Family Secrets: When the Truth Is the Missing Piece
Some stories, in our very own lives, sit quietly—unspoken, unanswered, unexplored.
Recently, I watched the Mariska Hargitay documentary. What stayed with me wasn’t just her courage or her advocacy (though I’ve long admired her for that). What hit me hard was the theme of family secrets—the ones we carry, the ones we inherit, and the ones that change everything when they finally surface.
In two weeks, Real Talk with Tina and Ann will dive into the silent spaces so many of us grew up in. The things we weren’t told. The truths that got rewritten. The identities that unraveled with just one sentence.
We're talking about the stories we weren’t given a voice in.
The secrets that shaped us without our consent.
And the power of finally saying: This is what happened.
Whether you’ve uncovered a secret from your past or are still carrying the weight of unspoken things—you are not alone.
This episode will be raw. It’s real. And it just might be the permission you didn’t know you needed to look closer at the story behind your story.
🎧 Listen in feeling empowered.
“What if the truth was never about destruction—but about becoming more known?”
Ann Kagarise
Writer/Podcaster
What do I say about myself? I love telling other people's stories, but hmmmm...Let me think.
When I think about my life, I have so many chapters. I am a very compartmentalized person.
I am first of all a mom of 5 kids. Yep...5!
I am a grandma to 5 beautiful children! All gingers lol.
I am a writer, author, podcaster, oh my gosh...I've been a journalist, columnist, hard news writer for print. I have actually won quite a few awards for my writing.
I am a photographer. I LOVE getting the money shot and capturing life! I do have a website called Spectrum Photography, but I have it offline more than on because I cannot figure out how to make the pictures work on Etsy lol. I'm not good at that kind of stuff.
I very much am an autistic individual, ADHD and dyslexic. Yep I got it all lol. I'm not that great a executive functioning, but I have many great ideas! I am trying to put things into fruition, but it just takes me longer and I probably make more mistakes, but I don' give up!!!
I have had many lives in the working world. I've worked in the jail system with helping women and talking with them, praying with them. I was the director of a battered woman's shelter/rape crisis center. I oversaw the crisis hotline at the center. I worked with abused boys. I was an Assistant Director at a school for kids with autism. I was a head swim coach for 12 years. Yep--former swimmer myself lol.
I was adopted. I've adopted 5 kids. And if you want to know the history of my crazy buffet of a family lol...I will tell you, but …
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