First-Time Listener? Listen to Part 1 of 2 of this interview by clicking HERE.
128: Monica Macansantos, Author of Returning to My Father's Kitchen: Essays — Part 1 of 2 Interview
This second part of the conversation with Jen and Monica Macansantos, Author of Returning to My Father’s Kitchen: Essays, continues to discuss the topic of loss, not just the loss of a father, but the loss of an ally, a sense of home, and the version of life that once felt stable.
First Readers can listen to Monica share how meaningful it was to hear from a former student who had also lost her father and found comfort in reading her book. It affirmed that the work reached someone who needed it most, someone who had also lost their number one ally.
Monica reflects on her relationship with her mother and how writing the book helped preserve her father’s memory at a time when it felt as though others were moving on too quickly. These experiences reinforced why it felt necessary to write, remember, and insist on her father’s significance.
They discuss grief itself, especially the idea that healing doesn’t always mean becoming whole again in the way people expect. Monica explains that she doesn’t believe loss is something people fully “get over,” and she shares what she thinks instead.
The holidays can intensify grief, nostalgia, and complicated family dynamics for some. For this final letter, Jen and Monica hope that this speaks to anyone navigating loss during a season that emphasizes togetherness, whether that loss comes from death, separation, or the loss of a relationship they once expected to last.
Listeners will hear the final letter inspired by Jen and Monica’s conversation on Christmas Eve!
