Some conversations never happen. But they never stop shaping you.
In this episode of Lessons from the Fall, I sit with the one conversation I’ve thought about more than any other — the one I never got to have with my dad. He was a doctor, a builder, a man who studied under a lamppost in Fiji and carried burdens he never spoke about. He pushed hard. His approval wasn’t easy to find. And for a long time, I didn’t understand why.
Becoming a husband changed me. Becoming a father changed me even more. And somewhere in that becoming, I finally started to understand him — not as the larger-than-life figure I grew up with, but as a human being, still learning, still carrying things quietly.
This episode is about grief, forgiveness, and the lessons that arrive long after the person who taught them is gone. It’s about chasing approval you couldn’t name. About the questions you wish you’d asked. And about what it means to finally say — thank you. Not for being perfect. Just for being there.
If you’ve ever lost someone before you felt ready, this one is for you.