Episode 023
The Truth About How Men Grieve And Why It Needs to Be Heard with Jason Tuttle
He spent years saving his kids’ lives. Then he lost his son – and found his voice.
Jason Tuttle was in the trenches of parenting in a way most of us can’t imagine. His two children were born with rare, complex medical needs – non-verbal, seizure-prone, and in need of constant care.
Jason became their full-time caregiver, learning to read every cue, every silence, and navigating hospital stays with the precision of a NASCAR pit crew.
Then, in 2022, Jason faced the unimaginable – the sudden loss of his 15-year-old son, Zachary. What happened next? Instead of retreating, Jason sat down, wrote a letter, and hit “send.” That letter became Letters to Zachary, now a global grief community helping men (and anyone who grieves) find a voice for their pain.
In this powerful conversation, Jason talks about fatherhood, identity, grief, and the raw, unedited truth of what it means to love and lose – and to find purpose on the other side.
Connect with JASON:
- Website: etterstozachary.com
- Facebook: Letters to Zachary
- Instagram: @letterstozachary2022
- LinkedIn: Jason Tuttle
- Grief Coloring Book available via his website
Timestamps:
00:00 Becoming a full-time caregiver – raising two children with complex medical needs
03:24 Therapy, grief, and the journaling suggestion that changed everything
05:01 Ugly crying, Facebook reels, and writing the first letter to Zachary
07:16 Sharing the letter – a risky click and a life-changing response
08:54 Raw grief, F-bombs, and writing without apology
12:30 Non-verbal parenting – learning to read his kids like a language
14:31 When both kids have seizures – the hidden curveballs of rare conditions
20:42 Losing Zachary – the shock, the silence, and the identity crisis that followed
22:57 Letters to Zachary – from personal outlet to global grief community
25:06 Why men grieve differently – and what most people get wrong
28:09 “Happy wife, happy life” – and how men feel unseen in grief
32:58 Compartmentalizing pain – what happens when men don’t have outlets
35:30 How grief shows up – physically, emotionally, and in risky behavior
37:08 The grief train analogy – and learning to walk through the tunnels
40:11 Advice for the grieving – journaling, speaking, and letting it out
43:14 How to connect with Jason and Letters to Zachary