The Shadows We Cast
The Shadows We Cast
Podcast Description
Welcome to The Shadows We Cast—a podcast about the legacies we inherit, the stories we carry, and the light we create in the process.Hosted by mental health advocate, writer, and speaker Jenn St. John, this series opens the door to raw and real conversations about living through, loving through, and learning from mental health challenges.In this short preview, Jenn shares what listeners can expect each week: deeply personal stories, journal readings, candid interviews with guests ranging from family members to public figures, and a commitment to unmasking mental health—one brave conversation at a time.If you've ever felt like you were navigating the dark without a map, this podcast is here to say: you're not alone. Let’s talk about the shadows—and the adaptability that rises from them.New episodes drop every Tuesday.Host & Producer: Jenn St JohnEditor: Andrew SchillerWebsite: www.jennstjohn.caFollow along:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenn_stjohn/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jenn.st.johnLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenn-st-john-25b137257/BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/jennstjohn.bsky.socialIf this episode spoke to you, share it with someone who might need to hear it too.Subscribe, leave a review, or just send a little love—your support helps these conversations reach the people who need them most.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast explores themes related to mental health, personal stories, and resilience, focusing on topics like childhood experiences with mental illness, coping strategies, and the impact of mental health on family dynamics, with episodes such as 'Growing Up with a Mentally Ill Parent' showcasing sibling conversations around their shared childhood.

Welcome to The Shadows We Cast—a podcast about the legacies we inherit, the stories we carry, and the light we create in the process.
Hosted by mental health advocate, writer, and speaker Jenn St. John, this series opens the door to raw and real conversations about living through, loving through, and learning from mental health challenges.
In this short preview, Jenn shares what listeners can expect each week: deeply personal stories, journal readings, candid interviews with guests ranging from family members to public figures, and a commitment to unmasking mental health—one brave conversation at a time.
If you’ve ever felt like you were navigating the dark without a map, this podcast is here to say: you’re not alone. Let’s talk about the shadows—and the adaptability that rises from them.
New episodes drop every Tuesday.
Host & Producer: Jenn St John
Editor: Andrew Schiller
Website: www.jennstjohn.ca
Follow along:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenn_stjohn/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jenn.st.john
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenn-st-john-25b137257/
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/jennstjohn.bsky.social
If this episode spoke to you, share it with someone who might need to hear it too.
Subscribe, leave a review, or just send a little love—your support helps these conversations reach the people who need them most.
This is the first of a three-part series exploring the messy, complicated years of early adulthood—when my sisters, Kate and Teresa, and I began to navigate the emotional weight of our mom’s mental illness and addiction in a new way.
We weren’t estranged yet. But the tether was fraying.
In this episode, we reflect on the years after leaving home—when we were starting careers, becoming parents, and building lives of our own. We were still trying to stay close to our mom through letters, phone calls, and hope. But we were also beginning to feel the cost of that closeness: the resentment, the confusion, and the exhaustion of trying to stay connected to someone whose pain kept spilling over.
We talk about what it meant to set boundaries before we really knew how, how our relationships were impacted, and how we slowly came to realize that love alone wasn’t enough to hold it all together.
This conversation is raw and real—and a reminder that sometimes the hardest part of growing up is learning how to stop breaking yourself to keep someone else whole.
Originally released: May 20 2025
Host/Producer/Writer/Director: Jenn St John
Editor: Andrew Schiller
Website:www.jennstjohn.ca
Follow along:
Instagram: @jenn_stjohn
LinkedIn: Jenn St John
If this episode spoke to you, share it with someone who might need to hear it too.
Subscribe, leave a review, or just send a little love—your support helps these conversations reach the people who need them most.

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