StepStories Podcast

In this week's Best Of episode, Robin interviews stepmom coach Kristen Skiles, founder of Stepmomming.com, host of Stepmom Made Easy, and author of “Stepmomming Made Easy,” to discuss her work supporting stepmoms worldwide and her annual virtual Stepmom Con. Kristen shares her blended-family story, including marrying a single dad, navigating early high-conflict dynamics, and the unusual experience of her husband’s ex-wife and her new husband living with them for three months, which challenged boundaries but helped Kristen release unrealistic expectations and accept she isn’t her stepdaughter’s mom. They talk about adding two sons after a fertility journey, Kristen’s experience as a stepdaughter, why remarriage divorce rates are high, differences for stepmoms partnered with widowers, and what Stepmom Con offers, including expert interviews, live chat, connection hours, and upgrade options.Kristen SkilesEmail: kristen@stepmomming.comWebsite: Stepmomming.comInstagram: Kristen Skiles (@stepmomming)Facebook: Stepmomming Blog Pintrest : Stepmomming with Kristen SkilesThreads: Stepmomming Made EasyBooks: Stepmomming Made Easy Strategies Everything/Robin Breuner Email: robinbreuner@gmail.comWebsite: www.robinbreuner.comInstagram: stepstoriespodcastIGFacebook: stepstoriespodcastFBLinkedin: RobinBreunerLinkINPodcast: StepStories PodcastThreads: @robinbreunerYouTube: StepStories Podcast YouTubeTikTok: www.tiktok.com/@stepstoriespodcast/video/7569378260706938126

Robin Breuner welcomes author and memoir coach Suzanne Sherman to discuss her book, Living in the Long Shadow: Surviving a Legacy of Mental Illness (publishing Sept. 29). Suzanne recounts her earliest memories of her mother’s sudden-onset schizophrenia, her father’s lack of explanation, and the family’s upheaval, including her mother’s overdose attempt when Suzanne was 10 and later diagnosis and treatment with Thorazine. She describes her parents’ separation, her father dating a woman who became her stepmother, and how Suzanne, at 14, moved in with her father and new wife, initially facing rejection behind closed doors before the relationship improved over time. Suzanne also reflects on her mother’s eventual suicide, a letter explaining she couldn’t live with or without medication, and a later “sign” that brought comfort. She closes with advice that love and feeling valued matter most in stepfamily relationships.Feedspot is an RSS Reader that lets you follow your favorite podcasts alongside blogs and news in one place:https://podcast.feedspot.com/blended_family_podcasts/https://podcast.feedspot.com/stepparent_relationship_podcasts/Suzanne Sherman:Email: suzanne@suzannesherman.com Website: http://www.suzannesherman.comFacebook: FB/suzanne.sherman.14Instagram: IG/suzanne_sherman_authorLinkedin: IN/suzannesherman Books: Living In The Long ShadowRobin Breuner Email: robinbreuner@gmail.comWebsite: www.robinbreuner.comInstagram: stepstoriespodcastIGFacebook: stepstoriespodcastFBLinkedin: RobinBreunerLinkINPodcast: StepStories PodcastThreads: @robinbreunerYouTube: StepStories Podcast YouTube

Host Robin Breuner welcomes Alex Feldman to this week’s episode of the Step Stories podcast to discuss his complex blended-family upbringing and how it shaped his empathy and worldview. Alex describes growing up in Santa Cruz with divorced parents who co-parented 50/50 while living four blocks apart, and how his father’s earlier marriages and relationships resulted in much older half-siblings (Lauren and Jenna) and a half-brother (Evan), plus a stepbrother (Chris). He shares developing closer sibling relationships mainly in adulthood, the role Jenna played as a family “glue,” and his reflections on being the youngest and receiving more consistent parenting. Alex also explains Burning Man as a temporary gifting-culture city and connects it to valuing creativity, diverse backgrounds, and learning from everyone, ending with advice that genuine listening is a modern superpower.Alex Feldman:Email:  afeld11@gmail.com   Robin Breuner Email:  robinbreuner@gmail.comWebsite:  www.robinbreuner.comInstagram: stepstoriespodcastIGFacebook: stepstoriespodcastFBLinkedin:  RobinBreunerLinkINPodcast:  StepStories PodcastThreads:  @robinbreunerYouTube: StepStories Podcast YouTube

In this week’s Best Of episode of The Step Stories podcast, Robin sits down with Cameron Normand, CEO of Stepfamily Solutions and host of the Stepmom Diaries podcast. Cameron shares how she shifted from a 23-year career as a lawyer and policy executive on Capitol Hill and for Warner Bros. and Sony Pictures into stepfamily coaching after becoming a stepmom of four in a high-conflict situation and struggling to find resources. They discuss why stepfamilies are underserved, how untrained guidance can harm families, and Cameron’s Step Family Coach Academy built around research and Dr. Patricia Papernow’s framework. Cameron highlights common challenges like the “stuck outsider” role, Mother’s Day and event dynamics, the importance of encouraging parent–child one-on-one time, and key advice for stepparents: focus on connection over correction and be less hard on yourself. 2026 Stepmoms Summit Affiliate Link Cameron NormandEmail:  cameron@stepfamilysolutions.comWebsite: https://stepfamilysolutions.com/contributors/cameron-normand/Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/stepfamilysolutionsFacebook:https://www.facebook.com/stepfamilysolutionsLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stepfamily-solutions/Podcast: Stepmom Diaries TikTok:   https://www.tiktok.com/@stepfamilysolutionsPintrest : https://ro.pinterest.com/stepfamilysolutions/ Robin Breuner Email:  robinbreuner@gmail.comWebsite:  www.robinbreuner.comInstagram: stepstoriespodcastIGFacebook: stepstoriespodcastFBLinkedin:  RobinBreunerLinkINPodcast:  StepStories PodcastThreads:  @robinbreunerYouTube: StepStories PodcastYouTube

Host Robin Breuner welcomes Michael Vinton—comedian, actor, nonprofit director, and host of Unspoken Grief—to this week’s episode of the Step Stories Podcast to talk about building a blended family through adoption and fostering. Michael shares how he and his husband Tony pursued private open adoption in 2015–2016, including meeting their first daughter Zanna’s birth parents, and explains challenges for same-sex adoptive parents across different state laws. He contrasts fostering—where reunification is the goal—with adoption, describing multiple heartbreaking foster placements that returned home. Michael recounts how their second daughter, Sabrina, came to them via safe surrender after a NICU stay, adding a biracial dynamic to their family. He also discusses losing his brother in a murder-suicide, founding Impacted Survivors of Murder Suicide, and using Unspoken Grief to provide education, resources, and support groups, ending with advice on patience, openness, and acceptance in blended families. Michael Vinton:Email:            info@impactedsurvivors.com Website:        www.michaelvinton.com                        http://www.impactedsurvivors.orgPodcast:        Unspoken Grief IG:                  @therealmichaelvintonFB:                 Michael VintonLinkedin:       m/ichael-vinton-6702a373 Robin Breuner Email:  robinbreuner@gmail.comWebsite:  www.robinbreuner.comInstagram: stepstoriespodcastIGFacebook: stepstoriespodcastFBLinkedin:  RobinBreunerLinkINPodcast:  StepStories PodcastThreads:  @robinbreunerYouTube: StepStories Podcast YouTube

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 YouTube

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 YouTube

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 YouTube