Season One · Jen Busconi
Jen’s Journey
ADHD, Loss, and the Power of Starting Over
Learning to understand the person behind the labels
Jen Busconi is a writer and mother whose story unfolds through many turning points rather than one defining event. She shares what it has meant to live with ADHD, lose her father, and keep showing up for her family.
Her episode explores the difference between how someone is perceived and what they are actually carrying.
Before · The change · What came next
Before
Jen was diagnosed with ADD as a child and later with ADHD. Growing up, she was often misunderstood, and those experiences continued to shape how she saw herself in work, relationships, and motherhood.
The change
Losing her father to throat cancer added grief to the effort of navigating a world that often misread her. Her story brings together the strain of being misunderstood, the responsibilities of parenting, and the loss of someone important to her.
What came next
Jen describes an ongoing process of learning to live with more self-awareness, compassion, and intention. Writing, laughter, connection, and raising her son remain part of how she finds her footing, without pretending the difficult parts have disappeared.
Guest Biography and Resources
Biography shared for Season One.
Jen is a thoughtful writer, a devoted mother, and someone who knows the strength it takes to keep showing up in a world that doesn’t always understand you. Though she describes herself as a private person, she joined Change Happened, Then What? because she believes that telling the truth—especially about things like ADHD, grief, and growth—matters. In this episode, Jen shares her journey with ADHD, offering insight into what it’s like to navigate life with a brain that moves fast, feels deeply, and is often misunderstood.
Diagnosed with ADD as a child and re-diagnosed with ADHD later in life, Jen’s story isn’t about one big moment—it’s about a lifetime of quiet turning points, of figuring things out as she went, of rediscovering her voice and identity after years of feeling misunderstood.
In this episode, Jen speaks candidly about:
- Navigating ADHD in a world that wasn’t built for neurodivergent minds
- The deep emotional labor of being misunderstood at work
- Losing her father to throat cancer
- Raising her son with love, humor, and fierce intention
- And how laughter, writing, and connection keep her grounded
She believes that information is power, and that stories—especially the real, messy ones—can create empathy and understanding.
Her parting words in this episode are as memorable as they are profound: “Penance is sacrifice.”
Resources for this episode: