The Kindred & Brave Project

Life is messy and hard and full of opportunities to learn and grow. We believe that our humanness makes us kindred and sharing our stories makes us brave. The goal of The Kindred & Brave Project is to talk about the interconnection of strength and struggle in our lives by digging into topics such as mental health, emotional wellness, grief, motherhood, partnership, communication, and how to be learner instead of a knower. Mandy will share experiences from caretaking to the college classroom and beyond and offer actionable practices for listeners to try in their own lives.The Kindred & Brave Project aims to cultivate community by focusing on heart first, human centered, story driven connection.

The Kindred & Brave Project is a health podcast hosted by MandyJankus, with 55 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

MandyJankus hosts The Kindred & Brave Project, a health show with 55 episodes published.

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  Episode #55

  Season 3: Episode 7 After Unraveling // Beginning Again

  Sep 2, 202624 min

  Welcome back! Today I reintroduce myself and some of the big-picture goals for this podcast. I talk about the messy things that have been going on behind the scenes in this wild ride called life. Finally, I share some of the conversations I’m so excited to have as we enter the last third of the year. Thank you for listening. Remember - your stories matter, your feelings are valid, and the universe has your back. With Gratitude, Mandy.

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  Episode #54

  Season 3: Episode 6 Motherless Mothering & Poetry // With Sara Rian

  Mar 23, 202635 min

  Sara Rian is a poet, author, mother, wife, licensed therapist, and griever living in Metro Detroit. She has been drawn to grief poetry ever since her mother died in 2018. As a mental health professional, suicide loss survivor, and grieving human, Sara shares her work with others to let them know that they are not alone in their love or grief. In this episode, Sara and I have a vulnerable and authentic conversation about imposter syndrome in our humanness, our shared grief stories, and Sara’s beautiful words. We talk about how difficult and bittersweet it is to be motherless mothers and how we work to continue the bonds with our own mothers and help our children learn to meet them. Sara shares her journey to becoming a therapist and the work that her and her mom did to talk about the hard things. She reads a brand new poem for us. Thank you for listening. Remember - your stories matter, your feelings are valid, and the universe has your back. Resources // https://www.sararianbooks.com/ https://www.instagram.com/sara_rian_books/ With Gratitude, Mandy

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  Episode #53

  Season 3: Episode 5 The Weight of Your Child’s Grief

  Mar 12, 202630 min

  In today’s episode, I share the unexpected loss of a pet and my son's big reaction to it. The story I share has some lessons about cumulative grief and what it is, knowing your own kiddo and honoring their needs, and remembering that sometimes we need to sit with them in the dark instead of trying to turn on the light. Thank you for listening. Remember - your stories matter, your feelings are valid, and the univverse has your back. With Gratitude, Mandy

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  Episode #52

  Season 3: Episode 4 Micro Moment // Learning Your Grief

  Feb 19, 202614 min

  In this micro episode, I share the stories about how I’ve learned about my grief since my mom died. Learning about our grief is a way to understand how it shows up in our bodies and brains (hint: our body knows first). It’s a vulnerable choice to sit with the grief as it comes and examine the emotions it brings us. It’s self-awareness and self-compassion. Resources // Season 3: Episode 3 Collective Grief // with Claire Bidwell Smith Thank you for listening. Remember - your stories matter, your feelings are valid, and the universe has your back. With Gratitude, Mandy

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  Episode #51

  Season 3: Episode 3 Collective Grief // With Claire Bidwell Smith

  Feb 5, 202633 min

  Claire Bidwell Smith is a licensed therapist, international speaker, and the best-selling author of five books on grief and loss, published in 22 countries. Widely recognized as a leading voice in contemporary grief work, she has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, CNN, MSNBC, Scientific American, Goop, and Oprah Daily, among many others. Today, we have a conversation about what grief is, and the specific ways that we are experiencing it in 2026. Claire sheds light on how our grief needs safety and connection, how community can help us, and the value of empathy when there is collective and disenfranchised grief. Claire expresses hope for the future generations in holding space for grief and supporting others when they experience this inevitable, human emotion. Thank you for listening. Remember - your stories matter, your feelings are valid, and the universe has your back. Resources // https://clairebidwellsmith.com/ https://www.instagram.com/clairebidwellsmith/ With Gratitude, Mandy

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