205. Author Julie Bennett on Motherhood, Fighting for Family, Battling Breast Cancer, and How We Can Bring Belonging to Our Communites

Julie Bennett and her husband, Chris, are passionate about how to combat our loneliness epidemic, build deep connection, and fight for (not with!) the ones you love, no matter what challenges you face. In a time when so many suffer from isolation and it feels like developing authentic relationships and true belonging is harder than ever, Chris and Julie Bennett invite you into their story to discover why we were meant for togetherness and why it's worth facing any amount of hardship to keep our faith, families, and communities at the center of who we are. When Chris and Julie and their four kids moved from Norman, Oklahoma, to Los Angeles (which just happened to be one of the most disconnected cities in the United States), they knew they were setting out on a great adventure. They’d be leaving behind the church they had pastored, the comfort of their established community, and the familiarity of their daily routines, but the new city promised to bring some much-needed change. What they didn't expect was how this adventure—complicated by a cancer diagnosis, a relapse, and a pandemic—would challenge their notions of what it means to care for each other well, both as a biological family and as part of a broader community. Rebelliously hopeful, the couple will take you on their harrowing journey as they show how family—whether biological, adopted, or chosen—is the greatest risk you'll ever take, the best reward you'll ever gain, and an essential part of what makes us human.