What Is Emotional Justice?

In this episode, Dani and Marion welcome Esther Stanhope, a framework creator and founder of the Amar Institute of Emotional Justice in Ghana. Esther introduces Emotional Justice, a framework for understanding how untreated trauma—and the ongoing legacies of colonialism, racism, apartheid, and other systems of harm—shape how we see ourselves and each other. Together, they explore the importance of emotional literacy and having the language to name what we carry, challenging the idea that education, achievement, or success can free us from trauma we have never been given the space to process. The conversation turns to emotional inheritance: the grief, survival strategies, silences, and emotional patterns passed between generations. Marion reflects on the profound trauma carried by her Indigenous family through Residential Schools, Indian Hospitals, and colonial violence, while Dani considers the ways each generation can work to create a different inheritance for the next. Esther introduces ideas including intimate revolution, intimate reckoning, and wellness in the face of warfare, asking what it means to care for ourselves and one another while living within systems that continue to cause harm. Dani, Marion, and Esther also explore masculinity, emotional suppression, caregiving, and accountability. Esther discusses her Moving Masculinity initiative and the need for men to develop emotional literacy and do the work of healing in community with one another—without placing that emotional labour back onto women. At its core, What Is Emotional Justice? is an invitation to name what we have inherited, understand how history continues to live within us, and imagine what we want to carry forward—and what we are ready to leave behind. Content in this episode includes frank discussion of trauma, racism, colonialism, medical racism, sexual abuse and misconduct, Residential Schools, Indian Hospitals, violence, grief, death and dying, and intergenerational trauma. Please listen at your own pace, take breaks when you need to, and take care of yourself as you do. Thank you for joining us on this journey. **Health Resources:**  **Suicide Crisis Line:** 988 988.ca  **Hope For Wellness Hotline:** 1-855-242-3310 https://www.hopeforwellness.ca/ **Wisepractices.ca** **Chapters:** **00:00:00** Content Warning & Land Acknowledgement **00:00:54** Meet Dani, Marion, and the Before I Go Journey **00:02:31** Marion’s Health Check‑In: Miracle Drug and Fragility **00:04:10** Grief, Uncle’s Passing, and Holding Heaviness **00:05:50** Introducing Esther: Creator of Emotional Justice **00:08:12** From MAiD to Medical Racism: How the Podcast Evolved **00:10:40** What Is Emotional Justice? Defining the Framework **00:16:29** Intimate Revolution & The Language of Whiteness **00:19:01** Marion on Education, Loss, and Calling a Thing a Thing **00:21:29** Emotional Inheritance: What We Carry Across Generations **00:29:09** Residential Schools, Indian Hospitals, and Inherited Burden **00:34:30** Unexpressed Grief, Masks, and Wellness in the Face of Warfare **00:39:39** Turning to Men: Masculinity and Emotional Illiteracy **00:43:48** Marion’s Journey with Indigenous Masculinity and Trust **00:47:21** Toxic vs. Traumatized Masculinity & Moving Masculinity Project **00:55:48** From Survival to Thriving: Doing Our Own Work **00:56:19** Marion & Dani’s Reflections: Mind Blown and Seen **00:57:43** Closing Invitation: Self‑Care Is Not Optional