What does it mean to grow through fatherhood while navigating shame, rage, grief, and joy? In this week’s Quiet Connection, Chelsea sits down with Daniel, a musician, creative coach, and father of three, whose story is as lyrical as it is raw.
From becoming a dad at 18, to navigating rage and self-abandonment, to grieving his father’s death while welcoming a new baby, Daniel shares his journey of learning to surrender, to love himself, and to root deeply in order to rise higher. With vulnerability and poetic honesty, he reminds us that transformation often happens in the tension between love and sorrow.
🔑 Key Takeaways
- Parenthood is transformation: From teen fatherhood to parenting three children, Daniel describes fatherhood as the “purifying fire” that shaped him.
- Roots and branches: Healing requires rooting into messy truths (shame, grief, anger) in order to rise into wholeness.
- The rage monster: Daniel once battled explosive anger and shame, but through honesty, humility, and his wife’s guidance, he’s learning new ways of being.
- Love and sorrow are inseparable: The greater the grief we hold, the greater our capacity for joy.
- Marriage as transformative fire: His wife’s honesty and insistence on change became a catalyst for his growth as a father and partner.
- Self-love as legacy: Daniel hopes his children inherit not perfection, but the ability to love themselves fully — roots, branches, and all.
🎧 Soundbites
- “Parenthood is the purifying fire that smooths you like a river stone.”
- “My son’s willfulness either enrages my monster or brings out the best person in me — and that’s the gift.”
- “The roots are messy, but they’re what allow us to rise higher.”
- “Blessed are those who weep, for they will be comforted.”
- “There are no bad parts. Even rage and shame can be our allies when we bring them into the light.”
- “My hope for my children is that they love themselves fully — from their highest branches to their deepest roots.”
To learn more about Daniel, visit his website or Instagram.
Special Thanks to Steve Audy for the use of our theme song: Quiet Connection
Want to be a guest on Quiet Connection - Postpartum Mental Health?
Send Chelsea a message on PodMatch
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com