Real Talk: A Thanksgiving Family Conversation on Grief, Growth, and the Connection That Matters Most
- Assistant
- Dec 11, 2025
- 4 min read
Episode 2 of The Power of Family Podcast
Thanksgiving is supposed to be about togetherness. But for many families, it also brings up what’s hardest to name: distance, grief, missed time, and the longing for deeper connection.
That’s why Episode 2 of The Power of Family hits differently.
In this Thanksgiving family conversation host Terry Willis and co-host Dr. Sonia Toledo welcome two of Terry’s grandchildren, Tanijah Johnson and Tanyen Jr., for a conversation that becomes exactly what the podcast was created for: truth, tenderness, accountability, and healing in real time.
This episode is a reminder that family connection isn’t built through perfect words. It’s built through presence, especially when emotions show up.
Watch this Special Thanksgiving Family Conversation
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts
Why This Episode Matters
At the center of this episode is a powerful reality:
We don’t always get enough chances to say what we really feel.
Tanijah shares something many grandchildren and many children carry quietly: she loves her grandpapa deeply, respects his drive, and sees his commitment… but she also needs more of him. Not business lessons. Not strict routines. Just… him.
“What I’m asking is priceless. It costs nothing.”
That one truth becomes the heartbeat of the entire episode.
Terry responds not as a performer, not as a “host,” but as a grandparent who hears the call clearly:
“I would be irresponsible as a human being not to answer your call.”
And just like that, the episode becomes more than a conversation. It becomes a turning point.
The Story Behind the “Real Talk”
Terry introduces Tanijah and Tanyen Jr., sharing a layer of family grief that adds depth to the moment: Tanijah and Tanyen’s father, Terry’s son passed away during COVID.
What follows is not pity. It’s purpose.
Terry speaks openly about his commitment to keeping family lineage strong, acknowledging the generational gaps that so many families are feeling and naming what many people don’t say out loud:
This isn’t just happening in one family. It’s happening everywhere.
Tanijah’s Message: “I Need You Here”
Tanijah describes her grandpapa as someone who has always shown love through action picking them up, taking them places, staying involved.
But as she’s gotten older, her needs have changed.
She wants relationship, not just structure. Presence, not just productivity. A grandparent who makes room for her inner child, not only her adult growth.
She says it plainly:
The business will always be there.
But time won’t.
That’s the kind of truth that can heal a family or split it depending on what happens next.
And in this episode, we watch what healing looks like:
someone listens, someone stays, someone commits.
Tanyen Jr.’s Perspective: Growth, Responsibility, and Breaking Cycles
Tanyen Jr. brings a different (and deeply layered) perspective. He talks about growth, mindset, and what it means to break generational patterns especially when parents were taught the wrong things because they were taught the wrong things.
Not as blame. As awareness.
He frames life through the lens of resilience and responsibility, emphasizing that what matters isn’t only where the family has been, it’s where they go from here.
He speaks about legacy and what it means to pass down more than survival:
“I want to be able to pass along more than just poverty.”
And he captures a truth many families need to hear:
Even love can be miscommunicated. Even good intentions can land differently than we meant.
Dr. Sonia Toledo’s Reflection: The Power of Listening Across Generations
Dr. Sonia Toledo names what’s happening beneath the surface:This episode isn’t about blaming. It’s about awareness.
She reflects on her own parenting journey, how we can believe we’re doing it right, but it doesn’t always land the same way for our children.
That’s why listening matters.
Because when families don’t repair emotional gaps, those gaps don’t disappear, they shape everything that comes next:
Broken homes can create broken communities. And brokenness eventually turns into actions.
This episode models what it looks like to interrupt that cycle through truth, vulnerability, and shared commitment.
The Big Takeaway: Presence Is Priceless
“Real Talk” delivers a message every family needs, especially during the holidays:
The most valuable thing you can give your family is not money, advice, or perfection. It’s presence.
And presence is something you can start practicing immediately:
A phone call instead of “we’ll talk soon”
A check-in text with real curiosity
A virtual family meeting when distance makes visits hard
A commitment to listen without defending
A willingness to say: “I didn’t know. Thank you for telling me.”
This episode shows that when someone finally speaks the truth, the real question becomes:
Will we meet that truth with humility—or with excuses?
Stay Connected With The Power of Family
If this episode resonated with you, don’t stop here, this is only the beginning.
We’re building a space for:
honest family conversations
youth voices that are often ignored
healing across generations
tools that families can actually use
and stories that remind us we’re not alone
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✅ Leave a comment: What did you take away from this episode? What topic should we cover next?
Because if this episode is any indication…there are powerful conversations ahead.
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