In this deeply personal interview, alongside my guest Erin Mascaro, we dive into grief, mental health, loss, and the long work of healing. Erin shares how repeated family tragedies reshaped her life, her values, and the mission behind Sounds of Silence. The conversation centers on hope, connection, and why asking for help, slowing down, and taking care of yourself matters in everyday life. In this episode, Erin explains the meaning of her energy and presence: intentional, determined, goal-oriented, and approachable, even when she can come across as intense. She shares how her sister Lisa’s postpartum depression opened the family’s eyes to the silence and stigma around maternal mental health in the early 2000s. Erin walks through the origin of Sounds of Silence and how a simple resource referral led to a foundation, a run, and years of community support. She describes the impact of losing Lisa in 2014, her father in 2017, and another sister in 2018, and how each loss changed her relationship to grief. Erin reflects on how mental illness can be hidden, misunderstood, and difficult for families to manage without professional support. She talks about the importance of hard conversations, in-person connection, and creating spaces where people feel seen and heard. She explains why the real work starts at home: modeling emotional health, unlearning harmful patterns, and teaching children how to care for themselves. Erin shares the practices that help her stay grounded, including daily movement, sunrise rituals, nourishment, boundaries, and keeping a small circle of trustworthy people. She discusses how grief changed her perspective on time, priorities, social events, and the urge to do everything for everyone. Her central message is that people are worth the work, worth the help, and worth slowing down for. Sounds of Silence Foundation Instagram @sounds_of_silence_run
