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Navigating Narcissism with Dr. Ramani

Abandoned at Age 13 by His Mother: The Sam + Reed Harkness Story

Navigating Narcissism with Dr. Ramani

iHeartPodcasts

True Crime, Education, Self-improvement, Society & Culture, Relationships

4.8 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 11 May 2023

⏱️ 91 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Sam Harkness opens up about his decades-long journey to find his mother who abandoned the family when he was just 13 years old. His half brother Reed chronicled the entire process in the critically acclaimed documentary Sam Now.

Watch SAM NOW Streaming Now on PBS Independent Lens from June 6. For more info visit: https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/documentaries/sam-now/

Watch and Subscribe to our YouTube Channel @NavigatingNarcissismPod

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I want to hear from you, too. Have a toxic topic you want me to explore? Email me at [email protected]. I just might answer your questions on air.

Guest Bio:

Reed Harkness, Director  / Producer /  Cinematographer

Reed attended film school in his backyard and garage. At age 18, he began making a series of short films starring his younger brother Sam. This was the beginning of a project two decades in the making: SAM NOW, a coming-of-age film that follows his brother from age 11 to 36. Reed also directed the award-winning 30-minute documentary FOREST ON FIRE and the documentary series for Topic, HOUSE ON FIRE. See more at haha.work

Sam Harkness

Sam is currently doing independent contract work providing gender based violence prevention presentations to high school health classes, high school sports teams and college classes. The presentations raise awareness and provide info about dating violence, red flags in relationships, bystander intervention, survivor allyship and resources on how to get help if you're experiencing domestic or dating violence. His Meyers Briggs is Ginny Weasly and his enneagram is type Frodo with an Aragorn wing.

Guest Information:

This podcast should not be used as a substitute for medical or mental health advice. Individuals are advised to seek independent medical advice, counseling, and/or therapy from a healthcare professional with respect to any medical condition, mental health issue, or health inquiry, including matters discussed on this podcast.

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS Jada Pinkett Smith, Ellen Rakieten, Dr. Ramani Durvasula, Meghan Hoffman, Fallon Jethroe VP PRODUCTION OPERATIONS Martha Chaput CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jason Nguyen LINE PRODUCER Lee Pearce PRODUCER Matthew Jones, Aidan Tanner ASSOCIATE PRODUCER Mara De La Rosa ASSOCIATE CREATIVE PRODUCER Keenon Rush HAIR AND MAKEUP ARTIST Samatha Pack AUDIO ENGINEER Calvin Bailiff EXEC ASST Rachel Miller PRODUCTION OPS ASST Jesse Clayton EDITOR Eugene Gordon POST MEDIA MANAGER Luis E. Ackerman POST PROD ASST Moe Alvarez AUDIO EDITORS & MIXERS Matt Wellentin, Geneva Wellentin, VP, HEAD OF PARTNER STRATEGY Jae Trevits Digital MARKETING DIRECTOR Sophia Hunter VP, POST PRODUCTION Jonathan Goldberg SVP, HEAD OF CONTENT Lukas Kaiser HEAD OF CURRENT Christie Dishner VP, PRODUCTION OPERATIONS Jacob Moncrief EXECUTIVE IN CHARGE OF PRODUCTION Dawn Manning

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hello, this is Laverne Cox. I'm an actress, producer and host of the Laverne Cox show.

0:06.0

Do you like your tea with lemon or honey? History making Broadway performer Alex Newell.

0:12.0

When I sing the Holy Ghost shows up, that's my ministry and I know that well about me.

0:17.0

That's the tea honey. Whoever it is, you can bet we get into it.

0:21.0

My guest and I, we go there every single time. I can't help it.

0:25.0

Listen to the Laverne Cox show on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

0:32.0

Does your brain keep you up at bedtime? I'm Catherine Nicolai and my podcast Nothing Much Happens,

0:38.0

bedtime stories to help you sleep, has helped millions of people to get consistent, deep sleep.

0:43.0

My stories are family-friendly. They celebrate everyday pleasures and train you over time to fall asleep faster with less waking in the night.

0:51.0

Start sleeping better tonight. Listen to Nothing Much Happens, bedtime stories to help you sleep with Catherine Nicolai on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

1:02.0

In the 70s, the warehouse took over Chicago Nightlife and the club's DJ would go on to make history.

1:09.0

Frankie made sure that you felt it in your soul.

1:12.0

Learn more about the rise of house music on the history of the world's greatest night clubs,

1:17.0

a 12-part podcast about the iconic venues and people that revolutionized How We Party.

1:24.0

Listen to the history of the world's greatest night clubs on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

1:32.0

Sam Harkness was 13 years old when his mother left one day, leaving no note, no forwarding address, no information on where she was going.

1:42.0

Sam and his brothers were then left with the question of not only why, but also where and how.

1:49.0

The telling of Sam's story is all the more remarkable because Sam's half-brother Reed Harkness made a series of films about Sam's antics while he was a child and an adolescent.

2:03.0

The film Sam now beautifully intercuts this footage of Sam the child with Sam the adult on a journey to find his mother and the far more complex journey of what to do when he finally finds her.

2:19.0

It's the story of complex and difficult personalities in a family, how they affect everyone, the challenges in balancing empathy, compassion, boundaries, and reality,

2:32.0

and how healing is a process of evolution.

2:36.0

This podcast should not be used as a substitute for medical or mental health advice.

...

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