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StepStories Podcast
Ep. 26 – Donna Kendrick: Widow, Wisdom and Wealth
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On this week’s episode of the Step Stories Podcast, Host Robin Breuner introduces financial advisor Donna Kendrick, host of Widow Wisdom and Wealth and author of A Guide to Widowhood and The Life Stages Financial Guides. Donna recounts losing her first husband in 2013 while raising three kids after years abroad in Rome, leaving the workforce, and relying on prior planning such as estate documents and life insurance. She explains why many widows switch financial advisors and how her experience led her to build a practice serving widows and families in transition, including divorce. Donna discusses blending her family after remarrying in 2022, combining six children through the pandemic and later navigating his ex-wife’s illness. She shares practical blended-family financial steps: inventory assets and debts, clarify “mine/yours/ours,” review credit reports and beneficiaries, use prenups, update estate documents, address the family home, and consider neutral executors to help keep peace.
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Donna Kendrick
Get your financial house in order in just 6 weeks. Each week, Donna will send you an email with video instruction on a simple task you can complete – those things you’ve been putting off but know are important. Access it here:
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Ep. 36 – How My Eyes Have Opened
29:04|On this week’s episode of the Step Stories Podcast, Host Robin Breuner shares a curated set of powerful clips from a few memorable guests from the show’s first 3 seasons. Christina Nelson (Radical Stepmoms) describes the conditional, often excluded experience of stepmothers—especially around Mother’s Day and family milestones—and how misunderstandings between stepmoms and stepkids can escalate without honest communication. Author Hope Edelman advises widowed fathers to wait at least a year (ideally two) before serious dating or remarriage, to support children through “firsts,” while also noting the risks of never moving forward. Barbara Sabido discusses fostering, attachment, and how fathers may struggle most with saying goodbye. Robin closes with insights from her daughter Natalie about compounded grief, anxiety, and the long, messy journey of blended-family life. Hope EdelmanEmail: hopeedelman@gmail.comWebsite: www.hopeedelman.com www.motherlessdaughters.comInstagram: @hope_edelmanFacebook: hopeedelmanauthor Christina NelsonEmail: radicalstepmomspodcastWebsite: radicalstepmomspodcast.comInstagram: IG/radicalstepmomspodcast Barbara Sabido Website: apParent LoveFacebook: @bsabidoLinkedin : Barbara Sabido Robin Breuner Email: robinbreuner@gmail.comWebsite: www.robinbreuner.comInstagram: stepstoriespodcastIGFacebook: stepstoriespodcastFBLinkedin: RobinBreunerLinkINPodcast: StepStories PodcastThreads: @robinbreunerYouTube: StepStories Podcast YouTubeEp. 35 – Reema Zaman: What Does it Mean “To Belong” to a Family, to a Relationship, to Yourself?
53:49|In this episode of the Step Stories podcast, host Robin Breuner interviews author and memoirist Reema Zaman (I Am Yours) about divorce, blended families, and how childhood family dynamics shape adult relationships. Zaman, originally from Bangladesh and raised in Thailand, shares her perspective as the oldest child of her parents’ arranged marriage, what she witnessed in an unhealthy home, and how her mother’s quiet deference changed after leaving the marriage. She discusses how the divorce affected siblings differently, the “tax” divorce can bring, and why she still advocates for divorce when a marriage is unhealthy. Reema also describes her mother’s rapid, loving remarriage, her bond with her stepfather (whom she calls Dad), and her ongoing journey of healing, belonging, and reclaiming her voice through writing. Reema Zaman:Email: reema@reemazaman.comWebsite: http://www.reemazaman.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reemazamanYoutube: Reeman Zaman Ted X BSSP book : I Am Yours Robin Breuner Email: robinbreuner@gmail.comWebsite: www.robinbreuner.comInstagram: stepstoriespodcastIGFacebook: stepstoriespodcastFBLinkedin: RobinBreunerLinkINPodcast: StepStories PodcastThreads: @robinbreunerYouTube: StepStories Podcast YouTubeBEST OF - Greg Eskridge: How to Resurrect a Life after Childhood Trauma and Thirty Years in Prison
43:37|In this week’s Best Of episode of The Step Stories Podcast, host Robin Breuner sits down with Greg Eskridge, whom she met through Diane Kahn’s Humans of San Quentin. Greg describes being raised by a single mother who moved from Memphis to Southern California, later enduring severe abuse from his mother’s partner, running away at age 10, and cycling through 15–20 foster and boys’ homes while surviving unhoused. He recounts the fight outside a Shakey’s Pizza that led him, at 20, to fatally shoot someone, for which he received 58 years to life plus two life terms. After decades at San Quentin, Greg explains his deep remorse, his rehabilitation in prison, a recall of sentence after laws changed, and his current work as co-director of the Uncuffed radio program amplifying incarcerated people’s stories. Greg EskridgeEmail: gregory23.eskridge@gmail.comWebsite: KALWInstagram: We.Are.UncuffedFacebook: UncuffedLinkedin: Greg Eskridge Robin Breuner Email: robinbreuner@gmail.comWebsite: www.robinbreuner.comInstagram: stepstoriespodcastIGFacebook: stepstoriespodcastFBLinkedin: RobinBreunerLinkINPodcast: StepStories PodcastThreads: @robinbreunerYouTube: StepStories Podcast YouTubeEp. 34 – Laura House: How to be a Safe Adult for a Stepkid
55:01|On this week’s episode of the Step Stories podcast, host Robin Breuner talks with writer and stand-up comedian Laura House about step-parenting older teenagers and navigating blended-family dynamics with authenticity. Laura explains why you can’t force connection, how she approached her stepkids (then 18 and 19) by giving them space and aiming to be a “safe adult” rather than a controlling authority, and how a health crisis—her partner Brian’s emergency triple bypass—deepened family bonds. She also shares her adoption story: knowing she was adopted early, searching for her birth mother through sealed and redacted records, feeling rejected after failed contact attempts, and ultimately connecting via 23andMe with a half-brother who introduced her to her birth family, including a grandmother who had prayed for her each birthday, leading to a new understanding of nature, nurture, and family. Laura House:Email: imlaurahouse@gmail.com Website: http://laurahouse.comFacebook: FB/imlaurakInstagram: IG/imlaurahouseYoutube: @imlaurahouseLinkedin: in/laura-house88 Substack: substack/@laurahouse Publications: LA Times article Robin Breuner Email: robinbreuner@gmail.comWebsite: www.robinbreuner.comInstagram: stepstoriespodcastIGFacebook: stepstoriespodcastFBLinkedin: RobinBreunerLinkINPodcast: StepStories PodcastThreads: @robinbreunerYouTube: StepStories Podcast YouTubeEp. 33 – Karis Nafte: Who Keeps the Dog?
49:31|On this week’s episode of the Step Stories Podcast, Host Robin Bruener welcomes South Africa–based animal expert and pet custody mediator Karis Nafte, author of “Who Keeps the Dog: Navigating Pet Custody During Divorce,” to discuss how pets are often overlooked in divorce and blended-family transitions. Nafte explains that sharing a dog between two homes may not work because frequent moves can stress dogs, and custody decisions should prioritize what’s best for the animal based on practical realities like housing, schedules, and the dog’s needs. She shares strategies and stories about integrating pets into new households—slow introductions, scent swapping, walking dogs together, and careful dog-cat integration—plus cases where rehoming was the healthiest choice. They also cover introducing dogs to newborns, managing pets with kids, choosing appropriate breeds, and not taking dog behavior personally. Karis NafteEmail: karis@whokeepsthedog.comInstagram: iIG/whokeepsthedogWebsite: www.whokeepsthedog.comBook: Who Keeps the Dog:Navigating Pet Custody During Divorce Robin Breuner Email: robinbreuner@gmail.comWebsite: www.robinbreuner.comInstagram: stepstoriespodcastIGFacebook: stepstoriespodcastFBLinkedin: RobinBreunerLinkINPodcast: StepStories PodcastThreads: @robinbreunerYouTube: StepStories Podcast YouTubeEp. 32 – Lanee Blaise: A Masterclass in Blending
44:19|On this week’s episode of the Step Stories podcast, Host Robin Breuner interviews Lanee Blaise, an executive producer of film and TV projects and co-writer of the family-friendly drama Blended, about friends becoming family after a tragedy. Lanee shares her own blended-family experience: her parents divorced when she was four, both remarried within a year, and all four parents worked cooperatively, including managing long-distance visits and holiday travel. She describes gaining multiple step- and half-siblings, often taking on caregiving responsibilities, and how her upbringing shaped her parenting and nearly 30-year marriage. Lanee emphasizes that time, forgiveness, and consistent age-appropriate conversations with children can reduce stress and help families “blend it for the best,” even through moves, loss, and change. Lanée BlaiseEmail: BlaiseTV@icloud.com Instagram: IG/blaisetalksLinkedin: IN/laneeblaise Podcast: www.imagineyourselfpodcast.com/ Robin Breuner Email: robinbreuner@gmail.comWebsite: www.robinbreuner.comInstagram: stepstoriespodcastIGFacebook: stepstoriespodcastFBLinkedin: RobinBreunerLinkINPodcast: StepStories PodcastThreads: @robinbreunerYouTube: StepStories Podcast YouTubeEp. 31 – Dr Rob Scheer: A Child Just Needs to Feel Loved
40:58|On this week’s episode of the Step Stories Podcast, host Robin Bruener interviews Dr. Rob Scheer, a former foster child who entered care at 12 carrying belongings in a trash bag, was pushed out at 18, and later joined the U.S. Navy to build a future. Rob and his husband Reece built their family through foster care, adopting five children—each arriving with a trash bag and significant trauma—and sharing lessons on consistency, grace, empathy, and unconditional love. Rob describes creating Comfort Cases to replace trash bags with backpacks filled with essentials and comfort items, delivering over 320,000 to all 50 states, DC, and Puerto Rico. He discusses transracial parenting, forgiveness, therapy, maintaining connections to birth families, adopting an 18-year-old without a stipend, and the reward of never giving up, highlighted by son Makai’s progress despite fetal alcohol syndrome. Rob Scheer:Email: dthalberg@comfortcases.org Website: https://comfortcases.org/Facebook: FB/comfortcasesInstagram: IG/comfortcases/TikTok: TTcomfort casesYoutube: YT/comfortcasesLinkedin: LI/comfort cases incPodcast: podcasts Robin Breuner Email: robinbreuner@gmail.comWebsite: www.robinbreuner.comInstagram: stepstoriespodcastIGFacebook: stepstoriespodcastFBLinkedin: RobinBreunerLinkINPodcast: StepStories PodcastThreads: @robinbreunerYouTube: StepStories Podcast YouTubeEp. 30 – Debbie Loeffler: How a Stepfather’s Example Paved the Way for a Future Stepmother
40:54|On this week’s episode of the Step Stories podcast, host Robin Breuner interviews Debbie Loeffler about her path into step motherhood and what helped her build strong relationships in a blended family. Debbie shares how her parents’ divorce and her stepfather’s confident, “let the kids come to you” approach shaped the way she first met and bonded with her husband’s two children. She discusses delaying introductions, maintaining boundaries, and navigating a stepson’s anxious, difficult teen years while recognizing discipline should come from the biological parents. Debbie emphasizes starting with goodwill, staying out of ex-spouse conflict, and being proactively kind to the children’s mother—calling her on Mother’s Day and never speaking negatively—because it affects how kids show up at your home. She reflects on the payoff as a grandmother with close adult stepkids. Debbie LoefflerEmail: tycooness@aol.com Robin Breuner Email: robinbreuner@gmail.comWebsite: www.robinbreuner.comInstagram: stepstoriespodcastIGFacebook: stepstoriespodcastFBLinkedin: RobinBreunerLinkINPodcast: StepStories PodcastThreads: @robinbreunerYouTube: StepStories Podcast YouTubeEp. 29 – Christina Nelson: Radical Stepmom
45:11|Step Stories Podcast Host Robin Breuner welcomes Christina Nelson from the Radical Stepmoms podcast to discuss the realities of step motherhood and creating a safe space to talk about the good, bad, and ugly of raising a step child. Christina explains the contradictions stepmoms face, the pressure of others’ expectations, and how stepmoms can feel conditional in their own families despite major sacrifices. She shares her story of meeting her husband when he had a three-year-old son, being in her stepson’s life for 13 years, and later having a daughter together, plus how their 50/50 parenting plan in Washington State provides structure even when it’s inconsistently followed. She highlights keeping kids out of adult conflict, the importance of communication and respect, navigating siblings across two homes, and the need for boundaries with ex-partners. As a licensed clinical social worker, she describes coaching stepmoms and couples to define the stepmom’s role, strengthen partner connection, and avoid “coming in too hot,” reminding stepmoms they have nothing to prove. Christina NelsonEmail: radicalstepmomspodcastWebsite: radicalstepmomspodcast.comInstagram: IG/radicalstepmomspodcast Robin Breuner Email: robinbreuner@gmail.comWebsite: www.robinbreuner.comInstagram: stepstoriespodcastIGFacebook: stepstoriespodcastFBLinkedin: RobinBreunerLinkINPodcast: StepStories PodcastThreads: @robinbreunerYouTube: StepStories Podcast YouTube