Chrissy Blumenthal- Modern Warrior Glam-Ma with 5 Biological Kids (2 from her Egg Donation) Creates Chords2Cure to Battle Son’s & Others’ Pediatric Cancer
Release Date: 05/04/2021
The Rachels- Why Friendship is the New Marriage and Golden for Mental Health
Dear Family,
Rachel Winter and Rachel Steinman are best friends, co-authors, and co-hosts of this special collab between the with . Rachel Winter is a writer, director, and an Academy Award®-nominated producer for Dallas Buyers Club. She produced LeBron James’ biopic, Shooting Stars, and produced and directed the audio drama, Supreme: The Battle for Roe starring Maya Hawke and William H. Macy. It’s a nine-part series weaving together the incredible story of the young female lawyer who argued Roe V. Wade in front of the Supreme Court and the Justice who wrote the opinion. She made her...
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My So-Called High School Rank- Documenting Teenage Loneliness and College Admission Pressures through a Musical
Dear Family,
My So-Called High School Rank, premiering on HBO and HBO MAX, is a special documentary that gives an unfiltered view into the private loneliness and pressures of teenage life. This was especially true in March 2020 when students were forced to settle into new realities, feeling isolated and frustrated with so much out of their control. This timely documentary chronicles the creation of a musical theater production at Granite Bay High School in Sacramento, California, and is inspired by students’ stories of the constant pressures to achieve a top rank in every part of their lives to get ahead...
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Kevin Hines- Golden Gate Bridge Suicide Jumper Saved by a Sea Lion Becomes Inspirational Storyteller and Filmmaker with Message of Hope and Resilience
Dear Family,
Kevin Hines is a storyteller, best-selling author, global public speaker, and award-winning documentary filmmaker. In the Year 2000, Kevin threw himself off the Golden Gate Bridge in an attempt to end his life. He needed his immense mental pain to end but regretted his decision the moment he jumped. Many factors contributed to his miraculous survival including a sea lion who kept him afloat until the Coast Guard arrived and an amazing team of doctors. Kevin now travels the world sharing his story of hope, healing, and recovery while teaching people of all ages the art of wellness and the...
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Dr. Ran Anbar- Pediatric Pulmonologist Addresses Health Challenges with Hypnosis
Dear Family,
Dr. Ran Anbar is a pediatrician board certified in pulmonology who offers hypnosis and counseling services in La Jolla, California, and Syracuse, New York. He’s past president, fellow, and approved consultant of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis. He’s here today to discuss the power of hypnosis, which has long been looked upon with confusion and skepticism. He shines a light on this underutilized field of medicine and why it should be the first line of defense before medication for mental health symptoms. With 25 years of experience, Dr. Anbar is a leader in clinical hypnosis who...
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The Dear Family, Wellness Graduate School- 100 Podcasts Later- 40 Wellness Universal Truths
Dear Family,
Three years ago, I was nervous to put myself out so publicly with a brand new mental health podcast about family and secrets. I didn’t know where it would take me or if anyone would listen or even care. All I knew was I wanted to cut generational trauma from family mental illness, I had a story to tell, and I wanted to hear others’ stories. I never predicted a disruptive worldwide pandemic would shine a blinding spotlight on the priority of taking care of our families' wellness. 100 episodes later, I learned more than I ever could imagine in what I’m calling the Dear Family Wellness...
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Chris and Erik Ewers- Brothers/Co-Directors on Ken Burns Documentary about the Youth Public Mental Health Crisis
Dear Family,
Erik and Chris Ewers are brothers and co-directors on a new Ken Burns PBS documentary, “Hiding in Plain Sight.” The two-part, four-hour film is about the mental health crisis our youth are facing. It follows the journeys of more than 20 young Americans from all over the country and all walks of life. The first-person accounts show the seemingly insurmountable obstacles faced by those who live with mental disorders. Erik Ewers, an Emmy Award-winning editor has worked with documentary filmmaker Ken Burns for more than 30 years, including nearly all of his single and...
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Julian Sarafian- Harvard Law-Educated TikToker Redefines Success After his Mental and Physical Breakdowns
Dear Family,
Julian Sarafian was valedictorian and attended UC Berkeley at 17. He got an internship at The White House at 19 and at 20, was accepted at NYU Law before transferring to Harvard Law School. His high achievements and California license allowed him to practice law at what he thought was his dream job, something he’d worked his entire life for. But his mental health had other plans. His social anxiety and the intense stress from a high pressure work environment led to panic attacks and hyperventilating. His mental health also manifested into physical ailments, specifically...
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Tembi Locke- Food, Family, and Cooking From Scratch after Loss and Grief
Dear Family,
Tembi Locke is an actor, an author, a screenwriter, and a producer who really knows how to connect with her audience. Her New York Times bestselling book, From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home was Reese Witherspoon’s 2019 Book Club pick. Reese loved it so much, she’s executive producing the adaptation for a Netflix series where Zoe Saldana will star as Tembi. Tembi’s memoir, From Scratch, is a sweeping, autobiographical romance that follows an American woman as she falls in love with a Sicilian man while studying abroad in Italy and then builds a life with him in...
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Dr. Jonathan Goldfinger- Nationally Recognized Pediatrician on the Need For and Right To Mental Health Care
Dear Family,
Dr. Jonathan Goldfinger is a nationally recognized pediatrician and an advocate for mental health services for children and families, including in minority and low-income communities. His inclusive approach to health equity and policy has transformed countless lives. He joined Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services, an 80-year organization, as the CEO just months after the pandemic began in June 2020. Didi Hirsch is a national leader offering free mental health, substance use disorder, and suicide prevention services. They’re pioneers in specialized therapy and support groups for children,...
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Jeanette Yoffe- From Foster Care to Adoption to Trauma-Informed Therapist Jeanette-ically Speaking
Dear Family,
Jeanette Yoffe believes family is so much more than our blood relations. Her strong desire to become a trauma-informed psychotherapist with a special focus on adopted and foster care issues began with her own experiences of moving through the foster care system and being adopted. Jeanette lived with her birth family for the first year of her life until she was put into foster care due to her mother’s schizophrenia. Her father was not willing to take care of his two young children and when he later had a new family, he never told them about his previous children, continuing the cycle of...
info_outlineChrissy Blumenthal grew up in Arvada, Colorado. She describes her childhood as pretty normal and uneventful until her parents divorced when she was nine years old. Her mother struggled to make ends meet and tried to provide the best she could for Chrissy and her older brother Gary. After high school, Chrissy took on a number of odd jobs to support herself, including a stint in mud wrestling.
At age 20, she gave birth to her first son, Cody, and shortly after his birth, she put herself through art school earning an associate’s degree in the music business. After graduation, she moved to Los Angeles with her then, 2-year-old son, Cody, and she began her professional career at Columbia Pictures. She was a single mother for 12 years until she met and married her best friend, a successful film producer and writer, Jason Blumenthal in 1999. Together they had two kids, Jax and Calli.
Life felt like a fairy-tale until the summer of 2013 when her world came to a screeching halt. Four words forever changed her life: YOUR CHILD HAS CANCER. Jax was just 11 years old when he received the devastating diagnosis. Her son had stage 3 hepatoblastoma (cancer of the liver). Chrissy immediately jumped into the most important role of her life, caretaker, healer, medical advocate, and research fanatic. After a very long, turbulent, and uncertain road that included a liver transplant, lung resections, and chemotherapy, Jax is finally cancer-free. During their journey, Chrissy became passionate about raising funds and awareness for pediatric cancer research, which is profoundly underfunded by the government. She now serves as President at Chords2Cure, a non-profit centered around live music events which benefit pediatric cancer research.
Chrissy currently lives in Brentwood, California with her husband, two teenagers, two dogs, and a French lop bunny. During Covid, Chrissy was thrilled to finally get a message that she had been waiting over 2 decades to receive. It was from the mother of Chrissy’s biological children, who were conceived via IVF with the eggs Chrissy donated 27 years earlier. The pregnancy resulted in twins, who have now grown into an awesome young man and wonderful young lady. Her family has welcomed them all into their homes and into their hearts. The family continues to grow because her firstborn son, Cody recently had an adorable baby girl named Arrow- officially making Chrissy a proud Glam-Ma.
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