Dear Family, By cover art

Dear Family,

By: Rachel Steinman
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  • Summary

  • Dear Family, is a love letter to our complicated families and achieving mental wellness meant to stop us from writing ourselves and our loved ones off. Join Rachel Steinman- a writer, educator, and mental health advocate, along with her inspirational guests to find community, healing, understanding, and compassion. Feel like you're eavesdropping on an intimate and raw conversation between close family members or best friends, who we all know are your chosen family anyway. Besides practical advice, plan on being entertained, moved, and feeling uplifted. Maybe you'll even look forward to your next family gathering.
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Episodes
  • The Rachels- Why Friendship is the New Marriage and Golden for Mental Health

    The Rachels- Why Friendship is the New Marriage and Golden for Mental Health
    Apr 9 2024
    Rachel Winter and Rachel Steinman are best friends, co-authors, and co-hosts of this special collab between the Dear Family, Podcast with Stay Forever Gold. Rachel Winter is a writer, director, and an Academy Award®-nominated producer for Dallas Buyers Club. She produced LeBron James’ biopic, Shooting Stars, and produced and directed the audio drama, Supreme: The Battle for Roe starring Maya Hawke and William H. Macy. It’s a nine-part series weaving together the incredible story of the young female lawyer who argued Roe V. Wade in front of the Supreme Court and the Justice who wrote the opinion. She made her directorial debut with The Space Between, starring Kelsey Grammer, for which they both received awards from various Film Festivals. She’s got a killer sense of design and a flair for life that always involves color. Rachel Steinman is a writer, teacher, and mental health advocate who hosts the Dear Family, Podcast with inspirational guests who have overcome mental health obstacles to thrive. She received her Masters in Education and teaching credentials from UCLA, has taught every elementary school grade, and has even been the school librarian. She is a lead presenter for NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), going into middle and high schools to educate students, parents, and staff about warning signs while offering resources and hope. She’s passionate about getting people to talk about mental health by replacing stigma, shame, and secrecy with love, compassion, and understanding. She loves to laugh and is a great audience. The Rachels call themselves Friendship Ambassadors who believe we should celebrate friendship for how it benefits the community, connection, mental health, longevity, and overall happiness. It’s why they wrote Stay Golden, Girls: Friendship is the New Marriage, a fun and bright hardcover gift book made up of light essays, poignant and fun celebrity quotes, and bold, joyful illustrations. We are in the midst of a Barbie/Female empowerment movement and a cultural shift and it’s great to see women of all ages embracing "platonic romance.” Together, the Rachels discuss: *Their platonic romance- a best friendship that has lasted over three decades through the ups and downs of careers, marriage, kids, the loss of a parent, and more. *How the pandemic changed how we view friendship. *Why Galentine’s Day is the best holiday. *The benefits of mommunes. *An article about seven young Chinese women who pooled their resources and bought a run-down mansion outside the city for their retirement but ended up using it as a gathering place- the inspiration for their book. *The Rachels’ amazing group of women friends, in addition to other groups of women worldwide, are starting to prioritize their relationships with their best friends and living healthier, happier lives. *Studies (including The U.S. Surgeon General and the Harvard Happiness Study) show how friendship leads to happiness. Why married men live longer when they are married to women but the reverse is not true for women who are married to men. *What makes old friends so golden. *Why the Rachels partnered with Girls Inc., an organization that is 160 years old that mentors girls and young women. *Why Rachel Winter, who has a full-time job as a producer and a director, puts so much time and effort into getting the book and the message out into the world. *Why Rachel Steinman, a mental health advocate, believes friendship is the best medicine and therapy, and a way to combat the epidemic of loneliness so many are facing. *Why friendship is the new marriage, why we should celebrate platonic romance, why there’s a shift in prioritizing friendship, and why you can be intimate with a friend without sex. *How friends can be soulmates and how the Rachels are happily married (to men) and have kids but are each other platonic soulmates. *The Rachels’ relationship is like a marriage in that they gave each other rings, opened a joint bank account, swirl each other around when they go dancing, and tell each other they love each other… among other things. *How much fun it is to learn about all the women’s friend group chat names. *What happens when there is competition among friends, and how even women of a certain age can feel jealous and competitive with their girlfriends. *What happens when you lose a friend because the relationship feels irreparable. *How to foster friendships and create community and connection. *Examples of how to be a better friend. *What happens when women work together and why we’re so much stronger when we’re together. *Mother/Daughter relationships and how lucky you are if you can move into the phase of becoming close friends. *Why the ritual of women all over the world getting together to imbibe beverages (coffee, tea, booze) is so important for stress relief, relaxation, connection, and celebration....
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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • My So-Called High School Rank- Documenting Teenage Loneliness and College Admission Pressures through a Musical

    My So-Called High School Rank- Documenting Teenage Loneliness and College Admission Pressures through a Musical
    Nov 29 2022

    My So-Called High School Rank, premiering on HBO and HBO MAX, is a special documentary that gives an unfiltered view into the private loneliness and pressures of teenage life. This was especially true in March 2020 when students were forced to settle into new realities, feeling isolated and frustrated with so much out of their control. This timely documentary chronicles the creation of a musical theater production at Granite Bay High School in Sacramento, California, and is inspired by students’ stories of the constant pressures to achieve a top rank in every part of their lives to get ahead in today’s fierce college admissions process. In an uncanny case of art anticipating real life, Granite Bay’s musical “Ranked” was in the works weeks before Rick Singer and the “Varsity Blues” scandal made headlines in 2019. The play’s apt timing and subject matter speak to a culture where many students feel driven to succeed at any cost. As news emerged of the production of a musical exploring these critical issues, other schools reached out to stage their own productions. High schoolers around the country connected with the show’s themes as they themselves struggle to find their place in the world amid intense college admissions competition. 

     

    The film chronicles auditions and rehearsals at three high schools from Ripley, West Virginia to Cupertino, California to the Bronx, New York where students face similar challenges despite dramatically different life circumstances. It also charts the success of the musical and the first steps towards the realization of the creators’ dream to mount the show on Broadway only to be sidelined by the global shutdown. Shot over two years in public schools representing vastly different communities,  My So-Called High School Rank reveals the remarkable resilience and similarities that bind this generation across economic and racial divides. 

     

    The award-winning producers and directors, Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg’s films and series have been shortlisted for the Oscars and earned multiple Emmy and Peabody nominations, among other honors. They are joined by two fabulous and inspirational students featured in the documentary. Anvita Gattani who played the original role of Jordan in Ranked at Granite Bay High School is currently studying at NYU Tisch. Nahiely Urbaez Cruz is a former student at Fordham High School for the Arts and is currently at Cornell University.

    You are not going to want to miss this meaningful conversation. 

     

    SHOW NOTE LINKS:

    My So-Called High School Rank Trailer

    Ranked- Movie Link

    Break Thru Films

    NAMI- National Alliance on Mental Illness

    Rachel’s Article About Becoming and Letting Go of a Newborn Adult

    Rachel’s Podcast About Becoming Grown and Flown

     

    CONNECT WITH US!

    *Dear Family, Podcast Page

    *Write Now Rachel Website

    *Rachel's Blog @Medium

    *Rachel’s Twitter

    *Facebook

    *Instagram

     

    PLEASE JOIN:

    *Dear Family Members, the Private Facebook Group

     

    WAYS TO HELP THE PODCAST:

    *PLEASE Leave a 5-Star Review and Subscribe!

     

    Thank you! Your support means the world to me. Wishing you love, happiness, and good mental health always.

     
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    48 mins
  • Kevin Hines- Golden Gate Bridge Suicide Jumper Saved by a Sea Lion Becomes Inspirational Storyteller and Filmmaker with Message of Hope and Resilience

    Kevin Hines- Golden Gate Bridge Suicide Jumper Saved by a Sea Lion Becomes Inspirational Storyteller and Filmmaker with Message of Hope and Resilience
    Aug 23 2022

    Kevin Hines is a storyteller, best-selling author, global public speaker, and award-winning documentary filmmaker. In the Year 2000, Kevin threw himself off the Golden Gate Bridge in an attempt to end his life. He needed his immense mental pain to end but regretted his decision the moment he jumped. Many factors contributed to his miraculous survival including a sea lion who kept him afloat until the Coast Guard arrived and an amazing team of doctors. Kevin now travels the world sharing his story of hope, healing, and recovery while teaching people of all ages the art of wellness and the ability to survive pain with true resilience. 

    Kevin is in pre-production of his new Docu-Series The Journey and is working on a comic book version of his life in a cosmic and supernatural form called Hope Dealers. His fight has been long and arduous, beginning with being born into abject poverty, being put up for adoption, and having his biological older brother pass away as a child. His mental health was further challenged because he was bullied because of his unknown mixed race, his bipolar, and his suicidal ideation. 

    Kevin survived the unimaginable, jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge to see another day- a true miracle. He’s determined to remain committed to life until its natural end. He reminds us all how much we have to live for. His motto Be Here Tomorrow and every day after that has touched and saved countless lives. You can’t help but be moved by Kevin’s strength and determination. 

     

    SHOW NOTE LINKS:

     

    Kevin Hines YouTube

     

    Kevin Hines Story- Website

    Kevin’s Film- Suicide- The Ripple Effect

    Cracked Not Broken by Kevin Hines

    @KevinHinesStory across all socials

     

    Text CNQR to 741-741 or dial 988 for crisis services 

     

    CONNECT WITH US!

    *Dear Family, Podcast Page

    *Write Now Rachel Website

    *Rachel's Blog @Medium

    *Rachel’s Twitter

    *Facebook

    *Instagram

     

    PLEASE JOIN:

    *Dear Family Members, the Private Facebook Group

     

     

    WAYS TO HELP THE PODCAST:

    *PLEASE Leave a 5-Star Review and Subscribe!

    Thank you! Your support means the world to me. Wishing you love, happiness, and good mental health always.

     
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    39 mins
Biographies & Memoirs Psychology Hygiene & Healthy Living Social Sciences
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