Ducking Realitea

One in a million with Jamey Aspel

Siobhan Episode 61

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0:00 | 1:47:01

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What are the odds an adopted kid is a perfect kidney match for their dad?
Jamey Aspel’s story is one in a million—and somehow also painfully human.

In this funny and deeply honest conversation, Jamey joins Siobhan to talk about growing up adopted in evangelical Appalachia, coming of age as a gay kid in a world that told him he was wrong, and the jaw-dropping moment he discovered he was a near-perfect kidney donor match for his adopted father. What began as “I’ll just get tested” became major surgery, a decade of life gifted back, and a reckoning with love, obligation, identity, and faith.

Along the way, Jamey opens up about religious trauma, late coming-out, estrangement, grief, therapy, and learning how to move beyond survival toward real growth. Equal parts heartbreaking and hilarious, this episode is about resilience, chosen family, and choosing joy, even when the world is still very much on fire.

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