Episode
Dr. Thema Bryant: How to Find, Keep, and Nurture the People Who Truly See You (By Starting with Yourself)
- Published
- May 15, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3022
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://jenhatmaker.com/podcast/
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Summary
Description:Some conversations are so good, they deserve a second life. As we've been building out our Chosen Family series — exploring what it actually takes to find, keep, and nurture the people who truly see you — we kept coming back to this tender conversation because it was resonant then but it hits differently now. Dr. Thema Bryant is a psychologist, author, professor, ordained minister, and former president of the American Psychological Association. Her books Matters of the Heart and Homecoming have resonated deeply with women navigating the beautiful, complicated work of belonging — and her clarity on what it means to truly come home to yourself is exactly the foundation this series needed. In this conversation, Jen and Amy dig into: Why midlife can feel isolating even when you're surrounded by people — and what's really going on beneath that loneliness How to grieve friendships that have run their season while making genuine room for new ones The difference between performing friendship and actually being emotionally available for it Why our wellness matters more than our loyalty — and what it looks like to stop sacrificing yourself in the name of showing up for everyone else Practical tools like writing vows to yourself and how to build community from scratch when one was never ready-made for you Because here's what we keep coming back to: you cannot truly choose people if you haven't first chosen yourself. This conversation is the starting place. Thought-provoking Quotes: When I observe someone making a polite but clear boundary, I respect it. I’m impressed. – Jen Hatmaker Can you come to the place where you admit, I miss myself? And myself is not my labor. Myself is not my role. Myself is a living soul and one of the things that feeds my soul are my friends…