How has Dad Always helped you redefine fatherhood after your loss?

Some moments break language and redraw our lives in an instant. "Dear Brother" is a raw, compassionate letter to men grieving the death of their child—a message that refuses easy answers and hollow comfort, and instead offers steady presence, honest words, and space to breathe. It highlights the questions that echo after loss—Why did this happen? Could anything have changed it?—and why resisting quick explanations can be an act of deep respect for love and grief alike.

The letter examines how unhelpful platitudes can wound, even when well meant, and what truly supportive language sounds like. It explores practical ways to hold space:

• Naming the reality without fixing it
• Checking in without pressure, and
• Showing up with specific, tangible help

The letter leans on the Kintsugi metaphor—the art of repairing broken pottery with gold—not to gloss over pain, but to honor how identity can be reshaped by absence, and how fractures can become part of a life that still holds beauty, purpose, and meaning.

Most importantly, "Dear Brother" gives grieving dads permission to linger in the dark. Grief has no timetable; sometimes the kindest act is to sit silently beside someone who cannot yet face the day. The letter promises presence even when words fail, and imagines a future in which memory softens from flame to light—the child’s light—guiding, not erasing, what came before.

If you or someone you love is navigating profound loss, this letter offers language, empathy, and practices that keep dignity at the center. If it resonates, share it with a friend who needs gentleness today, subscribe for more thoughtful episodes, and leave a review to help others find this space.

How has Dad Always helped you redefine fatherhood after your loss?

This is part 2 of my conversation with Michael Elliot. We resume from where we left off last week, and explore fatherhood after miscarriage through vivid memories, tangible rituals, and the everyday courage it takes to speak a child’s name that few got to meet. Grief is framed as love that changed color, sustained by community, storytelling, and symbols that keep a bond alive.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:
• the last of firsts and unrealized milestones
• identity as a dad after loss
• bracelets, tattoos, and wind chimes as anchors
• grief as a continuation of love
• breaking the silence and reducing stigma
• better questions for supporting grieving parents
• community care during and after a loss
• returning to work and navigating awkward spaces
• choosing to move forward, not move on

RELATED EPISODES

• Who Gets To Grieve When A Baby Dies? (part 1)
• The Elephant In The Room
• Reimagining Life After Loss

SUPPORT PATHWAY

If you are a bereaved dad who's quietly struggling to cope with baby loss and you'd like to talk one-on-one, request a private 20-minute conversation by emailing info@dadalways.com.

If you want to stay in the loop of what's going on at Dad Always, go to dadalways.com to join the email list to receive updates.

Theme Music: "Love Letter” was created using AI as a creative tool, with lyrics and direction shaped by the personal experiences and emotional intent of the host.

Show Music from Soundstripe

Love Poems by Lunareh

Time Shift by Reveille

How has Dad Always helped you redefine fatherhood after your loss?

In part 1 of my conversation with Michael Elliot, we trace Michael’s path from early joy and provider pressure to the ultrasound room where a missed heartbeat rewrote his future. He unpacks stoicism, the awkward retraction of public joy, and why men’s grief after baby loss must be seen, named, and supported.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:
• fear and motivation colliding during early pregnancy
• provider identity shaping choices and silence
• the ultrasound shock and immediate emotional response
• first private breakdown and redefining support
• telling people, then retracting joy online
• connection through shared miscarriage stories
• dads being asked about mom but not themselves
• first-year milestones
• men’s grief as valid and visible
• honoring both parents in baby loss

SUPPORT

If you are a bereaved dad who's quietly struggling to cope with baby loss and you'd like to talk one-on-one, request a private 20-minute conversation by emailing info@dadalways.com.

If you want to stay in the loop of what's going on at Dad Always, go to dadalways.com to join the email list to receive updates.

Theme Music: "Love Letter” was created using AI as a creative tool, with lyrics and direction shaped by the personal experiences and emotional intent of the host.

Show Music from Soundstripe

Apple Brandy by Midnight Daydream

Azul by Lunareh

How has Dad Always helped you redefine fatherhood after your loss?

Grief doesn’t hand out uniforms, but our systems still dress dads in silence. Gabriela Rosa joins the podcast to spotlight the missing half of fertility care and the very real ways men carry loss—often without acknowledgment, language, or a place to stand. From first ultrasounds to failed transfers, the default model treats women as the patient and men as the waiting room, and families pay for that gap with confusion and mounting shame.

Gabriela Rosa is a Harvard-trained fertility specialist and founder of the world’s first fully virtual fertility clinic. She has spent over two decades walking couples through the most fragile moments of their reproductive journeys - including loss. In her work with thousands of families across the globe, one thing has become painfully clear: men are grieving too, but almost no one is giving them space to talk about it.

Gabriela walks us through a smarter, kinder approach: lead with diagnostics, not assumptions. She breaks down why most IVF cycles fail, where “unexplained” infertility hides solvable causes, and how overlooked factors can drive implantation failure and miscarriage. You’ll hear a powerful case study where years of failed IUIs and IVF turned into a natural conception once both partners were fully assessed and treated. The message is clear: fertility is a team sport, and strategy beats trial-and-error.

We also get practical about communication at home. We talk about pacing heavy talks, naming limits, and rebuilding self-trust after loss, especially for men taught to stay strong and say little. Along the way, we share scripts that replace platitudes with presence, and we point to resources—peer groups for men, evidence-based testing, and Gabriela’s Fertility Challenge Program—that make support real.

If you’ve felt invisible in the fertility journey, or you’re tired of guessing your way through heartbreak, this conversation offers a map.

Subscribe, share with someone who needs to feel seen, and leave a review telling us one question you’ll bring to your next conversation.

If you want to stay in the loop of what's going on at Dad Always, go to dadalways.com to join the email list to receive updates.

Credits

Fertility Breakthrough (website)

Gabriela Rosa (profile)

Theme Music: "Love Letter” was created using AI as a creative tool, with lyrics and direction shaped by the personal experiences and emotional intent of the host.

Show Music from Soundstripe

• Wander
• So Tell Me

By EILOH

How has Dad Always helped you redefine fatherhood after your loss?

On today's episode, Matt Whitehouse retraces the day his daughter Callie died, how grief transformed his identity, and how the right type of communication, counseling, and community helped him rebuild. He shares why he now supports bereaved dads and how a daily 10K run in 2026 honors Callie’s tenth birthday.

Key Takeaways:
• Lily Mae Foundation and Still Parents Podcast
• The hospital day that changed everything
• Powerlessness and the shock after loss
• Identity split before and after grief
• Communication as a lifeline for dads
• How friendships shift and mature
• Turning pain into purpose and service
• Planning a 10K-a-day tribute in 2026
• Early progress update and lessons learned

RELALTED EPISODES

• Still Parents: Grief, Identity, & Purpose
• Talking Platitudes With Still Parents Podcast (2025 BLAW mini series)

If you want to stay in the loop of what's going on at Dad Always, go to dadalways.com to join the email list to receive updates.

Theme Music: "Love Letter” was created using AI as a creative tool, with lyrics and direction shaped by the personal experiences and emotional intent of the host.

Show Music from Soundstripe

Azalea by Ghost Beatz

Ignorance Is Bliss by Liberty

Yesterday, I Lost A Day by GLASWING

Imagination by PALA

How has Dad Always helped you redefine fatherhood after your loss?

In this episode of Dad Always, host Kelly Jean-Philippe shares the story behind “Love Letter,” the theme song for the podcast.

Through personal reflection, Kelly explores how poetry became his first language for emotion, how grief after four miscarriage losses silenced that voice, and how it eventually found its way back. He speaks openly about love, loss, guilt, anger, and the lasting impact of a daughter he never got to raise—but will always carry.

This episode is an intimate reflection on grief, fatherhood, and the enduring bond between dads and their children after baby loss. It’s also an invitation to listen—to our emotions, to our grief, and to the love that remains.

“Love Letter,” the theme song for Dad Always, was created using AI as a creative tool, with original lyrics and direction shaped by the personal experiences and emotional intent of the host.

Content note: This episode includes personal discussion of miscarriage and pregnancy loss.

How has Dad Always helped you redefine fatherhood after your loss?

Dad Always opens with a clear promise: this is a home for fathers and families carrying baby loss, where grief does not need to be defended and love is allowed to last.

We share five core beliefs, outline the formats to come, and introduce the story behind the theme song, "Love Letter" (more in Episode 2).

Key takeaways:
• who this space is for and why it exists
• how baby loss reshapes identity and fatherhood
• five core beliefs that guide every conversation

1. dads grieve deeply, even when we grieve quietly
2. being a dad is about more than having a living child
3. strength includes asking for and accepting support
4. meaning and pain can exist side by side
5. dads never need to justify or explain their grief

• what to expect from interviews, reflections, and crafted episodes
• practical care and permission to move at your own pace

“Love Letter,” the theme song for Dad Always, was created using AI as a creative tool, with lyrics and direction shaped by the personal experiences and emotional intent of the host.

How has Dad Always helped you redefine fatherhood after your loss?

Four words can slice through a tender moment of grief: “At least it was” (now, fill in the blank). We’ve heard it, we’ve felt the sting, and we wanted to unpack why platitudes show up so easily—especially around miscarriage—and what to say (and not say) when someone you love is hurting. Sophie from Miscarriage Mumma Support joins us again to explore the complex reality of baby loss, the social pressure to “look on the bright side,” and the deeper work of choosing presence over pat answers.

We talk about why people reach for platitudes in the first place: discomfort, fear, and the reflex to fix what can’t be fixed. Together, we examine the false hierarchy of loss that pits experiences against each other, and we share how separating spaces—loss, trying after loss, pregnancy after loss—can actually reduce comparison and increase care. You’ll hear concrete language swaps, gentle questions that open a door instead of closing one, and simple ways to show up that don’t require a solution: sitting in silence, remembering dates, checking in after the initial shock fades.

This conversation also looks at the “good vibes only” mindset and how it slips into support as quick tips and toxic positivity. We reflect on cultural habits that push activity over acknowledgment—from pep talks to one-size-fits-all “fixes”—and why real healing starts with being witnessed. If you’ve ever struggled with what to say, or if platitudes have left you feeling unseen, this episode offers a compassionate, practical framework: get comfortable being uncomfortable, ask better questions, and let people lead their own stories.

If this resonated, share it with someone who wants to support better, subscribe for future conversations, and leave a review to help others find the show. Your voice helps change the way we show up for grief.

Related Episodes:

• E14: The Unspoken Agony of Life after Multiple Miscarriages (ft. Miscarriage Mumma Support - part 4)
• E18: Doing Right by Grief (ft. Miscarriage Mumma Support)

Visit Miscarriage Mumma for more information and resources.

Show Music from Soundstripe:

• Vinyl Glow by Joachim
• East London by Nu Alkemi$t
• Nowhere Left To Turn by Ghost Beatz
• Caesura by Hale (theme)