WEBVTT - Bonus: Listener Stories, Episode 17

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<v Speaker 1>Family Secrets is a production of I Heart Radio. This January,

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<v Speaker 1>Danny's taking Family Secrets on the road. To get your tickets,

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<v Speaker 1>visit Danny Shapiro dot com. I'm Danny Shapiro and this

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<v Speaker 1>is Family Secrets, the secrets that are kept from us,

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<v Speaker 1>the secrets we keep from others, and the secrets we

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<v Speaker 1>keep from ourselves. I've heard from so many about your

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<v Speaker 1>own family secrets and realize that what we are creating

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<v Speaker 1>for each other on this podcast is a community, a

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<v Speaker 1>community for those who are looking for a safe and

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<v Speaker 1>supportive space to unburden themselves. To that end, we've created

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<v Speaker 1>a number for listeners to call in to record stories

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<v Speaker 1>to share here in this space. This week, I'd like

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<v Speaker 1>to share a few of those stories from our community.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening. Hi, Danny, Um. I related to your

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<v Speaker 1>whole story of inheritance because we kind of went through

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<v Speaker 1>a similar journey with our family in the last couple

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<v Speaker 1>of years. My sister and I have always noticed that

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<v Speaker 1>my dad is just beautifully dark compared to his siblings,

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<v Speaker 1>and my sister sat down and did the Mass in

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<v Speaker 1>high school and realized Dad was conceived when my grandpa

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<v Speaker 1>was deployed away in the Navy. UM our aunts had

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<v Speaker 1>kind of secretly mentioned to us that they overheard an

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<v Speaker 1>argument between our grandparents when they were young about UM

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<v Speaker 1>fighting about my dad and his teenage behavior problem, and

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<v Speaker 1>grandma said, well, I still know where he lives, should

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<v Speaker 1>he go live with him? And my aunt's just inferred

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<v Speaker 1>that obviously my dad maybe has a different dad. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>my grandma passed away in two thousand. She would be

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<v Speaker 1>who we would ask questions you now as well if

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<v Speaker 1>we were wondering, But she's not here to ask. My grandpa,

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<v Speaker 1>who has raised my dad now has been mentioned, so

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<v Speaker 1>it's not right to ask him or to try to

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<v Speaker 1>involve him in something like this. The sisal private, and

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<v Speaker 1>so for fun we got our parents ancestry DNA kits,

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<v Speaker 1>and sure enough, nothing of who we know to be

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<v Speaker 1>my dad's relatives came up, but a whole bunch of

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<v Speaker 1>Spanish and Cuban relatives started popping up that UM confirmed

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<v Speaker 1>that my dad has this beautiful, dark ethnicity to him

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<v Speaker 1>that we kind of always joked about when we are

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<v Speaker 1>this Midwestern, supposedly Irish family. UM. Well, we sat on

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<v Speaker 1>our results for about a year and finally went down

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<v Speaker 1>the research hole online you know, Google and Facebook, and

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<v Speaker 1>we ended up finding out dad has two half brothers

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<v Speaker 1>in Florida. UM. His biological dad passed away in the eighties,

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<v Speaker 1>but we actually got to fly down to Florida and

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<v Speaker 1>needed his family, the biological family of my dad, and

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<v Speaker 1>obviously my dad came with and it was actually incredibly

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<v Speaker 1>healing and we were shocked at how welcoming they were.

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<v Speaker 1>And I think it's brought a lot of peace and

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<v Speaker 1>closure for our whole family. But you know, it's something

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<v Speaker 1>we just kind of knew in our gut this whole time.

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<v Speaker 1>Even my dad said he always wondered and something that

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<v Speaker 1>was real. Thank you, Hi. I just stumbled upon your

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<v Speaker 1>podcast not long ago and I've been binging all the episodes, UM,

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<v Speaker 1>and I have a family secret to share as all.

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<v Speaker 1>So UM. When I was ten, I got sick. I

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<v Speaker 1>was told that I had non cancerous tumor in my

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<v Speaker 1>lungs and that they successfully removed it, and I moved

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<v Speaker 1>on with my life. UM. I spent a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>time at the local children's hospital, often in me I

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<v Speaker 1>see you. During this time, UM. As I got older,

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<v Speaker 1>family were referred to this time as a time when

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<v Speaker 1>I was quote sick. But when I was fifteen, I

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<v Speaker 1>developed a cough to turn out to be a mild

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<v Speaker 1>case of pneumonia. But before being told this, my parents

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<v Speaker 1>seemed extremely anxious, and I couldn't understand why. I was

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<v Speaker 1>beginning to get very frustrated with what appeared to me

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<v Speaker 1>to be them hovering and having this overconcerned. When it

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<v Speaker 1>was confirmed that I had pneumonia, they sat me down

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<v Speaker 1>and explained why they were acting the way they did. UM,

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<v Speaker 1>And they told me I had actually had a rare

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<v Speaker 1>form of cancer when I was ten, not some small,

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<v Speaker 1>non cancerous tumor in my lung um, and they thought

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<v Speaker 1>these symptoms of pneumonia meant a return of my dies.

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<v Speaker 1>I of course, had no idea that I was a

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<v Speaker 1>cancer survivor. Yet when I brought it up to people

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<v Speaker 1>around me, including people outside of my family like old neighbors,

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<v Speaker 1>they all knew this about me. UM. To this day,

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<v Speaker 1>it's still something we don't really speak of. Uh. We

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<v Speaker 1>refer to my juvenile cancer as again a time when

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<v Speaker 1>I was sick. It's a part of my life that

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<v Speaker 1>I lived, Yet I feel as though I didn't live. Hi. There,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm calling about a family secret that was one that

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<v Speaker 1>I am my ex husband held for twenty five years, UM,

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<v Speaker 1>and that secret is that our son was conceived by

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<v Speaker 1>our official infiminationnorum examination UM. Because of this show, not indirectly,

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<v Speaker 1>but at the very least, I was encouraged by your podcast, Danny,

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<v Speaker 1>to let my son know in fact, I just told

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<v Speaker 1>him yesterday. It's very fresh, UM that that, in fact

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<v Speaker 1>his dad is not his biological father, and UM told

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<v Speaker 1>him the whole story of the journey that we took

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<v Speaker 1>which got us to the point of of him ultimately,

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<v Speaker 1>So UM, it's very fresh news for him, but he

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<v Speaker 1>has been incredibly gracious and accepting of the news at

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<v Speaker 1>this point. I'm sure there are layers, UM that are

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<v Speaker 1>going to reveal themselves as the years go by. But

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<v Speaker 1>I can't think you enough in the whole community that's

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<v Speaker 1>come together around family secrets in this wonderful podcast, for

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<v Speaker 1>encouraging me and knowing that my fears about his reaction

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<v Speaker 1>were much less important ultimately than him knowing the truth

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<v Speaker 1>of who he really is. And that's a conclusion I

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<v Speaker 1>came to gradually and very much was encouraged to make

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<v Speaker 1>because of this podcast. So thanks again, and I have

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<v Speaker 1>a huge weight off my shoulders after finally sharing this

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<v Speaker 1>one secret. Yeah, if you'd like to share your story,

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<v Speaker 1>call one eight eight eight Secret zero and record your story.

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<v Speaker 1>We won't be able to run all the stories, but

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<v Speaker 1>we do want to shine a light on as many

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<v Speaker 1>as we can. The number again is one eight eight

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<v Speaker 1>secret and then the numeral zero. For more podcasts for

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<v Speaker 1>my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple podcast,

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.