What do you do when a child looks at your son and calls him a monster?

This is the episode I didn't know if I could record.

In this one, I sit with the moments I usually don't talk about — the Royal Children's Hospital, the strangers in the supermarket, the systems that keep failing families like ours, and the grief that doesn't get a name because it doesn't have an ending.

This isn't a story about overcoming. It's about staying.

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In this episode:

— The day at the Royal Children's that I'll never forget

— Children's innocence — when it protects them, and when it doesn't

— The looks, the comments, and the version of yourself you have to become in public

— Teaching your child to know who they are before the world tells them

— The reality of surgeries, complications, and medical uncertainty

— Strokes, comas, and the moments behind hospital walls nobody talks about

— Why the NDIS is failing the families it was built to support

— Marriage under pressure — and what partnership really looks like when you're both running on empty

— Advice for parents in waiting rooms, newly diagnosed, or just starting this road

— A message to Soul

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If you're a parent walking a similar path — I'd love to hear from you. Reply on Substack or send me a DM on Instagram.

The Walk is a fortnightly podcast about fatherhood, marriage, and raising a child the world doesn't always understand.

New episodes every other Monday.

Support the show

Be sure to follow the journey on instagram @thewalk__podcast & subscribe to the channel.

A little goes a long way....

Nobody prepares you for what a marriage looks like when your child has complex medical needs.

In this episode of The Walk, Jake opens up for the first time about the unseen reality of his marriage — the grief, the exhaustion, the loneliness, and the love that somehow holds it all together.

From nightly medical routines to a life that can't be planned, Jake speaks honestly about what it takes to stay together when everything is pulling you apart. He explores the emotional toll on both parents, carrying grief differently as a couple, the isolation no one outside the household understands, and choosing each other daily — even when it's the hardest thing you've ever done.

If you're a parent navigating complex medical needs alongside your partner — this is for you. You're not alone.

The Walk is a space for raw, honest, and non-judgemental conversation about fatherhood, masculinity, and men's mental health.

Follow on Instagram: @thewalk__podcast

Support the show

Be sure to follow the journey on instagram @thewalk__podcast & subscribe to the channel.

A little goes a long way....

When did being a good father become the same thing as being a good earner?

In this episode of The Walk, Jake unpacks the provider identity — the silent trap that convinces men their value lives in their paycheck.

After the birth of his son, Jake found himself measuring his worth entirely by what he could provide financially. The pressure to earn more, work harder, and sacrifice everything left him burnt out, disconnected, and lost.

This episode covers the financial strain fathers carry in silence, the identity crisis when your job defines you, what happens to your family when you're physically present but emotionally gone, and how to start redefining what it truly means to provide.

If you've ever felt like your worth is tied to what you earn — this one's for you.

The Walk is a space for raw, honest, and non-judgemental conversation about fatherhood, masculinity, and men's mental health.

Follow on Instagram: @thewalk__podcast

Support the show

Be sure to follow the journey on instagram @thewalk__podcast & subscribe to the channel.

A little goes a long way....