About this episode

Matt Fogelson shares his journey of grief and fatherhood, exploring how music helped him connect with his son and process his relationship with his late father.

Maybe you grew up loving someone who was always somewhere else. Always present in the house but somehow out of reach. If that landed in a part of you that still carries it, this episode might feel like a long exhale. Matt Fogelson grew up wanting more of his father than his father knew how to give. When his dad died unexpectedly during Matt's college years, the grief that followed wasn't just about loss. It was about all the conversations they never had, the closeness that always felt one step away. Matt went to law school, followed the family blueprint, wore his father's suits to work, and spent years trying to fill a hole that kept its shape. Then he brought his own son home for the first time. The baby wouldn't stop crying. The dog was barking. Nothing was working. And without thinking about it at all, Matt started singing. What came out was a Grateful Dead song. It wasn't logical. It was just true. And that small, strange, middle-of-the-night moment quietly became the beginning of something he'd been waiting his whole life to start. What You'll Hear: The specific moment of grief that intensified when Matt became a father himself Why music became a bridge to a part of himself…

People in this episode

Host: Matt Gilhooly

Guest: Matt Fogelson

Topics covered

• grief
• fatherhood
• music
• personal growth
• family relationships

Keywords

• grief
• fatherhood
• music
• Grateful Dead
• personal growth
• family
• memoir

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Grateful Dead

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