The Adapted Life, Finding Next

I’m Julie Hasselberger. For 26 years, I was the full-time caregiver for my beloved son Daniel, whose life was marked by profound disability and extraordinary beauty. This podcast began as a way to support other parents navigating the complex, often isolating world of special needs caregiving. But life changed — heartbreakingly and irrevocably — when my son passed away.

Now, The Adapted Life, Finding Next is a space for truth-telling, tenderness, and transformation. It’s about what comes after the role that once defined you is gone. It’s about grief, relational trauma, resilience, and the raw, ongoing search for next — for purpose, healing, and connection.

If you’re facing a season of reckoning, rebuilding, or rediscovery, I invite you to walk with me. You are not alone. This is the adapted life… and together, we’ll find what comes next.

Contributors

Host

Julie Hasselberger

Julie is a content creator, artist, caregiver, writer, and deeply intuitive empath. This podcast was created as a source of connection and support to others who were special needs caregivers, or who had experience life changing adversity. After 26 years of devoted care for her son Daniel, he tragically passed away on 1/12/2024.

Julie’s career began as a Human Resource Professiona, focusing on training and development. She has a passion for helping people succeed in their careers, and also for being a source of daily guidance. Although her career was advancing, she left it to care for her fragile and disabled son. Now, 28 years later, she shares her stories of deep pain, darkness, building resilience, and seeking what comes next.

Her life is now spent seeking purpose after trauma and loss. She is creative and soulful, and will soon be seeking a career as a coach for trauma, and grief.