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A teenager sent to rehab without ever touching drugs. A yellow‑Formica childhood stitched with bullying and bravado. A school shooting buried by a bigger headline. Jessica Danel’s story doesn’t ask for sympathy—it demands your attention and rewards it with candor, humor, and hard‑won wisdom. We sit down with Jessica to unpack the heartbeat behind her memoir, Bucket List from a Redneck Girl, and the Just Saying podcast she launched to give other moms a place to breathe.

Jessica walks us through the chapters that shaped her: Park Circle friendships and Catholic school scars, an El Camino first love on her terms, and a wedding day so chaotic she calls it “Jerry Springer.” She shares how she built a 208‑child preschool from her living room—then watched the 2008 crash squeeze the life out of a thriving business while her newborn needed open‑heart surgery. The conversation turns deeply personal as she details her daughter’s ongoing medical journey, a later genetic answer—16p11.2 duplication—that reframed years of questions, and the daily realities of autism, speech delays, and sensory‑driven anxiety. We talk inclusion that sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t, the steep jump from elementary to high school supports, and the small, stubborn wins that keep families going.

Through it all, Jessica’s voice stays warm and grounded. She owns her mistakes, explains how reconciling with her mom reshaped old narratives, and offers clear advice on marriage (be friends, share goals, compromise) and advocacy (document, ask, try again tomorrow). If you’ve ever felt misread by the systems meant to help, this conversation will feel like a hand on your shoulder. Stream the episode, grab the book on Amazon, Apple Books, or Barnes & Noble, and follow Jessica on Instagram, TikTok, and X. If the story moved you, subscribe, share with a friend who needs hope today, and leave a review—your words help others find ours.

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