Take Heart
Take Heart is a podcast for special needs moms by special needs moms. It is a place for special needs moms to find authentic connection, fervent hope, and inspiring stories.
Contact us!
Amy J. Brown: amy@amyjbrown.com
Carrie M. Holt: carrie@carriemholt.com
Sara Clime: sara@saraclime.com
Episodes
183 episodes
Is it Really the Most Wonderful Time of the Year? Managing Expectations for the Holidays
Episode 175: Decmeber 5, 2024In all the talk of Christmas being wonderful, there's also a huge sense of dread for mothers to get it all done. There are so many expectations of us during this time of the year. Carrie, Amy, and Sar...
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33:11
Becoming Brave Together with Jessica Patay
Sara met with the author and founder of We Are Brave Together, Jessica Patay, to discuss the beautiful things that come from being in a community of women caregivers. Jessica's community provides mentoring, meaningful conversations, an...
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Season 5
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Episode 174
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33:11
Loneliness and Isolation as a Special Needs Mom
Amy, Sara, and Carrie explore the pervasive feelings of loneliness and isolation that special needs parents experience. They discuss how their past focus on efficiency led to prioritizing tasks over relationships. Now, years into their special ...
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Season 5
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Episode 173
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40:50
An Un-Disabled Mindset: Sandy’s Perspective Shift As a Special Needs Caregiver
Carrie M. Holt sat down with Sandy Ramsey-Trayvick, author of the new book, "When Dreams Are Disrupted," to talk about Sandy’s mindset journey as she was forced to step into the role of caregiver for her child. When a childhood illness ch...
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Season 5
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Episode 172
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39:24
Practical Tips for Thriving in Prolonged Caregiving
Long-term caregiving requires a mindset shift for our emotional life and our relationship with God and others. Carrie, Amy, and Sara discuss practical tips for surviving and thriving long term. They discuss spiritual practices, practical ...
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Season 5
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Episode 171
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43:33
Show up and Bring Coffee! How to Support Your Friends With Disabled Children with Megan Amrich
In this episode, Amy Brown interviews Megan Amrich, author of the book 'Show Up and Bring Coffee: How to Support Your Friends with Disabled Children.' They discuss practical ways to support parents of children with disabilities, incl...
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Season 5
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Episode 170
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43:36
Finding Joy: Practical Strategies for Special Needs Parents
In this episode, we sit down together to discuss joy and how we can capitalize on the moments that we have. We talk about adjusting our expectations, addressing past trauma, and embracing the fleeting nature of life to cultivate joy in...
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Season 5
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Episode 169
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50:12
Reclaiming Life as a Caregiver: An Interview with Dr. Maureen Michele Peterson
Today, Sara talks with Dr Maureen Michele, physician, life coach, and author of the book Reclaiming Life: A Guide For Parents of Chronically Ill Children. We dive deep into the essential aspects of advocacy and emotional resilience, pa...
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Season 4
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Episode 168
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43:18
Navigating Emergencies as Disability Parents
There are emotional complexities and practical considerations of caring for children with disabilities or special needs during emergencies. In this episode, we discuss our conversations with our kids about emergencies, how we prepare for these ...
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Season 4
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Episode 167
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50:48
How To Build a Thriving Marriage in Disability Parenting: An Interview with Kristin Faith Evans & Todd Evans
Carrie sat down with Kristin and Todd Evans to discuss their newly released book, How to Build a Thriving Marriage As You Care for Children with Disabilities. They talk about communication strategies for couples, how they manage stress, and the...
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Season 4
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Episode 166
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40:31
Ep.165: Digging Deeper Into Grief as Disability Parents
Join hosts Carrie, Sara, and Amy as we take a deep dive into the grief we face as mothers of children with disabilities. In this episode, we talk about how grief can feel like fear or anger, the need to be honest with ourselves, and the transfo...
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Season 4
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Episode 165
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41:32
Ep.164: Navigating Family Trauma: Finding Hope amidst Hardship with Michele Cushatt
We are excited to share Amy’s conversation with Michele Cushatt, an author, communicator, and 3-time cancer survivor. Michele's latest book, "A Faith That Will Not Fail," offers practices to strengthen faith during challenging circum...
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Season 4
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Episode 164
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44:32
Decisions, Diagnosis, and Jealousy: Questions from our Listeners
Carrie, Amy, and Sara answer listener’s questions in this episode. Questions like, “How do you make good decisions regarding your child’s health?” and “What’s the appropriate amount of information you give when answering someone’s questio...
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Season 4
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Episode 163
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44:55
Stuff They Don’t Tell Parents of Children with Disabilities: An Interview with Kelley Coleman
We are honored to welcome the inspiring Kelley Coleman to our podcast. Kelley shared her deeply personal journey as a parent of a child with multiple disabilities and how she ended up writing her book, "Everything No One Tells You About Parenti...
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Season 4
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Episode 162
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52:54
Navigating Transitions as a Caregiver
As caregivers, we are well acquainted with transitions, and very much so in regard to our children. In this collaborative, Amy, Sara, and Carrie discuss the difficulties of life transitions as parents. They talk about their personal experiences...
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Season 4
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Episode 161
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46:59
When Special Needs Moms Are Misunderstood
Being a parent to a child with special needs comes with its own unique set of challenges, and being misunderstood is a chief issue. As Amy, Carrie, and Sara share their personal experiences and insights, they provide valuable guidance on respon...
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Season 4
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Episode 160
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39:14
5 Things I Wish Others Knew About Me As A Caregiver
Summary: Sara opens up about the challenges of feeling misunderstood as a mom and caregiver to a son with disabilities. Her top 5 instances when she has felt misunderstood touch on assumptions about strength, the perpetual feeling of needing to...
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Season 4
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Episode 159
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13:40
Making Assumptions
As parents of special needs kids, we have felt the weight of being misunderstood. In this episode, Carrie shares her experience with people who have made assumptions about us or our children and how it affects us as parents. She explains three ...
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Season 4
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Episode 158
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14:56
Navigating Misunderstanding: Breaking Down Walls and Building Connections
Do you ever feel like people just don't get it? We've all had those experiences - whether it's strangers at the grocery store or even our closest friends not understanding our journey as special needs parents. Amy shares some practical things y...
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Season 4
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Episode 157
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10:10
How God Creates Purpose & Meaning From Our Pain
Carrie welcomes her longtime friend, Erika Weise, a mother navigating the complexities of caring for a son with a trach and ventilator. Erika shares her personal insights on acceptance of this new life vs. living in denial, finding meaning i...
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Season 4
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Episode 156
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34:38
The Power of Perspective: Amy, Carrie, and Sara Share Their Stories
The Power of Perspective: Amy, Carrie, and Sara Share Their StoriesSummary: Amy, Carrie and Sara look back at their early years of parenting. They share the stories from the days of early diagnosis and what they thought...
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Season 4
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Episode 155
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37:53
Parenting and Caregiving Are Not The Same
Summary: There are real differences between parenting and caregiving. Sara shares about the dichotomies of the responsibilities that we have and how those play out in our daily lives when considering traveling, hiring a babysitter and even just...
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Season 4
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Episode 154
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13:31
When You Doubt God's Presence
Do you have times when things are chaotic, and you wonder if God is even there? Looking back on her earlier parenting, Carrie discusses three things she wished she knew and fully understood as a mom to a medically fragile child: giving herself ...
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Season 4
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Episode 153
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12:57
What I Wish I Had Known: Four Lessons in Parenting
Episode 152: January 2,2024Summary: Amy shares her top four things she wishes she could have done differently through her 31-year journey as a mom, particularly to her kids with invisible disabilities. Things like mana...
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Season 4
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Episode 152
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14:34
Intangible Gifts with Sara Clime (Replay)
We often think of the three gifts the Wise Men gave to Jesus, but what about the intangible gifts of time, worship, and many others? Sara encourages us to consider the intangible gifts given to the Savior, and how we can offer these same ones t...
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Season 4
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6:04