Welcome to Middle Ground: Why I Started This Podcast and What It's Really About

Hi, I'm Brynne. And If This Is Your First Time Here, I'm Really Glad You Found Your Way.

I'm a boy mom and a stay at home mom, a former elementary school teacher who spent seven years in third and fourth grade classrooms before stepping away to be at home with my firstborn. I'm now home full time, which has been one of the most identity-shifting experiences of my life. I'm a book lover, an outdoor enthusiast, and a serious foodie. And somewhere in the middle of all of that, I found myself on a journey I didn't exactly plan for.

✨Listen to the full episode or read for the breakdown.

Who I Am and How I Got Here

Stepping out of the workforce and into full-time motherhood was harder than I expected. Not just logistically, but internally. I had to figure out who I was outside of a career, outside of a classroom, outside of the version of myself I had always known. That process launched me onto a path of self-discovery that I'm still on. And a big, unexpected part of that path was my spirituality.

"The woman I had been before, the one who believed everything without question, she was gone. And there was no going back to her."

The Moment Everything Shifted

"Not the middle as in indifferent or checked out. The middle as in the space between the extremes. The space where real people with real questions actually live."

I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Around 2019, I hit a moment where some things just stopped settling right with me, particularly around my LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters and some of the positions my church had taken regarding them. I didn't understand it. And instead of pushing the discomfort down, I started reading. Listening to podcasts. Seeking out perspectives from people inside my faith and outside of it, from other faiths entirely, from people who had walked away and people who had stayed. And somewhere in all of that searching, I realized I didn't believe things the same way I had before.

That left me with a choice. I could step away from the church entirely, because the woman I had been before, the one who believed everything without question, she was gone and there was no going back to her. Or I could figure out how to be the new version of me and still participate in my faith. I chose the second option. And that is where I am today, still navigating it, still figuring it out one day at a time.

Why I Started Middle Ground

That place, the middle, is where this podcast was born.

Not the middle as in indifferent or checked out. The middle as in the space between the extremes. The space where real people with real questions actually live. I kept noticing how much hurt existed between people on opposite sides of hard conversations, how often the experiences of those who had stepped away were dismissed or misunderstood by those who stayed, and how rarely anyone was just talking to each other. Not to convince, not to debate, but to actually understand.

I wanted to create that space. For people of the Latter-day Saint faith and beyond. For people navigating faith transitions, controversial topics, and the messy, beautiful in-between of figuring out what you believe and why. Everyday people sharing their thoughts, their stories, and their experiences, with curiosity and honesty and without a predetermined outcome.

"All of us, regardless of where we land on any given topic, are just trying to figure out this life. And I think we do that better together."

The Mission

That's the mission of Middle Ground. Encouraging curiosity, unity, and love through open and honest conversation. Because all of us, regardless of where we land on any given topic, are just trying to figure out this life. And I think we do that better together.

I'm so glad you're here.

Make it a great one.

🤟🏼 Brynne

Thanks for Being Here

Hi, I’m Brynne. I share my journey of becoming through stories and reflection - guided by a higher power as I explore identity, faith, and everyday life, inviting you to grow alongside me.

My Story