BONUS: My Brother From Beyond

May 13, 2021·48 min·4 clips

Louise confesses she's not sad her beloved brother died, but relieved—and explains why.

Family Ghosts host Sam Dingman introduces this bonus episode as a crossover feature showcasing The Secret Room, a podcast hosted by Ben Hamm in which guests tell secrets they have never revealed anywhere else. Dingman explains the premise: every guest uses an alias because the secrets are too sensitive to be told under real names, which means the stories never feel like acts of self-promotion but rather genuine acts of unburdening. The story selected features a woman who reveals that when her brother died, everyone around her was devastated, but she herself felt relieved and even happy. Dingman frames this as a quintessential Family Ghosts narrative, a story about the gap between the emotional response you are supposed to have and the one you actually have, told by someone willing to risk the discomfort of honesty. The episode explores the woman's relationship with her brother, which was marked by behavior from him that had been damaging to her, and the complicated layers of guilt, relief, and social pressure she navigated after his death. Dingman highlights something truly spooky that happens in the middle of the episode, an unexplained occurrence that defies rational interpretation and gives the story an additional uncanny dimension consistent with Family Ghosts' interest in stories at the edge of the explicable. Hamm's interviewing style is described as caring and empathetic, giving the woman space to tell the story at her own pace without editorializing. The episode functions both as a standalone story and as an introduction to The Secret Room's format. The tone is contemplative and respectful of ambiguity. The audience is Family Ghosts fans and anyone drawn to first-person stories about emotions that fall outside socially sanctioned responses.

As heard by us

A bonus detour that turns secrecy and family pain into something plainspoken and hard to shake.

This bonus edition points listeners toward The Secret Room, and the handoff lands cleanly because the premise rests on secrets that are never shared elsewhere, often under aliases that help protect the speakers.

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Why you'd press play

A secret-heavy bonus listen for when alias-protected confessions and family fallout are what you want.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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