Hello and welcome to the Slow Home podcast. This is the podcast all about slow living in a fast-paced world.

I am Brooke McCallory. My name's Ben McCallery and welcome to episode 246 as we continue our relationships

theme for the month of July. Deep dive and into those relationships. So last week we spoke about

romantic relationships and this week we spoke about romantic relationships.

And this week we're going to broaden that net into family relationships and the broader

family relationships.

So not just talking about kids, siblings, moms and dads, but also aunties, uncles.

And family.

Even like friends.

Yeah, sorry.

Really close friends relationship.

Friends who are as close, if not closer than family.

Because what I will say at the very beginning, the very top of this episode, is that I completely understand that families are messy.

A lot of people haven't benefited from a supportive or a close-knit family or there's drama or, you know, trauma and hurt feelings and separations and all sorts of complicating factors.

So please know that what we're going to talk about in today's episode is not just about shiny happy families.

No. It's about the real. The real situation. I mean, all of all of what we're going to talk

about, I think, applies to families no matter what family looks like for you. Yeah, exactly.

Yeah. So before we start this episode, why don't we talk about where we are in the North American continent?

So the book tour is well underway. If you're listening the day this comes out,

I've just finished speaking at Book Passage in San Francisco, Court Madeira. And again,

I just want to say thank you to people who are coming

out to the events. I always live in fear that I will turn up to the bookstore and there will be

...