In this episode of Dear Jordan, I write a letter about love—the kind we hope for, the kind we misunderstand, and the kind we often learn the hard way.

I reflect on how early experiences shape our understanding of love, how grief and loss can change what we reach for, and how feelings that look like love can sometimes be chemistry, familiarity, or survival instincts in disguise. Through personal reflection, psychological insight, and biblical grounding, this letter explores the difference between attention and affection, intensity and devotion, sacrifice and self-abandonment.

This episode isn’t about giving rules or telling anyone what to do. It’s about slowing down long enough to recognize patterns, to understand why certain relationships feel powerful but unsafe, and to learn how discernment protects both the heart and the spirit.

At its core, this letter is about learning that healthy love doesn’t confuse, rush, or destabilize. It brings clarity, safety, and peace. And it begins—not with another person—but with knowing yourself.

Written for my daughter, Jordan, and shared with anyone who has ever questioned what love is supposed to feel like, this episode is an invitation to choose love that feels like safety, not survival.

In this first letter, I explain why I'm writing these letters at all. Not as advice. Not as a how-to. But as a way of making sense of the things of the things I didn't understand while I was living them.

This is about the conversations I didn't know how to have, the lessons that came too late, and the truths that only surfaced after life forced me to slow down and look back. Writing these letters is my way of giving meaning to the moments that shaped me and saying the things I once needed to hear.

This is where is begins. Not with answers, but with honesty.

Sincerely,

Andrea, mother of Mark Angel, Nathan, Jordan and Joel

Certified Mental Health Coach

A Forever Student of Life

Book a session with me via:

vibly.io/experts/andrea-manajo

Dear Jordan... is a letter-style podcast where I speak to my daughter about the lessons I learned the hard way — the truths I wish someone had told me before life, loss, and trauma did the teaching for me.

This series is about honesty, healing, and the quiet wisdom that comes from surviving what you never thought you would. It’s for anyone who’s had to grow up too fast, rebuild themselves, or learn to trust their own voice again.

New episodes begin January 1, 2026.