Episode Details

Before becoming a creator, author, and founder of Sonjoy, Michael Leonardini spent decades wrestling with the same questions many fathers quietly carry: Why do I do the things I do? Why do I react the way I react? How do I become the man, husband, father, and son God created me to be?

In this deeply reflective conversation, Ned sits down with Michael to discuss identity, recovery, suffering, vulnerability, fatherhood, marriage, grief, and the lifelong journey of becoming aligned with God’s love.

Michael shares lessons learned from raising two sons, navigating childhood wounds, overcoming shame, recovering from unhealthy coping patterns, caring for his aging father, and ultimately losing his wife after 32 years of marriage. Through it all, he discovered a powerful truth:

You cannot give what you do not possess.

The conversation explores why many men struggle to receive love, why suffering often becomes the doorway to growth, and how fathers can avoid competing with their children and instead help them stand on their shoulders.

Michael also introduces Sonjoy, a beautiful collection of 52 reflective cards designed to help men examine identity, loss, suffering, addiction, coping, faith, and purpose through guided reflection and journaling.

This episode isn’t about becoming perfect.

It’s about becoming authentic.

It’s about learning to trust God, receive love, finish strong, and lead your family with an open heart.

Fathers Will Learn:

• Why protecting children from all pain may actually hurt them.
• How unresolved wounds can create competition between fathers and sons.
• Why shame quietly destroys a man’s ability to lead.
• How vulnerability and trust work together in marriage.
• Why finishing strong matters more than finishing perfect.
• How to move from coping to healing.
• Why every man is ultimately on a journey of discovering who he truly is.

Resources

• Kickstarter Campaign for Sunjoy
• Sonjoy Cards
• Romans 8
• Sonjoy Website
• Michael Leonardini on Instagram

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Check Out the Program Talked About: Genesis by Rise Up Kings

• This episode is sponsored by Genesis - a Rite of Passage by Rise Up Kings
• Order The Adventure of Fatherhood children's book here
• Check out the TEDx

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• Want to learn more about The Adventure of Fatherhood?
• www.adventureoffatherhood.com
• www.rebelandcreate.com

Each week Ned sits down with a dad and asks him to open up his field notes and share with other men who find themselves on the Adventure of Fatherhood. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review!

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