Structure & Scars

The Weight We Carry: Memorial Day and the People Who Never Came Home


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Memorial Day isn’t about burgers or sales—it’s about grief. This episode honors the ones who didn’t come home, and the weight we carry for them.

In this special Memorial Day episode of Structure & Scars, Nikki reflects on what this day truly means—not as a kickoff to summer, but as a moment of collective grief, memory, and reverence.

Drawing from her own family’s legacy of service, years spent leading community tributes, and her clinical work with veterans and first responders, Nikki unpacks the co-opting of Memorial Day, the emotional weight behind the Missing Man Table, and why calling them “heroes” often misses the point.

These weren’t superhumans. They were kids who did what needed to be done—and did it scared.

This is not a light episode.
But maybe it’s not supposed to be.

Structure & Scars
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Structure & ScarsBy Nikki Hensler Gordon