What happens when you spend your life creating spaces where other people can belong, and finally realize that you get to belong there too?
In this deeply personal conversation, I sit down with Aditi Loveridge to talk about identity, authenticity, community, and the long journey toward becoming fully ourselves.
Born in New Delhi and raised in Calgary, Aditi grew up immersed in a rich Indian culture at home while navigating a very different world outside of it. As a young brown girl in conservative Alberta, she learned early how complicated belonging could be: feeling too brown in some spaces, not brown enough in others, and eventually learning to leave parts of herself at the door in order to fit in.
We talk about the invisible expectations we inherit around culture, family, womanhood, and being a “good Indian daughter,” and what happens when we begin to recognize that we may have been living a story shaped by other people’s expectations rather than our own.
Aditi also shares the deeply personal story of embracing her queerness after years of keeping that part of herself hidden. From exploring her sexuality while living in Toronto, to leaving her marriage during the upheaval of the pandemic, to eventually finding a relationship in which she could show up as her fullest self, her story is one of slowly reclaiming the parts of herself she had learned to shrink.
Along the way, Aditi founded the Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support Centre after experiencing pregnancy loss, systemic racism within the healthcare system, and profound postpartum anxiety. What began as a response to her own grief became a nationally recognized organization built around creating spaces where people whose stories didn’t fit the expected narrative could feel seen, supported, and held.
Together, we explore the beautiful paradox at the centre of Aditi’s life: she was building spaces of belonging for others while still learning how to create that belonging within herself.
We talk about the quiet “whisperings” that tell us when something in our lives is no longer aligned, the wisdom of listening to our bodies, the power of chosen family and queer community, and the possibility that home isn’t necessarily somewhere we find, but something we experience when we are able to be our truest selves.
In this episode, we explore:
* Belonging as something we co-create rather than somewhere we eventually arrive
* Growing up Indian in Calgary and navigating two cultural worlds
* The shame of feeling different and learning to leave parts of ourselves at the door
* The invisible expectations of being a “good Indian daughter”
* What it means to recognize that we may be living someone else’s story
* Moving to Toronto and beginning to embrace her queerness
* The long process of accepting an identity she had known was there all along
* Pregnancy loss, postpartum anxiety, and the experiences that changed the course of Aditi’s life
* The origins of the Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support Centre
* Creating spaces for people whose stories don’t fit neatly into existing categories
* The intersection of grief, race, gender, sexuality, and identity
* Building belonging for others while still denying parts of yourself
* The turning point that allowed Aditi to leave her marriage and choose herself
* “Maybe I get to belong too”
* Coming out as an act of letting people in
* Motherhood, queerness, and chosen family
* Experiencing love without having to shrink or edit yourself
* The possibility of finding home in another person
* Listening to the quiet whispers of the body and spirit
* How to know when you are living a life that belongs to you
* Creating affirming spaces by listening to what people actually need
* Queer joy, community, and the people who give us hope
* Coming home to yourself
Chapters
02:02 — Belonging is something we co-create05:53 — Growing up Indian in Calgary08:52 — The invisible expectations of being a “good Indian daughter”11:17 — Living someone else’s story12:51 — Moving to Toronto and embracing her queerness15:11 — The parts of ourselves we learn to hide16:59 — Pregnancy loss and the experience that changed everything21:00 — From personal grief to creating community23:13 — Building a space where every story belongs27:10 — Creating belonging for others while denying parts of yourself30:01 — The turning point: leaving a marriage and choosing authenticity32:00 — “Maybe I get to belong too”33:22 — Coming out as letting people in36:12 — Motherhood, queerness, and chosen family39:05 — Experiencing love as your fullest self40:07 — When home becomes a person41:07 — Creating new spaces for community and connection42:32 — What her younger self would say to her now43:33 — How do you know when you're living a life that belongs to you?45:01 — Creating affirming spaces for others46:59 — Queer joy, community, and what gives us hope48:25 — Coming home to yourself
About Aditi Loveridge
Aditi Loveridge is a charity founder, nonprofit leader, entrepreneur, and advocate whose work is shaped by a deep commitment to care, equity, and more inclusive communities.
With more than 15 years of nonprofit experience, Aditi has led initiatives addressing systemic barriers, access to care, and community-based support. She founded and served as CEO of the Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support Centre, growing it from a grassroots initiative into a nationally recognized organization supporting families through pregnancy and infant loss.
Aditi is a queer, brown woman who was born in New Delhi and raised in Calgary. She became a mother and later came to embrace her queer identity more fully, eventually leaving her marriage and building a life in which she no longer feels the need to hide or shrink parts of herself.
Today, Aditi remains deeply engaged in the work of creating belonging. She is a people-centred leader, advocate, mother, and community builder whose personal and professional lives are connected by a belief that everyone deserves to be seen, affirmed, and given space to become fully themselves.
Connect with Aditi
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Website
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Until next time, may you continue walking your own long road home.
Original theme music composed by Diego Tenorio.
In gratitude,
Yamuna x
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