Elizabeth Weingarten

Absolutely. So Parker was such a special person. He's an educator and activist who has written so many books and has carved out such a wonderful life for himself. But as you were saying, as he was finding his way in his career, he was really struggling under the weight of expectations, right? Of his family and friends for him to follow a more traditional path.

They really saw him as somebody who was headed for this path of becoming a university professor, pursuing this traditional academic path. But that never felt right to him. And so he was struggling with this question of what are you doing with his life? And what are you doing with your life, right?

They really saw him as somebody who was headed for this path of becoming a university professor, pursuing this traditional academic path. But that never felt right to him. And so he was struggling with this question of what are you doing with his life? And what are you doing with your life, right?

They really saw him as somebody who was headed for this path of becoming a university professor, pursuing this traditional academic path. But that never felt right to him. And so he was struggling with this question of what are you doing with his life? And what are you doing with your life, right?

And in part, he was struggling with it because he hadn't yet learned to sit with and explore some of the hidden parts of himself, the parts that didn't conform to the expectations of others. And what I talk about in the book in Parker's story is how through a deeper relationship with questions, he used questions as tools

And in part, he was struggling with it because he hadn't yet learned to sit with and explore some of the hidden parts of himself, the parts that didn't conform to the expectations of others. And what I talk about in the book in Parker's story is how through a deeper relationship with questions, he used questions as tools

And in part, he was struggling with it because he hadn't yet learned to sit with and explore some of the hidden parts of himself, the parts that didn't conform to the expectations of others. And what I talk about in the book in Parker's story is how through a deeper relationship with questions, he used questions as tools

as an internal GPS to find his way back to himself, what he really wanted, his own evolving truth. And so he really needed to understand that before he talked to others about it, before he communicated that truth with other people. But for much of his life, it was really submerged under this sense of, well, this is what I should be doing. And I need to

as an internal GPS to find his way back to himself, what he really wanted, his own evolving truth. And so he really needed to understand that before he talked to others about it, before he communicated that truth with other people. But for much of his life, it was really submerged under this sense of, well, this is what I should be doing. And I need to

as an internal GPS to find his way back to himself, what he really wanted, his own evolving truth. And so he really needed to understand that before he talked to others about it, before he communicated that truth with other people. But for much of his life, it was really submerged under this sense of, well, this is what I should be doing. And I need to

pursue this path that other people think I should. And so the story that I tell is really about how he, through asking different questions and through his own kind of journey of self-discovery, was able to understand the way that those expectations had been guiding him versus his own needs and desires and really understanding how he could let those guide him along that path.

pursue this path that other people think I should. And so the story that I tell is really about how he, through asking different questions and through his own kind of journey of self-discovery, was able to understand the way that those expectations had been guiding him versus his own needs and desires and really understanding how he could let those guide him along that path.

pursue this path that other people think I should. And so the story that I tell is really about how he, through asking different questions and through his own kind of journey of self-discovery, was able to understand the way that those expectations had been guiding him versus his own needs and desires and really understanding how he could let those guide him along that path.

Wow. You articulated something that is so central to the book. And I think the first thing I will say to your point is that kind of journey to self-awareness is really a lifelong one, right? I think we can get better at knowing ourselves. But one of the things that I've found is just it helps to have a sense of self.

Wow. You articulated something that is so central to the book. And I think the first thing I will say to your point is that kind of journey to self-awareness is really a lifelong one, right? I think we can get better at knowing ourselves. But one of the things that I've found is just it helps to have a sense of self.

Wow. You articulated something that is so central to the book. And I think the first thing I will say to your point is that kind of journey to self-awareness is really a lifelong one, right? I think we can get better at knowing ourselves. But one of the things that I've found is just it helps to have a sense of self.

kind of humility and also a sense of humor about it because we're all learning and figuring this out every day and so it's not necessarily a destination that you reach and all of a sudden you figured it out and you know everything about yourself and you've achieved self-awareness but a big part of it is almost the recognition that maybe i'll never fully achieve that self-awareness that i so desire but i'll talk a little bit about something practical that i think folks can do but before that take a step back because

kind of humility and also a sense of humor about it because we're all learning and figuring this out every day and so it's not necessarily a destination that you reach and all of a sudden you figured it out and you know everything about yourself and you've achieved self-awareness but a big part of it is almost the recognition that maybe i'll never fully achieve that self-awareness that i so desire but i'll talk a little bit about something practical that i think folks can do but before that take a step back because

kind of humility and also a sense of humor about it because we're all learning and figuring this out every day and so it's not necessarily a destination that you reach and all of a sudden you figured it out and you know everything about yourself and you've achieved self-awareness but a big part of it is almost the recognition that maybe i'll never fully achieve that self-awareness that i so desire but i'll talk a little bit about something practical that i think folks can do but before that take a step back because

This kind of relationship with yourself was so central, what I found, to this question of how do we live better and differently with uncertainty. And for a long time, I'd imagined that the best analogy for loving and staying committed to a big question was our love for someone else, right? Like a challenging relationship to someone else.