E76: A Son's Journey to Understanding Motherhood w/ Stuart Connelly

Filmmaker and author Stuart Connelly joins for a moving Mother’s Day conversation about his memoir Offered in Secret, chronicling his 1,800-mile journey to understand and honor his late mother.

Guest Bio:
Stuart Connelly is a director, screenwriter, journalist, and author. His latest book, Offered in Secret, blends memoir and investigative narrative as he retraces his relationship with his late mother through a cross-country pilgrimage to choose her final resting place. He has written and directed feature films and is known for deeply personal storytelling.

Topics Discussed:

• Connelly’s 1,800-mile road trip to bury his mother’s ashes
• Grieving a complicated parent
• Intergenerational trauma and Depression-era parenting
• Family dynamics, estrangement, and reconciliation
• The emotional contrast between practicality and tradition
• How children come to understand their parents as flawed humans
• Reflections on fatherhood and changing parenting norms
• The role of creativity, memory, and physical places in grief
• Syracuse, NY as a character in the story
• Why contemplation may be a better tribute than ceremony

Top Quotes

“I got to know my mother better after she died than when she was alive.”

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