"Let's Talk Shit About Losing A Child"

10/14/21 • 34 min

1 Listener

My F*cked Up Fairytale: The Next Chapter

In this episode, you'll meet Shannon Conn. Shannon began a non profit organization after the passing of her daughter Kristina Conn. Kristina was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis at 6 weeks old and lost her battle with CF on October 3, 2015. Kristina was 21 years old. She had the most amazing personality. Her laugh was contagious. She lived life each day as if it were her last. She smiled through the pain and wanted to be treated "normally" even though she was living with a terminal illness. She loved having a positive impact in her local community, giving back to homeless individuals and local families in need at Christmas, which was her FAVORITE holiday, and fundraising for CF in hopes of finding a cure.

Shannon felt compelled to keep Kristina's memory alive by giving back to anyone in need. The organization was created to have a direct impact in the families lives that are struggling. Regardless of the struggle, the Kristina Conn Foundation is here to help! You can find out more information by visiting:
https://www.mykcf.org/

Shannon opens up about what it's like to grieve the loss of a child and how she was able to pick herself up. She continued moving forward by keeping Kristina’s mission alive. This is an emotional episode with hope for what is yet to come. Enjoy!

"Polishing My Turd" Producer - Andres Castillo
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/andresthevenezuelan/
Band Insta - https://www.instagram.com/crushcomusic/

Shannon Conn - Kristina Conn Foundation
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/kristinaconnfoundation/
Website - https://www.mykcf.org/

Dale E Perrault:
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dale_perrault/

Support the show (https://pod.fan/polishing-my-turd)

Support the show (https://pod.fan/polishing-my-turd)

Previous Episode

"Let’s Talk Shit About The Pandemic”

In the kick-off episode of BRAND NEW Podcast, "Polishing My Turd", you'll meet host and author of "Polishing My Turd", Dale Perrault. Dale decided to launch his podcast after experiencing what he calls, "his pandemic shit storm". After getting fired from three companies, struck by lightning, and spending 22 hours in jail, Dale felt the universe was pushing him to follow his dream and complete his book. He also wanted to create a platform that is relatable and hopefully inspires folks to live an honest and authentic life! Sharing your story leads to healing and boy does Dale have stories! His joy is meeting people along his journey and recognizing the ones that are meant to help him grow into the best version of himself. His goal is to literally meet everyone! Everyone has a story. We are all unique and when you allow yourself to be open, you truly find happiness because you are free to be YOU!

During Dale's pandemic shit storm, he was able to find healing alongside two Angels, Jana and Alexandria. The girls welcomed Dale into their home to live while he got his shit together and found connection through sharing stories around the kitchen table. Those moments not only brought healing but formed a lifetime bond between them. Jana and Alexandria share their pandemic shit storms and what drove them to opening their own businesses. Jana is a retired Volleyball star and fell in love with media after retiring from sports. Jana currently works with Living Local in West Palm Beach, Fl. During the pandemic she opened her own media production company, Posh Theory, and provides amazing content for businesses that are looking to have more of a media presence in the communities they serve. Dale and Jana were able to create some amazing magic together while Dale worked in real estate. They share some crazy ass stories while on set. They also share how they met over a house fire. Dale rescued Jana and her boyfriend's dogs after discovering the house was on fire and calling 911.

Retired model, Alexandria, decided that with having to adapt to working remotely, it was time to pursue her passion and open an online fashion store. The store features resale and vintage Lilly Pulitzer. She shares what sparked her move to Palm Beach after experiencing a severe car accident, moving back in with her parents, and finding herself after trauma. You can find more information about both Jana and Alexandria, and their companies, below! This is Dale's first time doing anything like this and his greatest hope is that everyone is kind. These are real people, sharing real stories, and how they worked their asses off to polish their life turds. We can only grow from here and hope you enjoy!

"Polishing My Turd" Producer - Andres Castillo
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/andresthevenezuelan/
Band Insta - https://www.instagram.com/crushcomusic/

Jana Angel:
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jana.k.angel/
Posh Theory
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/poshtheory/

Alexandria Angel:
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/theprepinpink/
Prep Suite
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/prepsuite/

Dale Perrault:
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dale_perrault/

Support the show (https://pod.fan/polishing-my-turd)

Next Episode

"Let's Talk Shit About Coming Out"

In this episode you'll hear the personal coming out stories from Dale and co-host Aiyana, and the difficulties they faced when making the decision to share their honesty. Dale grew up going to a conversion therapist after his birth family suspected he was gay after being molested from the ages of 3-15. He discusses the difficulty that came from moving in with a local pastor's family and the religious trauma attached to his sexuality.

Dale ended up marrying his high school sweetheart and had two children before coming out as gay at the age of 27. He discusses having a victim mindset because he was so focused on what he "lost" vs what he had in front of him. He had a positive support system that came into his life around the time he was struggling with coming out, but focused on the negative, leading him down a path of homelessness for 9 months. He then admitted himself into a rehab facility to hopefully undo the childhood and religious trauma attached to his sexuality.

After leaving the program, he attached himself to a man and got engaged after two weeks. He admits he struggled with looking for people to "save" him vs learning to save himself. Aiyana shares the most important relationship in life is the one with yourself. She also expressed the importance of allowing people to come back into your life if they didn't accept you the first time. We should have grace for those that might not get it after initially sharing your truth, but learning to walk away if the behavior continues.

Dale speaks about his adopted family and how his father, the local pastor, called his ex wife after speaking his truth, and encouraged her to get tested for AIDS, HIV, and other STD's. After letting them back into his life, several times, his father shared that he was unable to attend his renewal of vows with his ex husband. His father said that didn't mean he didn't love him unconditionally and Dale should be respectful of his father's position in the church. Dale stated that the fact that he couldn't attend ABSOLUTELY meant there were conditions to his love and finally chose to walk away for good. In that moment, Dale chose himself in hopes of living an honest and authentic life, and choosing to surround himself with people that actually cared for him unconditionally.

We should always choose to love ourselves first. If we don't, how can we truly show love to others. They end the episode with a "polished perspective" in hopes that people, regardless of being gay or straight, can allow others to walk in truth. We don't know what our neighbor is going through so learn not to judge just because they seem "different". Just because you don't understand, doesn't mean you can't learn something from that person. Be open! Be love! Be light!

This episode has a shit ton of funny stories attached to Dale and Aiyana's coming out experiences. They highlight the importance of being able to reflect on growth, and find laughter in the trauma, otherwise you end up crying and developing a victim mindset. We have a long way to go and are grateful for how far we have come in allowing people to be true to themselves.

We hope you enjoy!

Dale Perrault - Host
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dale_perrault/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/polishingmyturd
Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@dperrault21?lang=en
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/daleperrault/
www.PolishingMyTurd.com

Aiyana Marrero - special guest/co-host
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/aiyanamarrero/

Andres Castillo - Producer
Instagram -
https://www.instagram.com/andresthevenezuelan/
https://www.instagram.com/crushcomusic/