Episode #87: Mandy Lemond

Elle Russ chats with Mandy Lemond - a former foster child turned Emmy Award-winning TV Producer. At just 7 years old, Lemond's father raped her and left her for dead...and that same night, he murdered Mandy's mother. Lemond's father's crime left the Kentucky native a true orphan. Mandy aged out of foster care after spending more than 11 years in a group home. She recalls, “I went to college with $5 to my name." With the same tenacity Lemond used to overcome her childhood trauma, she graduated from Eastern Kentucky University and was immediately hired by the local NBC affiliate as a TV Reporter. Lemond continued to beat the odds – statistically, only 3% of foster youth have a college degree.  Mandy's life finally seemed perfect, until December 2020, when Lemond's foster-adopted son was high on drugs and shot into the wrong home. The unintended target was a 5-year-old who nearly died and was blinded by the gunfire. Lemond’s nearly 20-year marriage crumbled and she found herself divorced with a son in jail and facing homelessness. But, with the same determination she garnered as a child, Mandy found a new purpose. She developed the 5-method, which is featured in her memoir, The Fostered One. Lemond now serves globally, speaking to divorcees, parents, and children of those incarcerated, as well as those coping with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Contact Mandy at: amanda.lemond@yahoo.com SELECTED LINKS: ElleRuss.com Email Amanda Lemond