The Courageous Life What 9-11 & Parkland Taught Me About Recovery, Purpose & Hope | Fred Guttenberg
Fred Guttenberg began his public life after the murder of his beautiful 14-year-old daughter Jaime in the Parkland school shooting on Feb 14, 2018. The day after the murder, Fred decided to attend a public vigil in Parkland. While there, the Mayor asked him to speak. His words shook a nation and he has not stopped since. Only four months prior to the murder of his daughter, Fred's brother Michael passed away in October 2017 from cancer related to his service in 9/11. He was one of the original first responders at the World Trade Center with a team of doctors who got trapped in the building as it collapsed. Amazingly, the room that they hid out in did not collapse and Michael and his team of physicians spent 16 days at ground zero taking care of others. Following his involvement in these two distinct American Tragedies, Fred has traveled the country talking about both events but also talking about perspective, perseverance, and resilience. He discusses pivotal moments in life and how we respond to those moments. Fred uses his speech to inspire others. Learn more about Fred's work at orangeribbonsforjaime.org and pick up his book, Find the Helpers: What 9/11 and Parkland Taught Me About Recovery, Purpose, and Hope now.
In this episode Fred and I discuss themes from his new book Find the Helpers including:
- Who his helpers are and how they have helped him to deal with grief, transform pain into purpose, and find hope after Parkland and 9/11
- What Joe Biden taught him about grief
- How he has been able to respond to acts of hate from a place of compassion, and love
- The importance of community when it comes to being resilient
- Practical strategies for overcoming 'us and them' thinking
- More about his mission of reducing gun violence, and some of the incredible progress that has been made in terms of new laws and bills, including Jaime's Law that honors his daughter's death by continuing to save lives in her name
- Why it's not what happens to you, but your response that matters most
- And more!
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Find show notes and more at joshuasteinfeldt.com/podcast