Welcome to The Holly Hughes Podcast Inspiring Stories of Creativity, Passion, and Purpose from Global Artists!

Personal Journals Episodes

March 31, 2026

How to Write About Family Without Repeating the Past | Monica Macansantos

What if writing about your past didn’t mean reliving it? In this episode of the Holly Hughes Podcast, Holly sits down with author Monica Macansantos, writer of Returning to My Father’s Kitchen and Love and Other Rituals, to explore how we tell the truth about family, identity, and the stories that shape us, without getting stuck inside them. Monica shares how her father’s openness transformed pain into connection, and how writing became a way to process generational trauma without passing ...