Are you a grandparent fighting to legally adopt your grandchild, drowning in red tape and wondering if the finish line will ever come? Have you sat through courtrooms hoping to be heard, worried for your grandchild’s safety, and navigating a system that seems to mistake your love for inconvenience? Do you long for the day you can finally just parent—no more last-minute visits or home inspections, no more lingering uncertainty?
I’m Laura Brazan, and I know how heavy the “club sandwich” of multigenerational caretaking can feel. With four generations stacked under one roof and the weight of system delays on your shoulders, it’s easy to forget you’re not just a stand-in—you’re a permanent, life-changing presence.
In this episode of 'Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Nurturing Through Adversity,' I welcome back Mary Hels-Jager, who takes us step-by-step through her hard-won journey from tense protective custody battles to the joyful moment of finalizing her granddaughter’s adoption. We’ll talk about speaking up when the system won’t listen, surviving silly clerical errors that threaten everything, and the relief—and odd numbness—that finally arrives when the monitoring ends and family life resumes.
You’ll hear how trauma, attachment, and healing show up in real homes, why kin need to know their rights from day one, and what it means to truly secure a legacy for the next generation. Grandparenting this way is never simple, never sitcom-perfect—but closing those gaps with love and steadfastness is possible.
Join us as we share resources, advice, and affirmation for every grandparent navigating the maze. You are not an inconvenience. You are the solution. Together, we nurture through adversity and claim victories for the future—one hard-fought step at a time.
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I recently started listening to your podcast on Amazon Music. I'm addicted! You have validated so many of my feelings associated with raising young kiddos at an older age. No one in our life really gets it. Our girls are not blood related as their mom was a friend of our daughter and we wanted to get them out of a shelter. 6 years later...thank you!
Jill Bryant has spent years researching the deep complexities of counseling and the lived reality of kinship care as a professor and a grandparent raising a grandchild. Her work, focusing on the complete subjective well-being of kinship caregivers. Taking this 10-minute survey (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3CQGN65) gives our advocates the timely, real-world data they need to fight for the funding and structural support your family deserves right now.
Kinship care—stepping up to raise your grandchildren—can often feel like an incredibly lonely journey. When custody happens unexpectedly, it’s easy to feel like you are the only one navigating the trauma, the system, and the sheer exhaustion.
But you aren't alone. And that is exactly why your story matters. Your unique experience holds the power to change the system for the next family. Share your story with us at laurabrazan@grandparents-raising-grandchildren.org
Thank you for tuning into today's episode. It's been a journey of shared stories, insights, and invaluable advice from the heart of a community that knows the beauty and challenges of raising grandchildren. Your presence and engagement mean the world to us and to grandparents everywhere stepping up in ways they never imagined.
Remember, you're not alone on this journey. For more resources, support, and stories, visit our website and follow us on our social media channels. If today's episode moved you, consider sharing it with someone who might find comfort and connection in our shared experiences.
We look forward to bringing more stories and expert advice your way next week. Until then, take care of yourselves and each other.
Want to be a guest on Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Nurturing Through Adversity? Send Laura Brazan a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/grg
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