Family, Friendship, and Grit: Thriving Through Blindness with Laura Bratton

In this episode of The Art of Imperfect Adulting, host Amy Stone chats with Laura Bratton. Laura shares her deeply personal journey of losing her vision as a teenager, navigating grief and identity, and building a life grounded in grit, gratitude, and purpose. Together, they touch on adapting to traumatic change, the power of support systems, and practical ways to embrace a new normal—no matter what life throws your way.About the Guest:Laura Bratton is a psychologist, theologian, author of "Harnessing Courage: Overcoming Adversity with Grit and Gratitude," and founder of Ubi Global, where she coaches and speaks on resilience in the face of adversity. Despite losing her vision to a rare retinal disease in high school, Laura is passionate about helping others find strength while moving through periods of change, loss, and uncertainty.Main Topics Covered:Laura’s diagnosis and gradual loss of sight during her teenage yearsThe emotional and practical realities of adapting to sudden life changesNavigating grief, depression, and anxiety as a young adultThe critical importance of support systems: family, friends, teachers, and guide dogsHow mindset, grit, and gratitude facilitate healingAccommodations and adaptations in school and collegeBuilding a life of purpose: studying psychology and theology, writing a book, and launching Ubi GlobalQuote from the Episode:"When we face change, when we face loss, when we're in the midst of grief, that's intense courage to choose not to be overwhelmed and shut down by the grief, by the loss. So that's why the title [of my book], Harnessing Courage, was very deliberate, very specific." — Laura BrattonTimestamps:00:00 – Amy introduces Laura and kicks off the conversation00:12 – Laura describes her roots in South Carolina and self-care through nature01:39 – The journey of being diagnosed with a rare retinal disease03:54 – The grieving process and the emotional reality of losing vision09:37 – The role of family and zero prior experience with vision loss11:17 – School accommodations, learning braille, and technology access13:45 – Support systems and Laura’s rearview realization of her mindset shift18:24 – Practical school adaptations and learning to accept “being different”21:14 – Navigating social transitions in college and finding confidence23:10 – Deciding on psychology and theology as college and graduate studies27:32 – Why Laura wrote "Harnessing Courage" and the meaning behind the title30:43 – Founding Ubi Global and using her lived experience to support others34:15 – Where to find Laura and connect with her work35:00 – Fun rapid-fire questions: favorite foods, books, and bucket listsNever Miss a Moment of Imperfect AdultingWe invite you to join our email community and let us bring the podcast directly to you! As a subscriber, you'll receive notifications about new episodes, exclusive offers from our amazing guests, and easier access to any of the important links mentioned on the show—no more scrambling to write down websites or remember special codes.Why subscribe?Stay up-to-date without checking your podcast appGet guest offers delivered straight to your inboxAccess all important links in one convenient placeCatch the highlights even when you don't have time to listenAre you ready? Join us at https://www.imperfectadulting.com If you love the show and you'd like to support it directly you can tip the host here https://imperfect-adulting.captivate.fm/supportIf you have a story to share and you'd like to be a guest on The Art of Imperfect Adulting, here are the steps for how you can make that happen. Pitch yourself at https://www.imperfectadulting.com/be-a-guestHere are a few resources that Amy uses to make all this great content. These are affiliate links :-)For livestreaming and recording ECamm https://www.ecamm.com/mac/ecammlive/?fp_ref=amy69Podcast hosting and distribution: Captivate FM https://www.captivate.fm/signup?ref=ntczmwi Website hosting with Siteground https://www.siteground.com/?referrer_id=9115590Ai Transcription Tool: Castmagic https://get.castmagic.io/ugrmjjrt8ofjFor Email I recently switched to Beehiiv https://www.beehiiv.com?via=Amy-Stonebefore that I used Kit. Books I like and books written by show guests on Bookshop.org https://bookshop.org/lists/podcast-guest-authors