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In this episode of Dialogue Out Loud, Dialogue Personal Voices Editor Charlotte Hansen Terry speaks with Tammy Grounsell and Kathryn Paul about their essays in the Winter 2024 issue of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. This special issue explores The Family in Latter-day Saint Culture and Thought, and both authors confront the difficult, often hidden struggles within LDS families with honesty and vulnerability.
Tammy Grounsell’s essay, The Shape of My Family, reflects on the evolving nature of family through experiences of adoption, loss, and renewal. She shares her journey of placing her firstborn son for adoption, facing his untimely death, and later discovering a new sibling connection. Through these deeply personal narratives, she critiques rigid Church cultural norms while emphasizing resilience and the power of love to heal and transform.
In Don’t Worry . . . Bee Happy, Kathryn Paul recounts her grief after the suicide of her son Dylan and the unexpected ways she found healing. She reflects on a meaningful trip to Europe with Dylan, now a cherished memory, and how family history and temple work became sources of comfort. Paul’s essay explores the presence of those who have passed and the ways they continue to influence and care for their loved ones, even beyond mortality.
Together, Grounsell and Paul discuss what led them to write these essays, how storytelling allows for deeper honesty about pain and healing, and why LDS culture so often encourages silence around difficult emotions. Their conversation is a powerful reminder that writing can be an act of both truth and connection.