PODCAST · kids
A Dialogue of the Heart
by Anna Giattina Lee
After her adopted daughter died in a car accident, her mom discovered over 200 letters that she had written to God between the age of 14 & 18. To help herself grieve, the mom reads each letter - one at a time - and writes a letter back to her daughter, telling her all the things she would have said if she had known that she wouldn’t have another chance. The subject matter is intense and hard, but the conversations are authentic and raw - exposing the challenges & giving insights into both growing up and of parenting. In addition, because adoption produced feelings of abandonment and loss for this child, there was trauma that led to many additional challenges for both daughter and mom. We strongly suggest that you listen to this podcast with your teen and relish the conversations that you can have together, while you are both still living.
Episodes
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P2E19 & 21 Never Again and It's all Still the Same
No trigger warning today. Today is pretty normal teen stuff - loves lost - and silly mistakes.
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P2E18 & 19 I wanna spend the night on the Top of the World with You & Death of my Daddy
MILD TRIGGER WARNING: There is discussion of how it feels to be in relationship with your abuser, but nothing explicit. Heather struggles with understanding how to react to the news about her father being her likely abuser. She's having trouble concentrating on anything but this. Some days are...
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P2E16 & 17 - It's Never What it Seems... & Never the Same Again and Coming Together & Falling Apart
Trigger & Language Warning: There are many descriptions of sexual abuse, physical abuse and other serious topics in today's journal entries and responses. Heather learns that her father, whom she adores, was likely her abuser. She grapples with the complex feelings she has about knowing this...
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P2E13, 14 & Enchanted & I'm sick of this world
No trigger warning. Some minor cursing in reflections. 11:11 am and pm held a special significance for Heather. It seemed like everyday she joyously announced this time and ordered all of us to make a wish. After she passed, I noticed that I saw the clock at 11:11 and even 1:11 almost every…
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P2E10, 11 & 12 Skittles. Brokenness. Not so Depressed Anymore.
No trigger warning today! Heather's continues to try to earn her way into God's grace, but she seems to be catching on a little. Her moods are still shift minute by minute as she tries to navigate life. Mom, as always, has a few things to say about being yourself and loving yourself!
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P2E8 & 9 And then the Magic Happens .... Failure has Become my New Identity
There are two curse words in the second half of this podcast. Otherwise, there are no trigger warnings. Today is a double episode based on two separate entries in Heather's journal in the same day - which happens to demonstrate how quickly emotions change .... but the answers stay the same.
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P2E7 Just Another Day
Trigger Warning: There is some mild language and a brief discussion of a drunken person. It is just another day of struggles as Heather tries to be a good girl and follow all the rules! If only she understood that it isn't about rules, it's about relationships built on trust. We will all make...
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P2E6 Pain from the Past
Trigger Warning: A few curse words are used in today's episode; There are also brief mentions of Sexual and Physical Abuse, Promiscuity, Cutting, and Abandonment. Heather continues to fight the memories and beliefs that plague her. She shifts back and forth between despair and hope, searching for...
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P2E5: Tolerating a Smile
Heather often wrote poetry. Short and sweet. Enjoy!
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P2E4 Aww F**K It!
Trigger Warning: Discussions of cutting, inadequacies, Satan, as well as cursing Heather used cutting as a coping mechanism to feel something. In this letter she realizes she cut in a place that might show. The real discussion isn't about cutting, but about the reasons that she feels the need to...
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P2E3: Just Making it By...
Trigger Warning: Discussion of a severe auto accident and injuries. Some days, like January 16, 2011 and today, January 27, 2025 are hard. The kind of hard that it feels like you can't possibly recover from. The kind of hard that leaves you hopeless-even if only briefly. The kind of days that…
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P2E2 What's Next?
Heather continues to beat herself up. She feels like everyone knows that she isn't who she pretends to be and they are judging her, though there is no evidence this is true. Heather is begging God to help her becomes she doesn't think anyone else can or will.
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Bonus: Heather's Life Story: Trauma and Love
Trigger Warning: Potential Sexual & Physical Abuse, Adoption, Attachment Disorder, Loss & Abandonment In our last episode, we shared our first daughter/mom dialogue. In this episode, we back track one more time to give context to these earlier entries and share some key things in Heather's life...
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P2E1: The Girl Who Did Everything Wrong
This the the first journal entry written when Heather was 14 years old, and her mother's letter back to Heather, written after she passed. The themes today shouldn't be triggering, but they might make you realize that feelings of inadequacy are universal across time, age, and gender. Disclaimer…
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P1E2: The End of the Beginning
Trigger Warning: Death, dying, grief, trauma, accident. Intended for parents and teens, with a warning that these are hard conversations between mother and daughter on many different and difficult topics. We encourage parents/guardians & teens (and some preteens) to listen together and use this…
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P1E1: The Beginning of the End of the Beginning
Trigger Warning: Today's episode contains a mother's perspective on death, grief, suicide, and trauma. This is intended for teens and parents. Listen together, but be aware that this may not be suitable for younger listeners. After her adopted daughter died in a car accident, her mom discovered...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
After her adopted daughter died in a car accident, her mom discovered over 200 letters that she had written to God between the age of 14 & 18. To help herself grieve, the mom reads each letter - one at a time - and writes a letter back to her daughter, telling her all the things she would have said if she had known that she wouldn’t have another chance. The subject matter is intense and hard, but the conversations are authentic and raw - exposing the challenges & giving insights into both growing up and of parenting. In addition, because adoption produced feelings of abandonment and loss for this child, there was trauma that led to many additional challenges for both daughter and mom. We strongly suggest that you listen to this podcast with your teen and relish the conversations that you can have together, while you are both still living.
HOSTED BY
Anna Giattina Lee
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does A Dialogue of the Heart have?
A Dialogue of the Heart currently has 16 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is A Dialogue of the Heart about?
After her adopted daughter died in a car accident, her mom discovered over 200 letters that she had written to God between the age of 14 & 18. To help herself grieve, the mom reads each letter - one at a time - and writes a letter back to her daughter, telling her all the things she would have said...
How often does A Dialogue of the Heart release new episodes?
A Dialogue of the Heart has 16 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to A Dialogue of the Heart?
You can listen to A Dialogue of the Heart on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts A Dialogue of the Heart?
A Dialogue of the Heart is created and hosted by Anna Giattina Lee.
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