Have you ever met someone who takes your breath away, not because they are loud or commanding, but because they are so humble, so heartfelt, and so deeply human?

That is Dr. Buck Blodgett.

I am writing this email on the anniversary of the day his 19-year-old daughter, Jessie, was raped and murdered. 

In the face of unimaginable grief, Buck chose to say to the 19-year-old “friend” who killed her: “I love you, and I forgive you.” Just let that sit for a moment.

I read Buck’s post on Insta today, and instantly I felt my heart connect to his story.

Whenever he hears “The Scientist” by Coldplay, he immediately thinks of Jessie. And just like that, I flashed back to the day my dad took his own life, when that song played over and over. It is the song that brings me back to my flawed, funny dad. The song that reminds me not only of how he died, but of how he lived. 

Funny how life reminds us that we are all connected, isn’t it?

I cannot wait for you to experience Buck’s message on the power of forgiveness. It is palpable. He does not simply speak about love, forgiveness, and healing. He lives them.

We have now invited him onto the show three times because his presence and his mission connect so deeply with our guests. Those conversations have led to powerful roundtables about subjects many people are afraid to touch: rape, murder, domestic violence, and the devastating deaths of teenagers.

But here is what is different about Buck, and about so many of our guests at DWYP:Our guests take the hardest, darkest subjects and bring wisdom, kindness, and, dare I say it, even light into places that are so often sensationalized.

Buck’s episode will be dropping in the next week or so, but I was so deeply moved by his post today, on the 13th anniversary of the death of his beautiful daughter, Jessie, that I had to write this now.

Please take a look at his extraordinary nonprofit, Love Is Greater Than Hate. His work with incarcerated men, survivors of domestic violence, and people carrying unimaginable pain is incredibly powerful.