In Between Them

About In Between Them

Divorce shapes childhood in ways parents often can't see—especially when they're in the middle of an emotional fog, fear, or in survival mode. In Between Them is a parenting podcast that brings forward the voices we rarely hear: the children of divorce, now grown, reflecting on the experiences that shaped them. Hosted by an entrepreneur and mother who navigated her own divorce with a newborn, this family dynamics podcast offers personal understanding and professional insight in every conversation. Raised in a traditional nuclear family but later thrust into a co-parenting reality, the host believes every story matters—because children don't choose divorce, yet they feel its ripples the most. Each episode features honest, vulnerable storytelling from people who lived through their parents' divorce. Some stories are painful. Some are healing and inspiring. All of them reveal what truly impacts a child when a family changes—and what helps them thrive. Unlike most parenting podcasts focused on legal advice or therapy perspectives, this show centers the lived experience of the children themselves, providing clarity for parents who want to make better, more thoughtful, child-centered decisions. Whether you're a parent, professional, or someone who lived it yourself, you'll find wisdom, compassion, and guidance in these conversations. Because understanding the child's perspective might just be the key to doing divorce better. If you or someone you know is contemplating divorce, or in the midst of it, these stories can change a child's life forever. To contribute your own story, please contact sdarrow@onward-mc.com (mailto:sdarrow@onward-mc.com) directly. New episodes weekly.

Publisher

Shannon Darrow

Category

health & fitness · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

19 Jan 2026

Latest episode

5 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

40 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   5 Oct 2026

   40. Craig - 7 years old - Two Homes, But No Home. The Father He Had, The Father He Became.

   I feel honored to have heard this difficult story from a man who has made a beautiful life for himself and his family, much different than the way he was raised. Craig was seven years old when the divorce hit. What followed was a childhood spent between two homes that were hard in very different ways — and often left him feeling like he had no real home in either. His father was mean, angry, quick to temper, and often behaved in ways that weren't appropriate for a young boy. And yet: at Dad's house, Craig could ride dirt bikes, fish, do the "boy stuff" his soul was hungry for. So he wanted to be there. And he wanted to leave. Both, at the same time. His mother remarried a man Craig could never quite relate to — and his mother herself was difficult at times. There was, in short, no consistent father figure in either home. Over the years, Craig's coaches became the closest thing he had to one, and he had no real-life model for what a healthy relationship was supposed to look like. He describes his sisters and mother as loud; he describes himself as quiet. He often felt like an outcast in his own home. The pull between wanting his dad and needing to protect himself from his dad is the ache that shaped everything. It was manageable-ish while everyone was in the same region. Then his father moved to Northern California, and Craig had to give up his summers to see him — until he no longer wanted to. The relationship narrowed to phone calls, and his father was skilled at guilt-tripping across the line. When Craig finally stood up for himself as a senior in high school, it created a real rift. His father missed his high school graduation. There was a brief attempt at reconnection when Craig was in college up north; it didn't last. His father wasn't at his wedding. His father doesn't really know Craig's wife or their children. Craig speaks openly about the confusing mix that so many adult children carry: wanting a parent to be the parent, while confronting the hard truth that the person cannot safely be that. He and his father have had constant ups and downs, and it has never become anything more substantial than that. What this episode is really about, though — and what makes it worth every minute — is the gift Craig has made from all of it: he has become an extraordinarily loving, present, and involved father to his two sons. He communicates. He shows up. He is, in every measurable way, the father he needed and didn't get. That is the resolution — not with his own dad, but with the boys who now call him Dad. Craig's book recommendation: A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck. In Between Them is a podcast about what it really feels like to grow up between two homes — hosted by Shannon Darrow, divorce coach and mediator, featuring honest conversations with people about what their parents' divorce shaped, broke, and built in them. Have a question, a story to share, or interested in being a guest? Reach Shannon directly at sdarrow@onward-mc.com (mailto:sdarrow@onward-mc.com). Follow the show on Instagram @inbetweenthempod, and if this episode resonated, please rate and review In Between Them on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it's the single most helpful thing you can do to help other adult children of divorce find the show.

2. 

   28 Sept 2026

   39. Veronica - From Russia at 17. Alcoholic Dad. Critical Mom. Two Divorces. Breaking Every Cycle.

   Veronica isn't a child of divorce — but she is, in a very real sense, the perfect adult voice for the In Between Them mission. She grew up in Russia inside a deeply dysfunctional home, with an alcoholic father and a highly critical mother. At 17, she came to the United States. Since then, she has navigated two marriages, two divorces, and the raising of three children — with an unwavering commitment to not replicate any of what she experienced as a kid for the next generation. Veronica is also a therapist, which means she brings both lived experience and clinical insight to this conversation. Her insights on putting kids first — on what actually needs to happen at the adult level so children come out of divorce whole — are exactly the kind of practical, compassionate guidance this show exists to amplify. One thread we pull on that you'll want to hear in her own words: her time working in nursing homes and what she observed about elderly parents and their adult children. The dynamic that plays out in senior care is often the direct downstream of how families communicated (or didn't) decades earlier. The way a parent shows up in a child's life reverberates for the rest of both of their lives — not just in the kid years, not just in the divorce years, but literally into how kids show up for their parents at the end. Veronica has seen it firsthand, and it changes how you think about the choices you're making now. Whether you're navigating divorce, parenting through the aftermath, doing your own generational healing work, or all three at once, this conversation is one to sit with. Veronica is trying to shine a light on how parents, families, and — most importantly — kids can come out of hard family experiences whole. She was a pleasure to speak with. Veronica does not have a book recommendation this episode, but she is currently working on one of her own. When it drops, I'll be first in line. About Veronica: Veronica is a therapist, mother of three, and two-time divorced woman on a mission to help families do better, parents do better, and people divorce better. She creates content across YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook to help others break generational cycles and prioritize their children through the hardest chapters of family life. Find Veronica: YouTube: @thrivewithveronica Instagram: @thrivewithveronica Facebook: @thrivewithveronica In Between Them is a podcast about what it really feels like to grow up between two homes — hosted by Shannon Darrow, divorce coach and mediator, featuring honest conversations with people about what their parents' divorce shaped, broke, and built in them. Have a question, a story to share, or interested in being a guest? Reach Shannon directly at sdarrow@onward-mc.com (mailto:sdarrow@onward-mc.com). Follow the show on Instagram @inbetweenthempod, and if this episode resonated, please rate and review In Between Them on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it's the single most helpful thing you can do to help other adult children of divorce find the show.

3. 

   21 Sept 2026

   38. Bella - 18 years old - When Your Parents Divorce at 18, It's Not Any Easier. It Still Sucks.

   Bella was a child of divorce — but not a young one. She was 18 or 19 when her parents' marriage ended, and in this episode she articulates beautifully something that gets almost no airtime in the divorce conversation: what happens when parents treat their adult children like confidants. The divorce came as a shock. Almost immediately, Bella was put in the middle. She became a bridge — the shuttle diplomat, the message-carrier, the one who knew things she shouldn't have known and had to hold them anyway. She quickly learned to suppress her own feelings and to stay "transparent" as a strategy for avoiding conflict — because either parent could react negatively to her plans, her opinions, or her ongoing relationship with the other. The boundaries she eventually tried to set were not well received. The cost was concrete: she didn't go to college. She went to work to help out. Her responsibilities shifted overnight, and the path she thought she was walking into as a new adult was replaced by one nobody had asked her to walk. Being "old enough" did not protect her from any of it — in some ways it made things harder, because everyone around her, including her parents, assumed she was fine. Even now, in her own adulthood with her own child, she is still managing the logistics of which grandparent gets to come to which birthday party. The middle didn't dissolve when she grew up. Bella also opens up about her own divorce and the ways her upbringing has shaped how she parents her daughter today — including her hard, conscious commitment to never put her daughter between adults or use her as a bridge, the way she once was. Toward the end, we touch briefly on the support group she co-founded with two friends called My Two Homes — a resource we'll explore in much more depth in a future episode with all three co-founders. What Bella and her friends are building is exactly the thing so many adult children of divorce wish had existed for them. Bella's book recommendation: Signs by Tara Swart. Find Bella and her co-founders: Instagram: @mytwohomes In Between Them is a podcast about what it really feels like to grow up between two homes — hosted by Shannon Darrow, divorce coach and mediator, featuring honest conversations with people about what their parents' divorce shaped, broke, and built in them. Have a question, a story to share, or interested in being a guest? Reach Shannon directly at sdarrow@onward-mc.com (mailto:sdarrow@onward-mc.com). Follow the show on Instagram @inbetweenthempod, and if this episode resonated, please rate and review In Between Them on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it's the single most helpful thing you can do to help other adult children of divorce find the show.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

4 ratings

Contact In Between Them

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.