Children Like Us: Family, Heritage & Cultural Erasure with Brittany Penner

This week, I talk with Brittany Penner about her memoir Children Like Us, a haunting, deeply reflective exploration of identity, faith, and survival. Brittany shares what it was like growing up as an Indigenous child adopted into a Mennonite family that fostered dozens of other children, unpacking the long-term impact of the Sixties Scoop, religious indoctrination, and being taught to feel “grateful” for circumstances rooted in colonial harm.

We dive into dissociation, self-abandonment, storytelling as a tool for healing, and the complicated reality of holding love for family while confronting the systems that caused lasting damage.

We discuss grief, nuance, and reclamation, ultimately asking what it means to trust your own memory, honor your pain, and slowly learn how to walk yourself home.

Learn more about Brittany here

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Erin Ashley @bellametaphor