Ericka Andersen

Ryan Hampton spent nearly a decade addicted to opioids. He also worked for the Clinton White House, had a good family and education. He wasn't the type of person you might expect to become addicted to drugs. But what we've learned in the past few years is that addiction can affect anyone. It doesn't matter your race, class, sexuality, background -- addiction doesn't discriminate and if you are wired for it, it's nearly impossible to escape once it begins. But Ryan did escape. And he did far more than that -- he has built up a powerful movement of recovery advocacy that attempts to remove the stigma and shame associated with addiction, and put a face of humanity back on victims. Only four years sober, Ryan has already written a a … [Read more...]

You know when you meet someone you were destined to be friends with? That's how I felt upon meeting Alexandra Hudson -- Lexi to her friends. She's got a creative spirit I vibe with and is a writer after my own heart, spending her days focused on the lost art of civility, conversation, discourse and more. She's writing a book on the subject, while at the same time writing and working for several other respectable places, landing plum fellowships and passing on her creative energy to anyone who crosses her path. Also, she's published at places like The Wall Street Journal, the Hill, Quillette and many more. She went to the London School of Economics (wow!) and loves philosophy, the arts, world travel and jazz. She's one of those people … [Read more...]

Bethany Mandel has been outspoken since I met her. She's blunt, to the point and has a lot of strong opinions. She's been able to make use of those as a freelance writer, publishing opinions on everything from vaccines to guns to privacy issues and more on impressive outlets like the New York Times, the Atlantic and the Washington Post. In today's interview, we dig into the vaccine debate (she's pro-vaxx) and a couple of other issues she's written about. She also fights fiercely for North Korean refugees and is a crunchy momma who's into things like natural births and she dabbles in free-range parenting. Shortly after our interview, Bethany gave birth to her fourth baby. It wasn't quite as exciting as the third, who was born in a car on … [Read more...]

In 2012, I prepared to take a trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo to help continue a building project at an orphanage. In preparation, we were asked to read a couple of books -- of them being "Orphanology." It my first deep dive into the world of foster care, adoption and orphan-related readings. Even though I had the great privilege of meeting and spending time with the amazing kids in DRC, I actually felt God drawing me to learn and take action on a domestic level in the United States. I read more books -- "Another Place at the Table" (unbearably heartbreaking but important) and began learning more about my husband's story growing up as an abused and neglected child. I uncovered a world unfamiliar, nothing like the … [Read more...]