Ep. 207: Adopted from Seoul, Bullied on Long Island, and Finding Beauty in the Hardest Places

Jennifer Norman — founder of the Human Beauty Movement and host of the Human Beauty Movement Podcast — joins Zach for one of the most emotionally raw and beautiful conversations Everything & Anything has ever had.   Jennifer was abandoned in Seoul, South Korea as an infant, adopted by a white family on Long Island, and spent years in the beauty industry trying to outrun a deep sense of not belonging. What she didn't know was that her greatest transformation was still ahead. When her son was diagnosed with a rare mitochondrial disorder at age two and nearly died, Jennifer's entire world shifted. She quit her career, tried everything from traditional medicine to ayahuasca, and ultimately received a message that changed how she moves through the world: your job is not to fix him — your job is to love him. In this episode: the shame of being different, the toxicity hiding inside the beauty industry, two divorces, surviving the almost unthinkable, and why Jennifer believes real beauty has nothing to do with how you look. Subscribe to the Human Beauty Movement Podcast wherever you listen. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-human-beauty-movement-podcast/id1641573958 🎙️ Everything & Anything…and a Bit Gay drops new episodes weekly. 👍 Like, subscribe, and leave a review — it helps more than you know.   Chapters: 0:00 – Intro & how they met 1:07 – The Human Beauty Movement Podcast 1:30 – 25 years in the beauty industry 3:35 – Abandoned in Seoul, adopted to Long Island 6:00 – Growing up different in Smithtown 8:00 – Social anxiety, sensuality, and feeling "less than" 12:05 – Have you ever gone back to Korea? 12:28 – 23andMe, DNA, and the truth about adoption trafficking 15:25 – Zach's college roommate finds her biological family 17:40 – Jennifer's siblings and their own search stories 21:35 – How their upbringings shaped their relationships 23:25 – Two divorces, depression, and rebuilding 27:14 – Her son's rare mitochondrial disorder diagnosis 30:28 – The decision no parent should have to make 33:00 – Ayahuasca, the cosmos, and the message that freed her 36:00 – Why she started the Human Beauty Movement 39:10 – The best lesson from 4 years of interviewing people 44:00 – How friendships shape who we become 50:38 – Losing track of time — the sign of a great guest 51:07 – Where to find Jennifer & outro           Podcast song by SIXFOOT 5: https://www.sixfoot5prod.com Apple: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/sixfoot-5/1551774977 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5rHMzoU0G0fLhaBsrQiOOY?si=laSZ5hiKTYubJJyhrzf2JQ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.