64 - Why You Should Give Second Chances with Purple Heart Recipient Craig Grossi and Fred

The Verywell Mind Podcast

Dotdash Media Inc.

Health & Fitness, Self-improvement, Mental Health, Education

5 • 703 Ratings

🗓️ 12 April 2021

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

“It's so easy to say, ‘Oh, everything happens for a reason.’ But if you don't do the work to figure out the reason, then you're never going to see the purpose in that mistake.” When Craig Grossi was serving in Afghanistan, he befriended a stray dog named Fred. When his deployment was up, he decided to smuggle Fred into the United States with him. The two then took a cross country road trip and documented their adventures in Craig's first book, Craig and Fred. Now, Craig and Fred help train service dogs in the Maine State Prison. Craig started a writing group with some of the veterans who were in prison and he learned some valuable life lessons. Some of the things he talks about include friendship, forgiveness, and finding the courage to ask for help. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Very Well Mind podcast. We've interviewed over 100 authors, experts, entrepreneurs, athletes, musicians, and others to help you learn strategies to care for your mental health.
0:22.9	This episode is hosted by psychotherapist and bestselling author Amy Morin. Now let's get into the episode.
0:47.0	Okay. My guest is Craig Grossie and his dog Fred.
0:52.2	Craig's a Marine Corps veteran and Fred is a stray dog he met while he was serving in Afghanistan.
0:55.0	And while soldiers aren't supposed to interact with stray dogs, Craig did. And he and Fred developed a really strong bond. When Craig's deployment
1:01.5	was up, he decided to bring Fred back with him. Obviously, that wasn't allowed, so he went to
1:06.6	great lengths to smuggle a dog through several countries. You can read about their adventure and their
1:12.1	cross-country road trip in Craig's first book, which is called Craig and Fred. Now they're on a new
1:17.7	adventure. They go into main state prisons and work with the inmates who are training dogs to
1:22.5	become service dogs. Craig also started a writing group with the veterans in prison, and he discovered that although
1:29.2	these men had committed some pretty horrific crimes, they weren't bad people. They just made
1:34.8	bad choices, and that led to Craig's new book, Second Chances. Some of the things Craig talks about
1:41.3	today are how to care for your emotional wounds, how to develop more
1:45.4	compassion for other people, and how to find the courage to talk to someone. Make sure to stick
1:51.1	around for the end of the episode for the therapist's take. This is the part of the show where
1:55.4	I'll break down the strategies Craig shares and tell you how to apply them to your own life.
2:00.2	We've recorded this episode at
2:01.8	Cavern Recording Studios in Waterville, Maine, where I got to meet Craig and Fred in person.
2:07.4	Fred mostly slept on the couch, but he did let me take a few pictures with him when Craig
2:11.7	was done with the interview. So here's Craig Grosie. He's mentally strong, and this is his story.
2:19.2	Craig Grosy, welcome to the very well-lined podcast. Thank you, Amy. It's really, really exciting to be here. It really is.
2:23.5	Well, I'm so excited to talk to you, as you know, since I've already told you how much I've wanted to
	...

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