This week's guest, Becky Ellis, recounts how her father’s concealed World War II experiences shaped their family life, culminating in her powerful memoir Little Avalanches. Join us as we explore themes of secrecy, resilience, and reconciliation.

Key Highlights:

• Discover how Becky navigated through the silence surrounding her father’s wartime past.
• Understand the challenges she faced while balancing reverence for his heroism against the shadows it cast over their family dynamics.
• Learn about Becky's decade-long journey to penning Little Avalanches and its role in mending the fractured relationship with her father.

Deep Dive Into Emotional Legacies:

• Grasp how children process trauma differently and why giving them a voice is crucial.
• Witness Becky’s transformation as she listens to her inner child and adult self during writing.
• Feel moved by the harrowing tale of the fateful day at the Mark River, which left indelible scars on her father and all involved.

Becky exemplifies resilience through storytelling, illustrating how unearthing past pains can lead to profound personal transformation and provide voices for those whose narratives are seldom heard. Her life story emphasizes empathy as the key to truly understanding others’ struggles while coping with grief, both inherited and experienced firsthand.

This isn't just another war story; this is an invitation—to see beyond medals and accolades and into hearts haunted by battlefields far removed from sight and yet ever-present. It’s an exploration of what happens when we confront grief head-on instead of shying away—an acknowledgment that sometimes joy is found not despite sorrow but because we've dared to embrace it fully.

RESOURCES:

• Becky's Memoir | Little Avanches
• Movie | A Monster Calls

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This episode is sponsored by Do Grief Differently™️, my twelve-week, one-on-one, in-person/online program for grievers who have suffered any type of loss to feel better. Click here to learn new tools, grief education, and the only evidence-based method for moving beyond the pain of grief.

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