Hosted by Erica Jolene with special guest Bridget Ryan | Transcription HERE
Meet Bridget Ryan, Erica's gal-pal, expert-friend, and touted sounding-board. They are both lovers of snail mail, handmade tokens of love, evenings spent outside with the company of quality conversations, and moody music. They differ in many ways which has made for a friendship that inspires growth from each other. They seek each other's knowledge and insight, and invite one another in without judgement.
Bridget (@bridget.grows) has transformed her gorgeous property into a garden oasis where she has tediously been working the land through the practice of natural farming methods. She is always outside, tending her plants, harvesting the rewards, working the soil, and plotting new spots to start more garden beds at Orchard Hill Gardens. She has long been cultivating her herbalist skills and she recently launched her line of tinctures, salves, oils, and more. If you reside in the Southern Illinois region, you can find her products at the Muddy Roots Collective plant store in Murphysboro, IL.
Erica has always felt fortunate to have many high-caliber friendships like the one she has with Bridget. Erica has long been inspired and in awe of her willingness to get vulnerable and openly explore hard topics, which she has always done beautifully and tactfully. Erica states, "it was one of her first characteristics of her that I fell in love with. And when I thought about wanting to interview a friend, it made sense that I invited her because we had the unique experience of being first-time moms together, around the same time."
Bridget became pregnant with her daughter Evelyn when Erica was about four months along with Margot - and by proxy, they became pregnancy pals. It was exciting to share with someone about the things they were experiencing as first-time moms.
In this episode, Erica asked her a variety of questions that they never really touched on before. Bridget shares with us what it was like from her perspective to witness her friend experienced a traumatic birth experience and then become a caregiver to a child with disabilities and medical complexities, while also working through her own fears while pregnant. They share about how to show up and be supportive when friends are going through really difficult times, but they also share about how they each would have handled it very differently had it not been for timing and life experience. Bridgets shares how she has navigated the process of unlearning ableism while raising her daughter to have a more inclusive understanding of the world and the people who inhabit it.
Music by amiina
Cover-art by Kendall Bell
Transcription provided HERE
Research conducted in relation to this podcast, "Telling the Atypical Truth: Disability Community-Building Through Podcasting," can be found HERE.
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