About Just Like Nana

I am a storyteller, a mother of triplets, a lover of animals, and an eternal inquirer. A few years back, I took a DNA test and created my family tree on Ancestry.com. I was fascinated to learn that 45 of my grandmas were named Elizabeth (my middle name) — and not simply as a name that was passed down but from disparate family members who would not become connected until future generations. I was inspired to tell their stories and am writing a book titled Elizabeth: A Matronymic Tale. 

Just Like Nana is an extension of my writing.  A way for me to understand my own family’s history and offer others a place to do the same. This podcast isn’t about blame or perfection. It’s about witnessing the past, honoring it, and choosing how we move forward. It also provides perspectives on generational trauma from multi-faceted experts—therapists, Reiki practitioners, neurologists, fiction and non-fiction authors, breathwork facilitators, genealogists, and more. 

I hope it feels like a conversation you’d have at your Nana’s kitchen table — honest, a little nostalgic, and always hopeful. If your Nana was anything like mine, it might even involve some cocoa with marshmallows. I also want you to know that I am not an expert—medical or otherwise. I’m simply a passionate curator of information related to ancestral trauma.

Photo: Host with her paternal great grandmother

Gienoveffa Sponzilli Cursio (Italy to Illinois)