished so much more. The duo share their stories of overcoming and interview people who are making it, despite what has happened. This is more than just two moms sharing their lives. This is two women who have overcome some of life's hardest obstacles. Join us every Wednesday as we go through life's journey together. There is purpose in the pain and hope in the journey. 

  1. 3d ago

    He Slept in a Train Station and Still Showed Up for School: A Story of Unbelievable Resilience with Rich Dunning

    Send us Fan Mail Silence can keep you alive, until it starts taking your life from the inside. We sit down with International Award Winner, Rich Dunning, author of Silence Was My First Language, and trace the path from a childhood in the Bronx surrounded by poverty, evictions, and relentless violence to the hard-won beginnings of a future he refused to surrender. Rich shares what it’s like to live under an abusive stepfather he calls Scarface, where safety depends on reading footsteps, predicting moods, and staying invisible. We talk about the weight of watching a sibling get hurt, the lifelong impact of shame, and the complicated reality of a mother who is both victim and participant. He also opens up about homelessness as a teenager, sleeping in an abandoned train station while still making it to school, showering in the gym, and pushing through a day no one understood. Then we turn toward the lifelines: baseball as refuge and a scholarship, neighbors and mentors who model what kindness looks like, and one unforgettable teacher who protects his dignity when she sees what he can’t hide. Rich also reflects on his grandfather’s wisdom about releasing identities that no longer protect us and the difference between responsibility and shame, ideas that land hard when you’ve survived severe childhood trauma. Part one closes with the question hanging in the air: when you finally “make it,” what happens to the pain you carried there, and what role does alcohol play in the story that comes next? Subscribe so you don’t miss part two, share this with someone who needs it, leave a review, and tell us: what helped you find your voice when silence felt safer? Support the show

    He Slept in a Train Station and Still Showed Up for School: A Story of Unbelievable Resilience with Rich Dunning

  2. Sep 23

    A Mother’s Story Of FASD Advocacy And A Daughter’s Spark part 2

    Send us Fan Mail Ann sits down with Jodee Kulp to tell her daughter Liz’s story and to pull out the practical lessons families need when they are raising a child with FASD, , trauma histories, or any kind of neurodivergence. We talk talk about strength-based opportunities that helped Liz create meaning, and how the disability system can still punish competence by threatening supports the moment someone shows what they can do with accommodations. Then the conversation turns to the dangerous stuff people do not warn you about: the cliff at 18 when supports vanish but the brain stays the same, addiction and recovery, and what “attuned support” really looks like in IEP meetings, courtrooms, emergency rooms, and hospital wards. Jodee explains being a “cognitive translator” or external brain, how to keep someone’s voice intact, and why staying regulated as a caregiver can prevent escalation. We also get concrete about healthcare advocacy: medication fillers and excipients, paradoxical drug reactions, FDA resources, and why pharmacogenomic testing can matter. At the heart of it all is the iridescent spoon, a small object that holds grief, resilience, spoon theory, and joy even as chronic illness and caregiving demands intensify. If this story changes how one professional listens or how one family asks for help, it is worth telling. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review with one takeaway you are carrying forward. Support the show

    A Mother’s Story Of FASD Advocacy And A Daughter’s Spark part 2

  3. Sep 16

    A Mother’s Story Of FASD Advocacy And A Daughter’s Spark

    Send us Fan Mail A child can be hospitalized, overwhelmed by noise and light, judged for “behavior,” and still find a way to sparkle. We’re joined by Jodee Kulp, author, speaker, and longtime fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) advocate, to talk about her daughter Liz and the reality of living with prenatal alcohol exposure. Liz’s life refuses the usual storyline of limits: she creates workarounds on top of workarounds, finds ways to write when reading is hard, shows up to dialysis in colorful wigs, and keeps offering the world a clearer window into a brain most people never try to understand. We get practical about what helps and what harms. Sensory processing and nervous system overload often sit underneath big reactions, which changes how we should treat “meltdowns” at school, in clinics, and in the ER. Jodee shares the powerful empathy lesson Liz built with a simple sensory kit, plus the advocacy mindset that helped them navigate systems that weren’t designed for neurodivergent people. We also talk about why IQ scores and single “functioning level” labels can miss the truth, and how the Hager vortex reframes development as uneven, dynamic, and deeply human. You’ll also hear the stories behind Red Shoes Rock, the early FAS Day bell-ringing movement, and what happens when learning is rebuilt around strengths through homeschooling and brain-based methods. If you care about FASD support, disability advocacy, neurodiversity, caregiver resilience, or doing healthcare and education with more dignity, this conversation stays with you. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs hope, and leave a review with one thing you’ll do differently after listening. Support the show

    A Mother’s Story Of FASD Advocacy And A Daughter’s Spark

  4. Sep 9

    Living with FASD part 2

    Send us Fan Mail Shame thrives in silence, and FASD has been surrounded by silence for far too long. We pick up Part Two of my conversation with RJ Formanek, where we get honest about what living with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder actually feels like day to day: the hidden resilience, the crashes, the relationships that only go so far when “I love you” feels unsafe, and the long work of becoming okay with yourself.  We dig into practical, trauma-informed realities that families and adults search for but rarely hear spelled out. Why do mornings feel like a slow boot-up? How do routines and quiet time reduce meltdowns for kids who get “spent” fast in noisy, social spaces? What does dismaturity mean, and why can a person look their age while their emotional regulation, executive function, working memory, and processing speed tell a different story? RJ also shares how to talk about an FASD diagnosis with kids in small, age-appropriate pieces without dumping adult anger or blame onto them.  Then we zoom out to hope and advocacy. RJ explains why he created Red Shoes Rock, how he pushed back against terrifying stereotypes online, and why FASD support needs real stories, not doom predictions. We also talk neuroplasticity, possible “catch-up” timelines like myelination, and why many people with FASD find their stride later than the world expects. If you want clearer language, better support strategies, and a reminder that it’s not your fault, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review with the one line you’re taking with you. Support the show

    Living with FASD part 2

  5. Sep 2

    FASD: From Someone Who Lives It

    Send us Fan Mail The most dangerous myth about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is that you can “tell” by looking at someone. We sit down with RJ Formanek, founder of Flying With Broken Wings and co-creator of Red Shoes Rock, to talk about what FASD actually looks like across a lifetime and why so many adults live for decades without a diagnosis, support, or even the right words for what’s happening in their brains.  We get personal about the stuff that rarely makes it into the headlines: foster care churn, being labeled “non-compliant” for asking why, and the quiet shame that can show up at night when you’re trying to fall asleep. RJ explains the “manual transmission” feeling of daily life with neurodivergence, where executive function, working memory, and cause-and-effect can turn ordinary tasks into constant gear shifting. We also talk about school “behavior” as a symptom, why consequences delivered later don’t work for many kids with FASD, and how supports like routine, in-the-moment coaching, and IEPs that limit homework can reduce burnout.  We also go where it gets complicated: anger at a birth parent, grief and acceptance, the role alcohol plays, and how caregivers can support without turning a child into a problem to manage. RJ shares how Flying With Broken Wings creates a safe space that centers person-first care and real lived experience, helping both individuals with FASD and the people who love them. If this conversation helps you, subscribe, share it with someone who needs it, and leave a review. What’s one belief about FASD you want the world to unlearn? Support the show

    FASD: From Someone Who Lives It

  6. Aug 29

    Ann reads a part of her upcoming memoir

    Send us Fan Mail Calm is not always comforting. When you have lived in survival mode, quiet can feel like a threat, your mind can get louder as the room gets still, and “peace” can feel like something reserved for other people. We sit down with Ann as she shares updates on her writing and then reads a striking excerpt from her memoir Loving Differently, built around one core idea: peace is not dramatic, and it is not something you perform on command.  Ann walks us through the moment a respected pastor asked, “Why don’t you pray?” and how her body shut down. We unpack why freezing under pressure can be a protective nervous system response, not a spiritual failure, especially when neurodivergence and prayer anxiety collide with shame and the fear of not knowing the script. The conversation also names the reality of religious trauma and church abuse, including how spiritual language can be used to cross boundaries and confuse safety with obedience. If you have ever felt judged in faith spaces, or like you had to look “good” to belong, this will land.  From there, we move into what healing looks like in real life: changing people, places, and things, noticing patterns, setting boundaries, and stepping away from chaos that feels familiar. Ann explores trauma bonding, the hidden cost of relationships that keep wounds open, and why choosing peace can feel like loss before it feels like relief. A final story about saying “no” to a house that seemed like security drives home the theme: peace does not live in a building, a performance, or someone else’s approval.  If this resonates, follow the show, share this with someone who is rebuilding safety from the inside out, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway. What is one boundary that has protected your peace? Support the show

    Ann reads a part of her upcoming memoir

  7. Aug 26

    ADHD in Women with Dr. Jennifer Dall: Diagnosed at 53

    Send us Fan Mail You can be accomplished, capable, and still feel like you’re barely holding it together. That’s the reality for so many women with ADHD, especially when a lifetime of masking makes the struggles invisible to everyone else. We’re joined by Dr. Jennifer Dahl, founder of ADHD Holistically and a grief-informed neurodivergence specialist, to talk about what late-diagnosed ADHD really looks like and why the diagnostic process so often fails adult women. We dig into the quiet signs clinicians miss, like time blindness, hyperfocus, emotional overwhelm, rejection sensitivity, and the exhausting performance of “looking fine.” Jennifer also shares what to do when you’re told “no” after an assessment, how to trust your lived experience, and how to pursue support that helps even without a perfect piece of paper. Then we get practical: Pomodoro, body doubling, small wins, and simple systems that make follow-through possible when executive function is tapped out. We also explore the overlap of grief and ADHD, why “we don’t need to be fixed, we need to be understood,” and how families, educators, and workplaces can offer support that’s based on curiosity instead of judgment. If this conversation gives you language for your own life, share it with someone who needs it, subscribe for more Real Talk, and leave a review so more neurodivergent listeners can find us. Support the show

    ADHD in Women with Dr. Jennifer Dall: Diagnosed at 53

  8. Aug 19

    Building Kids Who Can Stand on Their Own: A Recipe for Raising Today’s Youth

    Send us Fan Mail We talk with life coach and TEDx speaker Randi Crawford about why teen anxiety is skyrocketing and how parents accidentally train kids to avoid discomfort. We share practical ways to build resilience, accountability, and trust so kids can handle real life without shame.  • why “rescuing” quietly weakens confidence and grit  • letting natural consequences do the teaching  • the pickleball parenting idea of placement over power  • listening like a coach instead of listening to fix  • setting boundaries with phones, especially at night  • sextortion, bullying, and why trust determines whether kids ask for help  • enabling vs empathy and how excuses become a habit  • praising effort over outcomes to normalize failure  • accountability parenting vs shame based parenting  • building a no-judgment kitchen conversation zone  • tools for anxiety including meditation, thought stopping, and “mental bank account” wins  If you love this episode, please subscribe to Real Talk with Tina and Anne. Follow Randi at Randi Crawford Coaching. Follow everything that Randi Crawford is doing.  Support the show

    Building Kids Who Can Stand on Their Own: A Recipe for Raising Today’s Youth
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About

Tina and Ann met as journalists covering a capital murder trial, 15 years ago. Tina has been a tv and radio personality and has three children. Ann has a master's in counseling and has worked in the jail system, was a director of a battered woman's shelter/rape crisis center, worked as an assistant director at a school for children with autism, worked with abused kids and is currently raising her three children who have autism. She also is autistic and was told would not graduate high school, but as you can see, she has accomplished so much more. The duo share their stories of overcoming and interview people who are making it, despite what has happened. This is more than just two moms sharing their lives. This is two women who have overcome some of life's hardest obstacles. Join us every Wednesday as we go through life's journey together. There is purpose in the pain and hope in the journey. 

Information

  • Creator
    Ann Kagarise
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    206
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Real Talk with Tina and Ann
  • Show Website
    Real Talk with Tina and Ann