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Hidden Chapters: Real Stories that Bring Light to the Hidden Parts of Life
Behind every put-together exterior is a chapter most people never see.
If you’ve ever felt alone in your own story, especially in the middle of it, this is a place where those unseen chapters are spoken out loud.
Not the version that made it onto a stage. Not the polished takeaway or the neatly packaged lesson.
Hidden Chapters is a storytelling podcast that goes back further. To the grief that didn’t come with a lesson yet. The identity crisis in the middle of the night. The fear, the silence, the in-between, the raw and unresolved moments most people don’t talk about.
Hosted by Genevieve Kruger, each episode invites guests to share the parts of their story that are often left out. Not because the ending doesn’t matter, but because most of us are still living in the middle, and that part deserves its own space.
This is a show about the messy, complicated, tender, and deeply human parts of life that rarely get airtime because they don’t fit neatly into the stories we present to the world.
Hidden Chapters exists to honor the stories we don't always see, so you don't feel alone in yours.
Episodes
45 episodes
A Year of Lessons You Can Actually Use | Hidden Chapters Podcast Season 3 Finale
Hidden Chapters Season 3 Finale + One Year Anniversary Reflection 🎉In this Season 3 finale and one-year anniversary episode of Hidden Chapters, I find myself looking back at everything this first year has held.<...
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Part 2: She Found Her Son After 50 Years and Then Lost Him Again
If you haven’t listened to Part 1 yet, start there, it’s the foundation for everything in this episode.🎙️ Episode Summary PART 2In Part 1, Laura Engel shared what happened in 1967: the pregna...
Part 1: She Was Told to Give Up Her Baby and Never Speak of It Again
🎙️ Episode Summary PART 1: Laura Engel was seventeen when she got pregnant, unmarried, in Mississippi in 1967. Her family sent her to an unwed mothers' home in New Orleans for five months. She signed papers ...
Surviving a Brain Hemorrhage and Starting Over Twice: Dan MacQueen on Recovery, Discipline, and Resilience
🎙️ Episode Summary: At 28, Dan MacQueen was living his best life in London- working in tech, traveling in Europe on weekends, active and untethered. Then a string of worsening headaches led to an optometrist appointmen...
What Real Inclusion Looks Like: Disablity, Ableism, and Advocacy with Jenna Udenberg
🎙️ Episode SummaryWhat does real inclusion actually look beyond good intentions and surface level awareness? In this episode, I get to sit down with educator, author, and accessibility advocate Jenna Udenb...
What Nobody Tells You About Divorce: Grief, Identity Loss, and Coming Through With Dignity
🎙️ Episode SummaryDivorce doesn't just end a marriage, it unravels an identity. In this episode, I sits down with Brenda Bridges, Certified Divorce Financial Analyst, coach, and author of Sh!t, I'm Getting Divorced,...
Recovering from a Stroke and Redefining Success in Life
🎙️ Episode 9 SummaryWhat happens when the life you built around being busy suddenly stops?For Chip Scholz, that answer came in the form of a stroke. One morning in Jacksonville, Florida, a man who had spent o...
Living With Anxiety and Depression Since Age 12 | Noah May’s Mental Health Journey
🎙️ Episode Summary Noah May has been navigating anxiety and depression since age 12. In this episode, he opens up about his mental health journey, the coping strategies that have helped him, and how podcasting became a ...
Grit, Gratitude, and Life Without Sight: Laura Bratton’s Hidden Chapters
🎙️ Episode Summary: In this inspiring episode, Laura Bratton shares her journey of losing her sight at a young age and how she navigated anxiety, grief, and depression while learning to embrace life on new terms. ...
Trusting God Through Grief and Unpaid Work: A Story of Family, Faith, and Podcasting
🎙️ Episode SummaryIn this deeply moving episode, Mick shares his journey of navigating unimaginable grief after the loss of his son, the raw and authentic prayers that sustained him, and how his faith in God has transformed ...
From Feeling Unseen to Showing Up: A Military Leader’s Hidden Chapter
Episode SummaryTwenty four years ago, Adrian sat in my high school English classroom. He was quiet. Thoughtful. The kind of student who did not demand attention, but was always paying attention. I do not think either of us could have...
Breast Cancer Couldn’t Stop Her: Rebuilding at 50 and Thriving at 60
🎙️ Episode SummaryAt 42, Zulma walked into a classroom with determination and a clear sense of who she was. At 46, just two months after graduation, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. At 50, s...
How I Started My Podcast | My Equipment, Platforms, and the Ripple Effect of Storytelling
🎙️ Episode Summary:This week’s bonus episode is a behind-the-scenes look at how I started Hidden Chapters. From the equipment I use to the platforms that keep everything running, I walk you through my real setup and what wor...
Kindergarten Behind the Screen. What Children Lost and Learned During COVID with Teacher Karin Tramm
Episode Summary: When schools shut down during COVID, learning didn’t just move online. Childhood did too.In this episode of Hidden Chapters, I sits down with Karin Tramm, a retired Department of Defense Education Act...
Stuck in the Waiting. Finding Growth, Faith, and Identity During Separation
Privacy Note: Due to the sensitivity of the immigration process, some personal details are intentionally kept private in this conversation, including specific names and circumstances. This was a thoughtful choice made to honor bo...
When Strength Meant Silence. How Early Loss Shaped Identity, Relationships, and Healing
Episode Summary: This conversation with Alex explores how early, unspoken family trauma shaped her identity, coping patterns, and relationships. A sudden financial collapse during her late teens created instability, emotional...
Hidden Chapters Season 3 Pre Launch Update
Hidden Chapters is back for Season 3!! 🎉In this short pre launch episode, I sharing whats coming this season, and reflecting on the quiet, untold stories behind the smiles, the hidden parts of life that shape us, inspire us, and sometime...
Season 2 Finale: Relive the Hidden Chapters That Will Inspire, Heal, and Encourage You
🎙️ Season 2 closes with a heartfelt look back at the stories that shaped Hidden Chapters. This finale brings together powerful moments from Seasons 1 and 2: highlight clips of guests, reflections, and stories that continue to resonate.&n...
From Engineer to Author & Coach: Simona Pappalardo on Courage, Change, and Authentic Leadership
In this episode of Hidden Chapters, I sit down with Simona Pappalardo, a global executive turned leadership coach, speaker, and author of Authentically Yours. Born in Milan and having lived in Scotland, Malaysia, and the U.S.,...
Grateful Voices: Stories of Gratitude and Encouragement from Hidden Chapters
There is so much to be grateful for this year! ❤️A season to reflect on gratitude and encouragement, shared by voices from Hidden Chapters.As I look back on the past months, I’m filled with appreciation for every st...
Mended with Gold: Finding Beauty in Life's Broken Moments
What if the cracks in your life could become your most beautiful part? Inspired by Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold, I share how heartbreak, disappointment, and loss can be transformed into strength, light...
The Chapters Still in Progress. Healing What You’re Still Living Through
I’ve realized that some chapters aren’t hidden because we’re afraid to share them. They’re hidden because we’re still living in them.In this solo episode, I talk about what it’s been like to navigate healing without having everything fig...
Raising Hope After Loss. Grief, Adoption, and Parenting Through the Hardest Chapters
Some losses change everything. Other's pile up quietly until you realize you've been carrying more than anyone ever knew. In this episode, Christin shares her story of losing both parents in high school, navigating her broth...
When ‘I’m Fine’ Wasn’t the Truth. The Cost of Pretending I Was Okay
I told people I was fine for years. The truth was, pretending came at a cost I didn’t understand yet.In this solo episode, I share a season I don’t talk about often. The years I spent teaching while quietly questioning my purpose, failin...