This is the online home for those who identify as part of the family of Stoicism, particularly Stoicism viewed through the lens of Intersectionality.
Our Foundation
Stoic Family was founded by Ahmie Yeung, who has been developing and practicing the framework of Intersectional Stoicism since she was a disabled adolescent in the 1990s. Struggling with chronic debilitating pain that severely limited her stamina, Ahmie turned to Stoic practices — particularly the dichotomy of control — as a primary survival strategy. The root cause of her symptoms, hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, wasn’t diagnosed until her twenties. The extreme instability in her joints is why Ahmie is a wheelchair user even though she can stand and walk; she’s a constant fall risk.
Stoic practices enabled Ahmie to successfully complete her B.A. in Psychology & Sociology at Case Western Reserve University in 1999. While there, she met her husband, Garvin, who is ethnically Chinese. Together they have five sons — William “Liam” (May 2004), Delano (June 2007), Lincoln “Colie” (May 2010), Ulysses (November 2012), and Quincy (June 2016) — all named after former U.S. Presidents as a way of honoring Ahmie’s undergraduate mentor, Professor Grover Cleveland Gilmore. The family has been raising their sons in a multigenerational household since Garvin’s parents moved in with them in 2006. Ahmie completed a Master’s in Sociology in 2013, with a research focus on socialization processes — concepts she’s been implementing and refining since her undergraduate years.
Why Neuroscience Matters
Ahmie’s self-directed research into neuroscience was initially prompted by her two eldest sons both experiencing prolonged Post-Concussion Syndrome. Delano fell from monkey bars in February 2014 and remained symptomatic until after Halloween of that year. William sustained the first of three concussions in six weeks in September 2015 — requiring asynchronous online education with Ahmie’s constant oversight through her last pregnancy. William experienced daily symptoms well into 2016, and it took several years for his symptoms to fully resolve. This experience deepened the family’s understanding of how Stoic practices intersect with brain science.
Our Approach
Ahmie’s Stoicism has become a cornerstone of the family’s functioning, providing the children with excellent foundations as they launch into adulthood. Now, we’re expanding our capacity to support others developing likewise.
A budding novelist (and multi-genre writer since adolescence), Ahmie is taking the first steps in offering non-fiction guidance by writing under the moniker “Auntie Epicteta” — a name chosen because her style of Stoicism aligns more closely with Epictetus’ lived experiences than with Seneca or Marcus Aurelius. Through this work, we’re co-creating Intersectionality-centered and neuroscience-backed content to serve as pathway guidance for others who are earlier in their journeys along routes we’ve been traveling.
Ahmie’s novels — Urban Fantasy aimed mostly at Young Adult audiences but accessible to younger readers — will feature fictional modern Stoics navigating the tension and struggle of living these principles in contemporary life. The family is collaborating on a middle grades fiction project in a style that would fit well alongside Rick Riordan Presents titles (the family’s favorite source of intergenerationally-inclusive stories), while the planned Young Adult novels will appeal to fans of Drew Hayes and Rachel Aaron, two of the family’s favorite fiction authors.
Stoic Family: Building resilience through ancient wisdom, modern science, and lived experience.