Thomas Greene on Fatherhood, Storytelling, and Grief After Losing a Child

Hosts Sophia and AC Valdez interview Thomas Greene, acclaimed novelist and essayist, founder and former president of the Vermont College of Fine Arts, and popular Montpelier restaurateur. Greene opens up about becoming a father to his daughters, Sarah and Jane. 

Greene describes his happy upbringing in a large family, his planned path to parenthood, fears around childbirth, and Sarah’s difficult delivery by C-section. He recounts how a crisis during his then wife’s high-risk pregnancy with his younger daughter Jane forced him into primary caregiving for Sarah and how improvised bedtime storytelling helped him feel he became a “dad,” not just a father. Greene details Jane’s premature birth at 28 weeks, six months in two NICUs, coping through research, community and family support, and how the loss affected his marriage, his writing, and his evolving relationship with Sarah into adulthood.

Website: www.SophiaMedia.co/MyFirstYear 

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Bruce Chambliss on Military Upbringing, Fatherhood, and Building Men’s Support in San Antonio

Sophia and AC interview Bruce Chambliss, a 50-year-old father of six in San Antonio, Texas, who grew up in a loving military family with strong Christian values and moved from Oklahoma to North Carolina, South Carolina, England, and Mississippi, where he first confronted racism and learned discipline and respect from his parents. Bruce joined the Air Force and became a father at 21 when his daughter Jordan was born in 1999, navigating co-parenting challenges and distance. He later discovered another daughter, Kobe, and raised her as a single dad while stationed in Kansas, finding purpose in being present. His military career ended abruptly after a court-martial for insurance fraud led to demotion and confinement, an experience he now shares to help others. Bruce became a businessman, coach, and motivational speaker, started men’s and women’s support groups after community tragedies, and describes renewed focus and intentionality after the birth of his son Bruce III in 2018, while reflecting on his deep bond with his father.

Website: www.SophiaMedia.co/MyFirstYear 

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Acclaimed concert musician, author, Eastern philosophy, meditation, Qi Gong and Chinese medicine teacher Andrew Sterman recounts how he decided to have children with his wife Ann, a master acupuncturist. Marked by a ceremony inviting “universal creative forces,” they had two successful home births in 2004 and 2007 with midwife and doula, using acupuncture during labor. Sterman describes the mystical intensity of birth and the superiority of women.

Sterman emphasizes dads focusing on postpartum recovery, being responsive, avoiding toxic masculinity, and meeting children as distinct personalities from birth, following the child’s lead, limiting overstimulating toys, and finding the first year primarily joyous despite fatigue, co-sleeping challenges, jaundice, and work-life tradeoffs.

Website: www.SophiaMedia.co/MyFirstYear 

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#Fatherhood #child #Relationships #men #Parenting #identity #purpose #love #Podcast #MyFirstYear 

My First Year as a Father is an interview-style podcast that centers on the often unheard stories of fatherhood, especially during that pivotal first year. By listening to these men speak openly and honestly about their own journeys – the doubts, the fears, the transformations – the listener experiences something that rarely exists elsewhere: real talk about what it actually feels like to become a father and adjust to a new reality.

Website: www.SophiaMedia.co/MyFirstYear 

❤️ Subscribe for more conversations about life's biggest transitions.

#Fatherhood #child #Relationships #men #Parenting #identity #purpose #love #Podcast #MyFirstYear