{"podcast":{"title":"Unraveling Me","slug":"unraveling-me-7569853","podcast_index_feed_id":7569853,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/690534bf3906f8011add9159","website_url":"https://shows.acast.com/unraveling-me","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/690534bf3906f8011add9159/1764205341144-b718e518-900f-43d5-82d8-91561a3645ff.jpeg","author":"Kara Rubinstein-Deyerin & Alan Katz","episode_count":41,"summary":"Join host Kara Rubinstein Deyerin as she speaks with people who, like her, are impacted by NPE's (non-parental events), DNA surprises, adoption, assisted reproduction, or other unexpected information bombs that reveal the truth about who they are and their family relationships and secrets. As anyone who's ever experienced such an event can tell you, it separates you from you. From knowing your own story. In \"Unraveling Me\", Kara explores the myriad ways why knowing the truth about who you are and who your family is matters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-30T16:19:46.198920+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/unraveling-me-7569853"},"episode":{"title":"S1E37 Unraveling Shelli","slug":"s1e37-unraveling-shelli","published_at":"2026-07-16T07:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/unraveling-me-7569853/s1e37-unraveling-shelli","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/unraveling-me-7569853","url":"https://shows.acast.com/unraveling-me/episodes/s1e37-unraveling-shelli","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/690534bf3906f8011add9159/e/6a56c28e70c881d75c181b63/media.mp3","summary":"S1 E37 Unraveling Shelli - Shelli’s story is about surviving childhood without the care every child deserves, doing the hard work to become healthy, and learning that patience is sometimes part of protection. Shelli spent much of her childhood raising herself. She grew up with a mother who could be magnetic and beautiful to the outside world, but emotionally unavailable and rejecting at home. Her brothers were much older, her raising father was largely absent, and Shelli learned early that comfort, affection, and safety were not things she could count on from the adults around her. Throughout her life, people repeatedly asked Shelli if she was part of an ethnicity she did not believe she was so she took an Ancestry test expecting only ethnicity answers. Instead, she opened her matches and saw her mother—and a man she had never met before. (Content warning: This episode contains discussion of childhood neglect, emotional abuse, abandonment, attempted self-abortion, and sexual harassment/exposure) SHOW NOTES In this deeply honest and layered conversation, Kara and Shelli discuss: Growing up with emotional neglect and “quiet abuse” The lifelong impact of being unwanted, unseen, and left to raise yourself Being a fatherless daughter and growing up without a stable parental bond How painful truths can sometimes bring validation and clarity Why slowing down before first contact can matter The brutality of waiting for a response from genetic family The emotional complexity of joining a family system already in motion when you’ve never really had a family system of your own Boundaries, patience, therapy, and refusing to accept less than she deserve Her reunion is still new, but it has already given her something she once could not imagine: emotionally available people who…","meta_description":"S1 E37 Unraveling Shelli - Shelli’s story is about surviving childhood without the care every child deserves, doing the hard work to become healthy, and l…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3496,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/unraveling-me-7569853/episodes/s1e37-unraveling-shelli/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/unraveling-me-7569853/s1e37-unraveling-shelli.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}