{"podcast":{"title":"From Foster to Forever","slug":"from-foster-to-forever-6781182","podcast_index_feed_id":6781182,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/from-foster-to-forever/","website_url":"https://www.fromfoster2forever.com/","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/c59e6602-0030-4ccd-9c75-05cc29d4bd24/FFtF1500-2.jpg","author":"Rachel Fulginiti","episode_count":45,"summary":"There are many ways to build your family. Fostering-to-adopt is not the easiest, but it's a beautiful and profoundly impactful thing to do. Join Rachel Fulginiti, creative multi-hyphenate and two-time foster to adopt mom, as she shares her own story and the stories of others who have successfully navigated the foster care system and created their forever families through adoption. We explore the complex journey, touching on subjects like welcoming newborns or older children into your home, resiliency through loss and heartbreak, transracial adoption, special needs, co-parenting through a divorce, and more. We also amplify the voices of adult adoptees, who can teach us so much through their lived experience. If you've ever considered fostering and/or adoption, experienced it first-hand, or are simply curious to learn more, this show is for you.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/from-foster-to-forever-6781182"},"episode":{"title":"Growing Up in Foster Care, Trauma Recovery, and Finding Hope with Mary Fields","slug":"growing-up-in-foster-care-trauma-recovery-and-finding-hope-with-mary-fields","published_at":"2025-12-23T13:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/from-foster-to-forever-6781182/growing-up-in-foster-care-trauma-recovery-and-finding-hope-with-mary-fields","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/from-foster-to-forever-6781182","url":"https://www.fromfoster2forever.com/","audio_url":"https://pdcn.co/e/episodes.captivate.fm/episode/6da67b18-f382-4ea9-b898-b659e3322e97.mp3","summary":"Mary Fields shares her deeply personal journey of resilience and healing on the podcast, emphasizing that kindness can be a powerful tool for change. Growing up in the foster care system, she faced immense challenges that could have turned her bitter, but instead, she found strength in the support of kind individuals along the way. As an author of the memoir \"Forever and a Day,\" Mary opens up about her experiences, including the struggle of reconciling her past trauma with her present as a mother of four. In a candid conversation with host Rachel, they dive into how humor became a coping mechanism and the importance of recognizing the inner child's voice. This episode is a heartfelt exploration of survival, compassion, and the transformative power of kindness, reminding us all to seek and spread love wherever we can. Mary Fields shines a light on the often-overlooked realities of growing up in the foster care system in this heartfelt episode of Foster to Forever. Her conversation with host Rachel delves into her personal experiences, offering listeners a raw and unfiltered look at the challenges she faced while navigating a childhood filled with instability and trauma. Mary’s story is one of resilience, as she reflects on how kindness from others helped her survive a turbulent upbringing. From her early memories in foster homes to the complexities of her relationships with her biological parents, Mary’s narrative is both poignant and relatable. She emphasizes that while she could have become a bitter person, the compassion she received sparked a fire of hope within her, leading to her current role as a loving mother and author. Mary’s memoir, 'Forever and a Day', is not just a recounting of her past; it’s an invitation to understand the intricacies of trauma, healing,…","meta_description":"Mary Fields shares her deeply personal journey of resilience and healing on the podcast, emphasizing that kindness can be a powerful tool for change. Grow…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3096,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/from-foster-to-forever-6781182/episodes/growing-up-in-foster-care-trauma-recovery-and-finding-hope-with-mary-fields/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/from-foster-to-forever-6781182/growing-up-in-foster-care-trauma-recovery-and-finding-hope-with-mary-fields.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}