Welcome back to Wake the F*** Up! After two weeks off we are back with all all new episode and a very special guest, David’s daughter Kate Long joins her dad on the podcast for an intimate conversation about life after losing her mom, her experience in living with grief as a young person, and the challenges and joys of belding families as Alix and David started their relationship. Kate is David’s eldest child, she’s 19 and currently a freshman at UT Austin, studying Mechanical Engineering. We are so glad Kate asked to be on the podcast because this father-daughter conversation offers such a unique grief perspective.
Diving in, David and Kate talk about some of the different ways that losing Betsy affected them and their whole family dynamic. They discuss the challenges of living authentically and dealing with transitions while processing a major loss. David shared his journey of self-exploration, no longer pretending, and Kate acknowledges the similar pressures she was feeling during this period. The key takeaway here: it’s okay to not be okay.
Later in the episode, Kate shares how hard it is to be authentic in relationships after a big loss at young age, and how she’s looking for real connections, but many of her peers are in a different place emotionally because they haven’t experienced grief the way she has.
Next we dive into the transformative power of therapy! Kate discussed how going to therapy helped validate her emotions and help her cope with anxiety. They explore the benefits of therapy in normalizing emotions and improving communication skills within relationships. Kate shared how therapy helped her recognize patterns and manage intense feelings. David and Kate wrap things up talking about the importance of reaching out for support, and using different coping mechanisms that work for you. We hope you enjoy this deep father-daughter conversation about grief and living authentically. Thank you, Kate, for sharing your experience with the Wake podcast audience!
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