Today’s conversation comes out of my own curiosity of how to come alongside people who are in recovery for substance misuse or addiction. Caroline Beidler is the person to help us do this well. Caroline is an author, speaker, and managing editor of Recovery.com, where she combines research and expert insight on addiction and mental health. Because she can draw on how it feels to be both the one struggling with addiction AND the one loving someone in those same trenches, Caroline has so much to teach us on how to understand and act with both wisdom and compassion.

Caroline Beidler, MSW, is an author, speaker, and managing editor of Recovery.com, where she combines research and expert insight on addiction and mental health. Drawing from her own recovery journey, she is the founder of the Women's Recovery Leadership Foundation and helps others find healing through her newsletter and podcast, Circle of Chairs, which reaches thousands weekly. Caroline’s next book, When You Love Someone in Recovery, a compassionate and practical guide to understanding addiction and supporting loved ones through recovery, hits shelves April 2026. She lives in eastern Tennessee with her husband and seven-year-old twins.

Links from the episode:

• Caroline’s Website
• When You Love Someone in Recovery
• This is Your Brain on Drugs Campaign
• Prodigal Son
• Hope Research Center
• kimberlystuart.com/giveaway

Book recommendation:

• Steps

Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KimberlyStuart.com/podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more from this episode.

Kendall Mariah, I think you’ll find, is not only a really lovely human being, she is one surprise after another. We chat about the surprises, I assure you, as well as about her new book, This Little Fire of Mine. Just know that we went a mile deep AND I did start to wheeze after laughing at one of her stories. I’m talking straight-up searching for albuterol. See? Full of surprises. I loved this conversation and loved getting to chat with Kendall about her heart and mind and way of being in the world.

Kendall is a lifestyle content creator, photographer, and brand strategist whose honest storytelling has cultivated a deeply connected online community. As a business owner, military spouse, and adoptive mom, she speaks authentically about the intersections of faith, identity, and everyday life.

Links from the episode:

• Kendall’s Website
• This Little Fire of Mine
• Angela Y. Davis Quote
• GIVEAWAY! Win a copy of I Like You So Much!

Book recommendation:

• Love Does

Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KimberlyStuart.com/podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more from this episode.

Kelsey Kramer McGinnis has written about so many varied and fascinating things, I can’t even keep up. Dr. Kramer McGinnis is a frequent contributor to Christianity Today, she is a college musicology professor, and she is currently spreading the word about her new book while working on another to release next year. She also is a mom of three kids ages eight and under. (I think she sleeps, but I cannot confirm.) We tackle a lot, including her research for The Myth of Good Christian Parenting: How False Promises Failed a Generation of Evangelicals. I hope you leave our conversation with some ideas on how to seek out wise voices when looking for guidance as we all raise our kids. And I hope you have a new appreciation for the grace we need to give ourselves as children and as parents.

Kelsey Kramer McGinnis is the worship correspondent for Christianity Today. She holds a PhD in musicology and teaches music and theology at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa. Kelsey is a coauthor of the book The Myth of Good Christian Parenting and writes broadly on Christian music and the intersection of American Christianity and popular culture. Her next book will examine Christian diet and wellness culture and its impact on women. She lives in central Iowa with her husband and three children.

Links from the episode:

• Kelsey’s Substack
• Kelsey at Christianity Today
• German POWs in Iowa during WWII
• The Myth of Good Christian Parenting
• Jim & Lynne Jackson
• Tina Payne Bryson
• Dan Siegel

Book recommendations:

• Jonathan McReynolds
• Closer

Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KimberlyStuart.com/podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more from this episode.