{"podcast":{"title":"Epic Stories","slug":"epic-stories-6367889","podcast_index_feed_id":6367889,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/epic-stories/","website_url":"https://epic-stories.captivate.fm","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/8db6efec-318d-4e5a-895f-1f775cc2ec1a/ay5qcgc.jpg","author":"Jean Tillery","episode_count":64,"summary":"Meet Jean, the force behind Epic Living With Jean – your ultimate life navigator and cheerleader. As chief, everything officer, (CEO), she’s on a mission to infuse intention and purpose into the lives of all women. Jean is more than a guide, she’s your Certified Dream Manager, turning “I wish” into “I did!”. Her motto has always been, “it’s all about the story”, because she believes that everyone has a story to tell. Throughout her journey, she’s met remarkable people, learned their stories, and now she’s creating a space where their stories can be shared. Enter the #epicStories podcast where Jean conducts casual conversations with guest from all walks of life. She is on a mission to help her guests share their stories, and in the process inspire you to discover, tell, and even change your own story.","last_synced_at":"2026-06-04T18:17:16.507808+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/epic-stories-6367889"},"episode":{"title":"The Second Goodbye: A Birth Mother's Journey of Love, Loss, and Letting Go","slug":"the-second-goodbye-a-birth-mother-s-journey-of-love-loss-and-letting-go","published_at":"2026-05-14T08:15:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/epic-stories-6367889/the-second-goodbye-a-birth-mother-s-journey-of-love-loss-and-letting-go","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/epic-stories-6367889","url":"https://epic-stories.captivate.fm/episode/the-second-goodbye-a-birth-mothers-journey-of-love-loss-and-letting-go","audio_url":"https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/3acc39b9-d835-46a1-8ebf-e26e13b40f9a.mp3","summary":"Have you ever lived a story that doesn’t have an ending? Hi, I’m Jean Tillery, and in this episode of Epic Stories, I invite you to sit with me in the discomfort, hope, and beauty of an unfinished story—my story. This week, as Mother’s Day just passed, I share what it means to carry an experience that offers no perfect closure, a story that has shaped me in ways I’m still discovering. Last year, I told the story of being adopted and becoming a birth mom. But I’m not the same person I was then, and my story keeps shifting. Today, I open up about what has changed since I first shared that part of my heart—and about how I’m still learning to live in the tension of love, longing, and letting go. What’s Inside This Episode I begin by reflecting on my journey, starting from my adoption as a baby and the loving home I was raised in. Decades later, I found myself looking at things from the other side, navigating the emotional and complex terrain of being a birth mom who chose adoption for my own son. I talk about the ache that comes from unanswered questions and what it was like the day my son found me after 37 years of silence. For four incredible days, I got to reconnect—even just through texts—and fill in the blanks in each other’s lives. And then, just as suddenly, he was gone again. I haven’t heard from him since August 11, 2021, and that silence is a wound I’m learning to live with. A few weeks ago, an unexpected moment at the movies cracked open these old feelings in a raw new way. I realized I needed to let go of the hope of reunion, not because I stopped caring, but because hope itself was becoming too painful to carry. Letting go was as hard as it was the first time—and even heavier, because now I know him. Throughout this episode, I’m honest about my grief, my hope,…","meta_description":"Have you ever lived a story that doesn’t have an ending? Hi, I’m Jean Tillery, and in this episode of Epic Stories, I invite you to sit with me in the dis…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":514,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/epic-stories-6367889/episodes/the-second-goodbye-a-birth-mother-s-journey-of-love-loss-and-letting-go/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/epic-stories-6367889/the-second-goodbye-a-birth-mother-s-journey-of-love-loss-and-letting-go.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}