Fresh Take: Glen Henry, FATHER YOURSELF FIRST

What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood | Parenting Tips From Funny Moms

What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood

Kids & Family, Comedy, Parenting

4.8 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 28 November 2025

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Trigger warning: this episode contains mention of child abuse and suicidal ideation. Amy and Margaret talk with Glen Henry—creator of Beleaf in Fatherhood and author of the new book Father Yourself First—about breaking cycles, reimagining fatherhood, and learning to parent with intention, grace, and community. Glen shares his journey from growing up in a difficult household to becoming a present, emotionally attuned father, and how mentorship, open communication, and self-work helped reshape his parenting. They discuss navigating hard conversations with children about race and safety, deconstructing the voices we’ve internalized from our own parents, and why parents must learn to “father themselves first.” Glen also explores the importance of modeling real family life, finding mentors, building community, and creating an inner voice rooted in compassion instead of fear or old wounds. This moving conversation is especially powerful for parents who didn’t grow up with healthy models and are working to create something new for their own families. Here's where you can find Glen: @beleafmel on Instagram @beleafinfatherhood on YT @beleafinfatherhood on TikTok Buy FATHER YOURSELF FIRST: https://bookshop.org/a/12099/9781400252558 We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.whatfreshhellpodcast.com/p/promo-codes/ Get 50% Off Monarch, the all-in-one financial tool at ⁠www.monarchmoney.com/FRESH Ready to raise money-smart kids? Start now with your first month FREE at acornsearly.com/FRESH! Head to GigSalad.com and book some awesome talent for your next party, and let them know that What Fresh Hell sent you.fatherhood, modern fatherhood, Beleaf in Fatherhood, Glen Henry interview, Father Yourself First book, parenting after trauma, breaking generational cycles, conscious parenting, gentle parenting, Black fatherhood stories, raising resilient kids, having hard conversations with kids, talking to kids about race, parenting with intention, family mentorship, parenting community, emotional regulation for parents, healing your inner child, reparenting yourself, raising confident children, fatherhood mentorship, parenting support, Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Today's interview with Glenn Henry involves discussions of child abuse and suicidal ideation.
0:06.7	Please be warned if those topics are difficult for you.
0:10.8	Enjoy this excellent conversation with Glenn Henry.
0:16.7	Hello and welcome to Fresh Take from What Fresh Hell Laughing in the Face of Motherhood. This is Margaret.
0:22.3	And this is Amy. Today we're talking to Glenn Henry. He is the creative force behind the
0:27.1	beloved YouTube channel, Belief and Fatherhood, where he champions positive parenting and redefines
0:33.1	what modern fatherhood looks like. Beyond YouTube, Glenn connects with audiences through social media,
0:38.5	workshops, and speaking engagements, encouraging dads to show up with love, purpose, and presence.
0:44.9	Glenn has become a leading advocate for strong families and meaningful father-child relationships.
0:50.9	Today, we'll be discussing his new book, Father Yourself First. Welcome, Glenn.
0:55.7	Thank you so much for having me. So the first chapter of your book is called I Never Wanted
1:00.8	to Be a Father. So start there and talk to us. It's so interesting that now you have a book
1:07.1	about fathering, a social presence, all about fathering. So take us to why that is the title
1:13.3	of your first chapter. So I grew up in Baltimore, Maryland with a single mother. My mother
1:19.5	lived by herself with me and my little brother. And then my father lived in California across the
1:23.8	country. And one thing I got for sure was that being a parent was inconvenient.
1:29.0	There was just so much that had to go into communicating with the child's father or mother.
1:35.3	I had to keep quiet. I had to stay in the child's place. It just didn't seem like I belonged in the
1:40.0	house. I was just something to tolerate. And I got that message early. But once I started to get a
1:47.0	little bit older in that teenage area, my friends started having kids. And it was like the death
1:53.0	sentence. You know what I mean? Like, oh my gosh, you're going to be stuck with this person for the
1:56.2	rest of your life. You're going to have this kid. Your life is over. You suck you suck ha ha but let me know if you need anything
	...

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