When adoptees search for their birth parents, it’s the pursuit of identity. Where do I come from? Who gave birth to me? What is my medical history?   AYM guest, Jan Beatty, wanted to know her name – not the one given by her adoptive parents, but the name on her birth certificate. This quest began […]

Ann Fessler’s critically accompanied book, “The Girl Who Went Away,” gives voice to the millions of women forced to surrender their babies in the decades before Roe v Wade. As an artist and a teacher, listening to Ann tell her story feels like you are walking into a lecture hall about to learn something new, […]

The subject of reproductive rights has taken center stage in our society. Still, many people don’t understand the tentacles those rights have in every corner of society or within most families. On this episode of About Your Mother is my conversation with writer and editor Elizabeth Hines, who spearheaded the recent anthology Aftermath: Life in Post-Roe America. Our […]

In our new series, What Happened Then, AYM features stories from a part of our history unknown to many. Karen Wilson-Buterbaugh spent twenty years researching and writing The Baby Scoop Era. In 2007, Karen founded the Baby Scoop Era: Research, Education, and Inquiry (BSERI) organization to support millions of women forced to surrender their babies between 1945 and […]

For Mother’s Day, we are recapping ten powerful episodes from the last year. This review features a short clip from each conversation, so you can quickly get a feel for the content and guest. Timestamps and guest names are listed below. An interesting thing happens when the word mother is mentioned – a conversation rooted […]

This episode of About Your Mother is my conversation with Steph Jagger: a seeker, explorer, and writer. Her latest book, Everything Left to Remember, documents her adventure with her mother into the Rocky Mountains while they navigate the terrain of dementia and the meaning of remembrance. Steph’s life and work are as deep as the 4 […]

This episode of About Your Mother is my conversation with Beth Broday – a pioneer in producing who put music videos on the map beginning with Prince’s Little Red Corvette. Beth Broday is a storyteller and has mastered the art of Becoming. Throughout the various stages of work and life, she saw the lessons in […]

On this episode of About Your Mother, we meet Shanti Brien, who has spent her career fighting for justice. Often, taking on the most complex cases where the rate of success is meager. When her husband’s company was under investigation, her career and personal life collided.   Shanti Brien is a litigator and author. She is also […]

In this episode of About Your Mother, we hear the story of Diane Danvers Simmons, whose mother left and moved next door with three college men when Diane was sixteen years old. A successful businesswoman, mother, and stepmom, Diane was on a trip with her daughter when she heard she needed to forgive her mother, […]

To honor National Adoption Month this November, I bring you a big brave story. In this episode of About Your Mother, meet Ashley Mitchell. Ashley Mitchell is the founder of Lifetime Healing Foundation, which supports birth mothers and those affected by such trauma. Her mission is unique but needed. Give it a listen, and you […]

In this episode of About Your Mother, meet Amy Ferris. Amy is witty, brutally honest, talented, and regal, like Meryl Streep, and she looks like her too. Ruth Pennebaker of the New York Times described Amy’s memoir, Marrying George Clooney: Confessions from a Midlife Crisis”, as “poignant, free-wheeling, cranky, and funny. It is all those […]

In this episode of About Your Mother, I am pleased to introduce Angie Kim. Angie’s debut novel Miracle Creek was named Best Book of the Year by Time, The Washington Post, and The Today Show. It went on to win many other prizes throughout the year. Before writing Miracle Creek, Angie Kim was the former […]

A brief encounter with a woman with cancer recently reminded me to slow down and acknowledge what is before us — even if what we see is hard to accept or comprehend. It was Sunday morning and I was walking through the Berkeley Rose Garden with my husband and son. I saw a woman sitting on a […]

In this episode of About Your Mother, you will meet Peter Mutabazi – a remarkable human being who survived a traumatic childhood, only to use that experience to transform lives. He ran away from an abusive father at the age of ten and was homeless on the streets for four years until a stranger asked […]

In today’s episode of About Your Mother, we have a poignant discussion on the meaning of the word Mother. Joining us is Jeff Forney, a photographer, visual story sharer, and a dear friend. Prepare to be inspired by a touching dialogue on the meaning of the word mother, the journey to finding his birth mother, […]

In honor of International Women’s Month, today’s episode of About Your Mother brings you a story highlighting the strength and power of maternal lineage. In this dual interview, we celebrate the life of Vera Obermeyer, who recently passed away due to COVID. Our guests are here to talk about her long and colorful life full […]

What does it mean to own and share our own stories? Why would other people want to hear our stories?  In today’s episode of About your Mother, we answer those questions with our special guest, Melanie Spring. Melanie is a vibrant speaker, an approachable bad-ass woman, and the facilitator of both personal and brand stories. […]

In the latest episode of About Your Mother, we have a conversation with Olivia Joffrey. Olivia owns an eponymous fashion line that serves as a love letter to her mother, Anne-Marie. Through osmosis, Olivia absorbed the colorful and artistic life that her mother has led — a life filled with sensory details, records, books, sand, […]

We are in the second part of our series with the wonderful Julie Barton. In our previous episode, we talked about Julie’s childhood memories and her path to becoming a New York Times bestselling author with her book, Dog Medicine: How My Dog Saved Me from Myself. Today, we explore what it feels like to […]

We have a two-part series conversation with Julie Barton, a New York Times best-selling author of the book, Dog Medicine: How My Dog Saved Me from Myself. Her book is about her lifelong battle with depression and how it unravels an intricate family dynamic. In this first part, she brings into grasp the destructive power of depression […]

In today’s episode of About Your Mother, we speak with Sugar Taylor, a woman who exudes a ray of light. Sugar is a self-taught creative dynamo. She is a person who has battled anxiety and depression throughout her life and uses her creative energy as a means of healing. Her zest of life, spirit, resourcefulness, and […]

In the third episode of About Your Mother, our guest, speaker, and mindset coach, Sandra Possing talks about how building an Unshakeable Foundation and unleashing their inner badass empowers a woman. They also discussed in this episode, Sandra’s openness about her past and how it shaped her career path. Pay special attention to the part […]

Our next guest for About Your Mother is Lauri Levenfeld. She is a playful spirit and has a never-ending commitment to the female voice. Jennifer and Lauri collaborated together in the past on projects, but most recently, Lauri debuted an award-winning film called Mad World. Using her distinctive eye and straightforward and real words, she […]

Welcome to our new podcast – About Your Mother, Where Your Story Begins. Host Jennifer Griffith is on a mission to celebrate and examine one of the most powerful and influential relationships in our lives: our relationship with our mother. The Power of Storytelling Each month, join Jennifer as she converses with compelling guests. She […]

Writing requires compassion. Writers not only need to show tenderness for the characters and people they write about but compassion for themselves through the creative process. As the year comes to a close, perhaps you, too, find yourself frustrated by the state of your manuscript or creative project. I want to be ready, but I know […]

Recently a friend asked me, “What is your writing process? How did you decide to leap from one career to another?”  ​ Initially, my writing process required committing to the voice in my head that said, writing a book is something you have to do. It was a must-do calling. Taking a creative leap requires us […]

Three years ago, I left the tech company I was working for to focus on being a mom. I was torn between the career I loved and the young son who I knew wanted me home more. Also wrapped in the middle of this conflict was my dream of writing. It took me two years […]

There is a saying that in order to live a creative life you have to give up certainty. The first few weeks after saying good-bye to my tech career, I found myself uncomfortable. Gone was the frantic schedule that started at 7 a.m. and ended at 7 p.m. No longer was I driven by someone […]

Deciding to opt out of your career can mean more than a few sleepless nights. My decision to step away from my career to spend more time with my son — as well as finish the novel that had occupied the back of my mind for ten years — was a hard decision to make. I was an independent […]

Last week the thing my Father loved the most was towed peacefully from Commencement Bay to a scrap metal yard in Texas. On a gray day when the water was smooth his beloved ship made her final voyage past his home. He stood on his deck, camera in hand and watched as her old metal […]

Celebrating Father’s Day for the first time without you…  Read on March 26, 2016 @ Rich Griffith’s Celebration of Life In the final weeks of my father’s life, we asked him, “How would you like people to celebrate you once you are gone?” “No party,” he grumbled. “No party.” Let me tell you something about […]

It took three years of infertility and two miscarriages to realize I couldn’t have it all. Growing up, I was told that I could do anything I set my mind to. I am from the generation of young girls who were encouraged to do well in school and play sports. One of the few pieces […]