Kindness Is Power and Rejection Built Me
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What challenges did Brad Meltzer face growing up?
When I was 13 years old, my dad lost his job and we had nothing left. We moved down to Florida just for a free place to stay. My mom, my dad, my sister, myself, and two grandparents in a one bedroom apartment. And everyone in the condominium, because it was Florida, of course, is trying to get us evicted, saying you can't have that many people in such a small space. A stranger across the hallway from my grandmother sees what's happening to my family. And she comes to my grandmother and says, listen, I see what's going on there. I'm going to move out. Why don't you take my apartment for a couple of weeks so your family can get back on their feet? But as a kid, I always heard her name as Mercy. And make no mistake, Mercy is what she showed us.
Today, cruelty and venom and harshly judging those we disagree with, it's become sport in our culture. But cruelty and venom aren't signs of strength. They're signs of weakness and petty insecurity. What takes strength is showing kindness and showing empathy. Sarah French, what up?
This one's luck. I let the pain inspire me. I put my all in everything I'm doing. Up until it's done, I'm me for the entirety. I put in overtime. I be working. Just know I'm a go for mine. Cause I earned it. They watching. I know it's time. I confirmed it. The whole society determined.
What's up, everybody? Welcome back to another episode. I am your host, Sean French, and before I introduce today's amazing guest, please go subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts, and let everybody know what you love about the show. Share it with somebody you know, love, and trust that needs to hear this message of kindness, empathy, and overall badassery. So today, I have with me an American novelist, Brad Meltzer, who is, get this, 13 for 13 on the New York Times bestsellers list. Everything he touched, turns into gold brad what's up buddy welcome to the show brother good to see you so good to see you man i'm a big fan of your work i've before um even having the prospect of being able to interview you um i have i've seen your name in your face um so i am familiar with your work but getting to know you briefly you're just i think it's important to start off with this so the audience knows what they're getting into you are a very kind human being i i appreciate that um
You know, it's funny, my father, And this is, I love when podcasts immediately turn into free therapy. My dad was someone who used to like, he just had a temper. He was struck by lightning and his father was struck by lightning, which means my grandfather and my father were both struck by lightning. Do not hang out with me in a thunderstorm.
Yeah, I'm not going to. I wanted to, but now I don't.
No, you do not. And the thing was, is my dad was like that bolt of lightning. He would just get pissed at everything. And everything he saw, he faced with anger. So he'd throw over a pool table Everyone was a jerk. Everyone was terrible. If you came to my house growing up in Brooklyn, there was a hole in every door in our house where when he would get mad, he just punched the door, bathroom doors, his bedroom door. The only place that didn't have a hole in it was my sister and my bedroom that we shared. And when we were growing up, he just was like, he knew that that's how stuff rolls, right? And his dad was a boxer in the military and used to beat my dad up. And the truth is, Sean, my dad should have kicked the crap out of me. That's how violence works in families, right? It gets passed down generation after generation. Wow. But my dad was like, I'm not doing that.
And I think gave me, you know, even though he was stubborn and everything was a disaster all the time and anger was always coming, he did give me that ability to see you don't have to relive what you've been given in your life. And that has been, for me, kindness has become right to the forefront because of that. It's like instead of facing things with anger, just do the opposite of your dad on this one.
It's interesting, right? Because as we grow up, we have certain things that happen to us in our lives, whether it's... I grew up in a rather, I would say, explosive situation. My dad wasn't punching holes in the wall, but I remember my parents fighting a lot. There were screams and there were things like that.
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Chapters
3 chaptersSpeakers
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