There are things we inherit that are easy to name—eye color, recipes, family traditions. And then there are the things we inherit that no one talks about. The grief. The silence. The secrets. The patterns that show up in our relationships, our parenting, our choices, and our creativity, all without us fully understanding why. This is what Dr. Galit Atlas calls emotional inheritance: the unconscious transmission of trauma, desire, and unspoken narratives across generations.

About Dr Galit Atlas:

Dr. Atlas is a clinical psychologist, psychoanalyst, and faculty member at NYU’s Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times and academic journals around the world. Emotional Inheritance has been translated into 27 languages and become an international bestseller—for good reason. It helps people name what they’ve never had language for.

I’ve been wanting to talk to her for years, but I reached out now because I’ve been sitting with this question in my own life and in the lives of the women I work with:

What’s the connection between emotional excavation and creativity? Especially at midlife, when we feel a pull to become more ourselves—but often bump up against everything that’s unfinished, unspoken, or inherited. Galit helped me name something I hadn’t fully seen before: that creativity isn’t about making something new out of nothing. It’s about making new connections. It’s the act of looking at our own story—especially the fragmented or incomplete parts—and asking: What else might be true?

In this episode, we explore:

• Why what we don’t know about our family may shape us more than what we do
• What makes a secret a secret—and why that distinction matters
• Why therapy mirrors creativity, and how both restore the capacity to connect
• Why midlife is a powerful portal for this kind of transformation
• And how breaking unconscious emotional contracts can unlock new agency, clarity, and aliveness

We also talk about Galit’s beautiful The Emotional Inheritance Workbook, a structured, compassionate, and profound tool for doing this work—alone or in partnership. I can’t recommend it enough! And Galit also give a sneak-preview of her next book, coming in 2027, which explores childhood wounds and adult love. 

Connect with Me:

•Book a discovery call at www.zevabellel.com

•Subscribe to my Substack: On Becoming

•Email me: [email protected]

•Leave me a voice message on Speakpipe

Credits: Artwork Jessie Kanelos Weiner; Editing Matthew Jordan; Music © Fabrice Fortin

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