A Slice of Empathy
A Slice of Empathy
Valerie J Kelly
What He Never Said: Patrick Kerl on Grief, Family, and Generational Wounds
1 hour 18 minutes Posted May 31, 2025 at 6:34 am.
A Personal Journey
Childhood Trauma
Navigating Relationships
Generational Trauma
The Loss of a Parent
Coping with Grief
The Impact of Therapy
Dysfunctional Family Dynamics
Struggles with a Stepparent
The Challenge of Boundaries
Reflecting on Relationships
Understanding Trauma
Acknowledging Your Story
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Show notes
Welcome to an intimate episode of the Slice of Empathy podcast, where we delve into a deeply personal journey of marriage, family dynamics, and the quiet weight of unrecognized trauma.
In this episode, we explore my husband’s story — raised by a devoted single father after his parents divorced, while navigating the emotional distance of a mother who was present only on weekends and largely unavailable. After losing his father to cancer at just 16, he moved in with his mother and stepfather — a man who barely tolerated him, offering little in the way of support or connection.
The loss of his mother years later to the very same cancer, and the absence of emotional acknowledgment or healing in between, left wounds that lingered into adulthood.
Together, we reflect on the generational and emotional impacts of this journey, and what it means to build a marriage when your earliest examples of love and security were fractured or missing. This is a conversation about grief, resilience, and learning how to show up for each other — even when no one showed up for you.