Carpool Confessions of the Chronically Aware

We sat down to talk about grief. Two-thirds of the way in, Kelley Marie said something Kate has known her for years and never heard: "I don't believe you die and go to heaven. I believe you're just dead."

Nothing in this episode was planned. That is exactly how grief works.

In this episode of Carpool Confessions, Kate Shaw and Kelley Marie get honest about the grief nobody gives you permission to feel. Kelley talks ab...

We were preteens, sitting in a junior high classroom in Missouri, when a student aide walked in with a note and our teacher's face went white. Twenty five years later we can still tell you exactly where we were standing.

On this episode of Carpool Confessions, Kate Shaw and Kelley Marie mark the 25th anniversary of September 11 by talking about the part that does not get talked about: what it did to a generation of kids who ...

Kelley Marie showed up to her mother's wedding at ten years old with no idea her mom was getting married. That was the day the abandonment wound started, and it shaped the next twenty years of her life.

In this episode of Carpool Confessions, Kate Shaw and Kelley Marie talk honestly about the abandonment wound: what it is, where it comes from, and the way it quietly runs your relationships long after the person who left is g...

You can't fight loneliness while you're lonely. That's where this one starts, and it might be the most honest conversation we've had on Carpool Confessions yet.

We live in the most connected time in history, and somehow we've never felt more alone. In this episode we get real about the loneliness epidemic and what's actually behind it: the surface-level trap of social media, the cruelty people hide behind a screen, and the q...

Have you ever prayed for a door to open, only to question whether you belonged once it did?

This week on Carpool Confessions, Kate Shaw and Kelley Marie get honest about imposter syndrome: that quiet voice telling you you're not good enough, not qualified, or not ready. From starting a nonprofit with "no business" doing it, to freezing up before a speakers' event, to hearing their own names called from the stage at church, they shar...

Have you ever tied your worth to how hard you work, only to have your body force you to stop? In this episode of Carpool Confessions, Kate and Kelley get real about burnout, the kind that shows up as daily migraines, shingles, panic attacks, and a soul-deep exhaustion that no single vacation can fix.

They open up with their own stories, from working 24-hour shifts at Walmart during a high-risk pregnancy to the neck migraines...

You can love God and still feel too judged, too broken, or too "not good enough" to walk back through the doors of a church. In this episode of Carpool Confessions of the Chronically Aware, Kate and Kelley Marie get honest about church hurt: the fear of being judged that keeps people away, the religious shame they both carried for years, and the moment a man they helped out of homelessness told Kate, "This is the first positive int...

For most of my life, I carried a question I couldn't shake. Who was my birth mother, and why did giving me up have to mean disappearing completely? I was adopted as a baby and grew up loved, but loved doesn't erase the wondering. I spent years quietly searching, asking, hoping, and every door God closed.

My birth mother was a ward of the state. She had serious mental health issues. The records were limited, the answers were ...

What if what you're going through didn't start with you? What if it started generations ago, and you're now part of a story so many people in your family have lived? And the big question almost everyone asks: how do I break this?

In this episode of Carpool Confessions, Kelley and Kate go deep on generational curses and generational trauma. They talk about what it really means to be a "cycle breaker," how trauma shapes your nervous s...

When David returned to Ziklag, his village was burned to the ground, every woman and child had been taken captive, and his own men were talking about stoning him. He had nothing left. No home, no family, no support, no one in his corner. And in that moment, scripture says "David encouraged himself in the Lord his God."

This episode of Carpool Confessions is for the woman who is tired of waiting for someone else to show up fo...

What does the Bible say about anxiety when you love God but still feel panic rising? 

In this episode, Kate shares her story of anxiety and panic attacks despite a strong faith, and the truth she wishes someone had told her sooner: you are not broken, and you are not failing as a Christian.

So many believers carry a quiet shame, wondering, "I trust God, so why am I still anxious?" This conversation is for you. We...

Why does anxiety seem to affect some people differently?

In this first of several anxiety-focused episodes of Carpool Confessions Podcast, Kate and Kelley have an honest conversation about anxiety, trauma, PTSD, CPTSD, panic attacks, hypervigilance, and faith. Having both experienced significant trauma, we explore how anxiety can look very different when your brain and nervous system have been shaped by years of survival, fe...

If you're wondering how to stop being a people pleaser, this episode is for you. In this Carpool Confessions conversation, Kate opens up about her lifelong pattern of people pleasing, why it took her years to recognize it, and the small but powerful shifts that helped her start finding her own voice.

We get into the real signs of being a people pleaser (it's not just being "nice"), how chronic people pleasing connects to chi...

Kelley was raised as a Jehovah's Witness, and she had a lot of fear regarding the act of baptism because of the fear of "not being good enough." Kelley explains what her fears were founded in, and what moment changed her mind about Jesus and called her to accept him as her Lord and Savior. 

Kelley has been through severe trauma in her life, making this moment even more impactful. 
View Kelley's Story Part 1: htt...

⚠️ TRIGGER WARNING: This episode contains discussions of childhood sexual abuse, trauma, abuse, and foster care experiences. Viewer discretion is advised. This content is not intended for young or sensitive audiences.

For one year, Kelley experienced something she had rarely known before: safety.

After being removed from an abusive home, Kelley entered foster care and lived with someone unexpected: her school principal. What ...

[TRIGGER WARNING]: Due to SA themes, this is not intended for young or sensitive audiences. 

Kelley opens up about her deeply traumatic childhood and the very beginnings of how she and Kate connected early in life. 

If you or a loved one is experiencing sexual abuse, there is help available. Do not suffer in your pain. 

RAINN is America’s largest anti-sexual violence nonprofit, providing confidenti...

Welcome to the first of its kind commute podcast, where friends (and former foster sisters) talk about life, trauma, mental health, faith, and whatever else comes to mind. This first episode, we touch on a lot of the topics we'll cover in this podcast, so be sure to subscribe or find us on other major audio streaming platforms to join us on our daily commute each week!

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Welcome to Carpool Confessions Podcast: the place where real women have real conversations about faith, trauma, motherhood, mental health, healing, and everything in between.

Hosted by Kate Shaw and Kelley Bryson, this podcast was born during long commutes and honest conversations that were too meaningful not to share. From childhood trauma and identity struggles to finding God, surviving hard seasons, and learning how to he...