About this episode

Ned Schaut interviews Michael Leonardini about fatherhood, identity, and the journey of personal growth through suffering and love.

Before becoming a creator, author, and founder of Sonjoy, Michael Leonardini spent decades wrestling with the same questions many fathers quietly carry: Why do I do the things I do? Why do I react the way I react? How do I become the man, husband, father, and son God created me to be? In this deeply reflective conversation, Ned sits down with Michael to discuss identity, recovery, suffering, vulnerability, fatherhood, marriage, grief, and the lifelong journey of becoming aligned with God’s love. Michael shares lessons learned from raising two sons, navigating childhood wounds, overcoming shame, recovering from unhealthy coping patterns, caring for his aging father, and ultimately losing his wife after 32 years of marriage. Through it all, he discovered a powerful truth: You cannot give what you do not possess. The conversation explores why many men struggle to receive love, why suffering often becomes the doorway to growth, and how fathers can avoid competing with their children and instead help them stand on their shoulders. Michael also introduces Sonjoy, a beautiful collection of 52 reflective cards designed to help men examine identity, loss, suffering, addiction, coping…

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