Name: A parent's guide to raising kids after loss
Uploaded: 2025-05-08T14:53:11Z
Duration: 10 min
Description: Andy Laats had the textbook fairytale family setup ... a great job, a happy marriage, three wonderful kids and everything going for them. Until one day, they didn't anymore. In this tender, wise and unexpectedly funny talk, Laats describes the profound lessons he's learned over the years as a father, offering insights that will resonate with anyone who's ever had any kind of family.

Andy Laats: A parent's guide to raising kids after loss

A parent's guide to raising kids after loss

Andy Laats had the textbook fairytale family setup ... a great job, a happy marriage, three wonderful kids and everything going for them. Until one day, they didn't anymore. In this tender, wise and unexpectedly funny talk, Laats describes the profound lessons he's learned over the years as a father, offering insights that will resonate with anyone who's ever had any kind of family.

After losing his wife to cancer, a father discovered raising children alone requires more than mastering routines or emotional checklists. He learned true connection lives in moments beyond language, like a silent red-light stare or buying every kind of feminine product with his daughter in Vermont. The daily grind, from head lice outbreaks to endless pickups, became the gateway to deeper understanding and empathy. These shared, wordless experiences proved to be the lasting foundation of family, where even loss could not erase love.