What happens when writing your own story becomes another battle?

Sean Coffin says his memoir, Resenting Joy, sold 200 copies in less than two weeks before a temporary court order stopped him from publishing it. In this episode of The Stand with Meg Show, Sean and his fiancée, Brittany O’Brien, join me for the story behind that moment.

Sean, a New York City teacher, coach, and father, recounts the intervention where he says he was accused of dealing drugs, the police response he describes, and the strain of navigating separation and family court. He also recalls putting the manuscript of Resenting Joy in front of Joy Mangano, his former mother-in-law, and explains the publication dispute as he experienced it.

Brittany brings her perspective on their relationship and the life they were building through court dates, uncertainty, and the work of writing the book. Her love and support are part of this conversation, along with Sean’s determination to remain present as a father.

We talk about:
• The allegations and police encounter Sean recounts
• The practical and emotional pressures he describes during separation
• How Sean and Brittany met
• Writing Resenting Joy and the manuscript meeting
• His account of the book’s early sales and temporary publication restraint
• Support, rebuilding, and what they want listeners to take away

ABOUT THE GUESTS
Sean Coffin is the author of Resenting Joy. His website describes him as a New York City teacher, coach, and father of two.
Brittany O’Brien is Sean’s fiancée and joins the conversation to share her own perspective and experiences.

GUEST LINKS
Sean’s website, updates, and book availability: https://resentingjoy.com/
Read Sean on Substack: https://resentingjoy.substack.com/

Book availability note: When these notes were prepared, Sean’s website listed reservations while distribution remained temporarily restricted. Check the author’s site for current availability and reservation terms.

FOLLOW THE STAND WITH MEG SHOW
Follow the podcast for more full conversations.
Watch full video interviews: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW2c4MVg7aZ0
Show website: https://www.standwithmeg.com/show
Share your experience through the Family Rights Survey: https://my.standwithmeg.com/survey

The experiences, conversations, allegations, and court-order descriptions discussed here are Sean and Brittany’s accounts. They are not presented as independently established findings. #ResentingJoy #SeanCoffin #StandWithMeg #Fatherhood #AuthorInterview

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When the world feels heavy, what story is your child telling themselves?

On The Stand With Meg Show, I sit down with author, musician, and artist Julie Lavender Le Doux for a conversation about children, books, and the stories we carry about ourselves.

Julie introduces The Amazings Series, where a family that sees color lives in a town that sees only gray. We discuss the questions she wants her stories to raise about conformity, independent thinking, and the messages children hear from the world around them. Julie also explains how contemporary social and political debates inform the symbolism in her fiction.

Then we bring the conversation home. What can reading together give a family? How can grandparents use a book to connect? What happens when our good intentions put too much pressure on a child?

One of the most personal moments comes when Julie shares what she regrets about parenting her oldest son. She talks about learning to apologize, giving him room to be honest, and making clear that he was not responsible for her emotional well-being.

We also discuss Wounds to Wonder and Julie's Christian perspective on emotional healing. Her account is shared as personal experience and belief, not as a clinical finding or a promise of treatment results.

IN THIS CONVERSATION
• Why Julie began writing about nonconformity
• The Amazings Series and the fictional world of Wonder
• The social issues and public debates behind the stories
• Reading aloud, audiobooks, and conversations between generations
• Family stress and the stories children tell themselves
• Faith, hope, and Wounds to Wonder
• Parenting regrets, apologies, and giving children space
• Where to learn more about Julie's books

ABOUT THE GUEST
Julie Lavender Le Doux is an author, musician, and artist. In this episode, she also draws on her experiences as a homeschooling mother and grandmother.

BOOKS DISCUSSED
The Amazings Series, including Constance and the Battle for Wonder
Wounds to Wonder
Mrs. Amazing and the Seed

LINKS
Julie's books and resources: https://www.thequestforwonder.com/
About Julie: https://www.julielavender.com/
Stand With Meg: https://www.standwithmeg.com/
Family Rights Survey: https://my.standwithmeg.com/survey

Check Julie's website for current book availability, editions, and preorder details.

If this conversation makes you think of a parent or grandparent, share this episode with them. If you have experience with family court, you can also take and share the Family Rights Survey.

CONTENT NOTE
This episode includes discussion of family separation, childhood trauma, parenting regrets, faith, and opinions on public issues. The conversation is not medical or legal advice. Books and personal testimony do not replace qualified professional care.

Host: Meg
Guest: Julie Lavender Le Doux
Show: The Stand With Meg Show

Support the show

Thank you for listening to The Stand With Meg Show — Defending Parents’ Rights. Protecting Children. Giving a Voice to the Voiceless.
Join the movement at StandWithMeg.com

. Follow us on all platforms @StandWithMeg for more truth, tools, and action.

If this episode spoke to you, share it — because together, we fight for justice.

⚖️ Every fraud indictment Shawn has put on this table started the same way. A victim walked into a law enforcement office and put what happened in writing. Nobody came to save them. They wrote it down.

Criminal trial attorney Shawn Lee walks real sworn affidavits, the documents that turn a complaint into a case: a Wichita Police detective's probable-cause affidavit in a Sedgwick County, Kansas false-information case (charged, not convicted, trial set for November 2026), a six-page FBI wire-fraud affidavit, an IRS Criminal Investigation affidavit for alleged wire-fraud conspiracy and money laundering, and Percoco v. United States, the Supreme Court's honest-services fraud case. Then the answer to "that's a civil matter": Shawn's four-legs-of-the-table theory, the same affidavit filed with police, sheriff, FBI, IRS, licensing board, prosecutor, and press. Plus the Supreme Court of Missouri's new rules, effective January 1, 2027, that end regional buddy-network discipline committees, and Shawn's read on the Clancy family's civil complaint against Lindsay Clancy's telehealth providers. Civil allegations and his opinion, not charges.

📂 Every document in this episode is a free download. Go to StandwithMeg.com, tap The Shawn Lee Report, then Documents.

🧠 Shawn's framework is his theory. Everyone named in these records is presumed innocent. General legal education, not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by this content.

▶️ Watch the full episode with every document on screen: https://youtu.be/UMGQvTTN7rw

⭐ Follow on whatever platform you're on: Instagram, TikTok, and X @StandWithMeg, Facebook Stand With Meg. Follow Shawn at Attorney Shawn Lee on Facebook and at ShawnLeeLaw.com. Then share the FIRST EVER Family Rights survey at StandwithMeg.com, over 6,000 families and more than $1 billion in reported losses, every voice makes the case stronger.

I'm Meg, investigative journalist. Stay up to date at standwithmeg.com, and share the survey, it's blowing up.

Support the show

Thank you for listening to The Stand With Meg Show — Defending Parents’ Rights. Protecting Children. Giving a Voice to the Voiceless.
Join the movement at StandWithMeg.com

. Follow us on all platforms @StandWithMeg for more truth, tools, and action.

If this episode spoke to you, share it — because together, we fight for justice.