This week’s guest is artist Alonso Yáñez (he/him). Alonso shares with us about his own continuous journey of reckoning with and healing from the layers of shame that have existed and taken shape for him. He highlights the shape-shifting quality of shame, the tendency for queer people to develop various kinds of strategies to counter shame and gain value and validation elsewhere, and so much more. Alonso talks about still not being on the other side of shame, still not being where he wants to be, but does so because he believes in the power of all of us sharing where we are in our own journeys and owning that we are enough at every stage of it.

ART SHOW ANNOUNCEMENT: On May 18, 2024 his first virtual art show opens: Quite Spectacle. It is opening in the Artsy platform and running from May 18th to August 18th at https://www.artsy.net/show/dama-gallery-quiet-spectacle.

About the guest:
Alonso is an artist from Mexico City. An avid reader of fiction he is interested in exploring ways to tell stories through images and translate emotion into color. You can connect with Alonso and follow his art at @laber.intos.

For more, visit www.secondadolescencepod.com and @secondadolescnecepod (IG).

This week, we dive into a conversation about the experience of LGBTQ+ elderhood in the United States with two women who work with SAGE, the world's largest and oldest organization dedicated to improving the lives of LGBTQ+ elders and their caregivers: Sadiya Abjani (she/her), Director of Training and Instructional Design for SAGECare, and Darcy Connors (she/her), Executive Director of SAGEServes.

Both women offer their experience, hearts, and wisdom as we talk about the wide range of experiences LGBTQ+ elders have, the need for greater awareness of their experiences, the need for increased inclusivity and safety in spaces LGBTQ+ elders are existing within today, and so much more!

More About SAGE:
Established in 1978, SAGE is the world’s largest and oldest organization dedicated to improving the lives of LGBTQ+ elders and their caregivers. The organization provides a wide variety of programs and services for LGBTQ+ elders, both in New York and nationwide, to ensure LGBTQ+ elders are given the resources they need to age with respect and dignity. SAGE also conducts advocacy efforts for LGBTQ+ elders and their caregivers and does so in many forms, such asmobilizing people when rights are at stake, educating policymakers about LGBTQ+ aging issues, marching and rallying with LGBTQ+ allies and more. Visit www.sageusa.org for more.

For more about this episode and others, visit www.secondadolescenepod.com and @secondadolescencepod (IG).

What does it mean to "work with our younger selves," and why even bother? In this solo episode with me (host, Adam James Cohen, LMFT!) we will cover this and more.

We ALL carry the wounds of our younger selves. And, like ghosts with unfinished business, the wounds of our younger selves - if left untended - can remain within us, like toxins, and come out in ways that interrupt the life we want for ourselves. Actively working with our younger selves is core to the whole theory of Second Adolescence as a framework for queer healing.

In this episode, we'll cover:

• WHY it is valuable (and, likely, necessary) for LGBTQ+ adults to develop and maintain accessible relationship to our younger selves if we seek to find healing and liberation after growing up in an anti-queer world.
• WHAT it actually means to "work with our younger selves," and
• HOW we can more intentionally do this

If after listening to today's episode you notice having a question you'd like answered or a comment you'd like to make and have either included in future Q&A episodes of the show, visit www.secondadolescencepod.com/ask to submit!

For more, visit www.secondadolescencepod.com and @secondadolescencepod (IG).

Download episode transcript here.