Deep Reads: Inside the unfolding recovery of the Fetterman family
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 7 October 2023
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
After the stress of a senatorial campaign, a stroke and the auditory processing disorder that followed, depression became severe for Sen. John Fetterman. Then came the hospitalization
Now, the Fetterman family’s daily lives revolve around mental health. When people aren’t asking about Sen. John Fetterman, they’re inquiring about his wife, Gisele. Some offer their condolences, but many want to thank her. She’s become a safe space for those who are struggling with mental health crises in their own families. They tell her they are scared and worried — and they wonder if maybe Gisele is scared and worried, too.
In the midst of uncertainty, Gisele and her family learn to adapt to a new normal.
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This story is part of a collection of new, occasional bonus episodes you’ll be hearing from “Post Reports.” We’re calling these stories “Deep Reads” and they’re part of The Post’s commitment to immersive and narrative journalism.
Today’s story was written by Ruby Cramer and read by Adrienne Walker for Noa: News Over Audio, an app offering curated audio articles. It was originally published on Sept. 23, 2023.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I'm Ruby Kramer, a national political enterprise reporter for the Washington Post. |
| 0:04.4 | I'm bringing you the next story in a new weekend offering from Post Reports. |
| 0:08.7 | We're calling these stories deep reads and they're a collection of reporting and storytelling |
| 0:12.8 | that showcased the post commitment to narrative journalism. I wrote today's story about |
| 0:17.2 | Senator John Federman's family and the challenges they faced in the aftermath of his mental health |
| 0:22.0 | crisis. It's read to you by narrator from our partners at the app NOAA, news over audio. |
| 0:28.0 | We wanted to tell a story about a family and specifically Giselle, his wife. |
| 0:33.5 | She and her family had come to be associated with mental health, even though she herself |
| 0:38.6 | had never been depressed or experienced the low lows and sadness that comes with depression. |
| 0:44.3 | Like so many families, she and her kids were acclimating to life after a mental health crisis. |
| 0:50.1 | I felt that I might find a family that was still consumed with fear and worry and what I found |
| 0:59.2 | instead was a family that was very much mindful of and committed to adaptation and making adjustments |
| 1:08.7 | on the fly and then readjusting and readjusting again. And my hope is that it will reach |
| 1:13.7 | both people who may be experiencing depression but also those who care for those people. Here's |
| 1:19.2 | my story. Giselle Federman stood outside the bedroom door. It was 6.30 a.m. on Monday. |
| 1:28.8 | The house was dark. The kids were asleep. Soon a car would approach the house on the hill. |
| 1:35.4 | The one everyone in town knew just passed the steel mill. Soon her husband would disappear |
| 1:42.0 | into the backseat. The car would take him to a plane, the plane to Washington and then John |
| 1:48.4 | Federman would be at work as a US senator until Friday, four days from now. Giselle looked at |
| 1:55.2 | the bedroom door waiting. How's John? People were always asking her now. How's your dad doing? |
| 2:03.2 | They asked the kids. Giselle walked to the bedroom to check. There was her husband holding an |
| 2:10.3 | iPad, a small suitcase at his feet. Inside were the black shirts and shorts he's always worn |
... |
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