051: grief, hope, and what our mothers leave behind | sean metherell
In this episode, Deb Knupp sits down with friend and Faegre Drinker partner Sean Metherell for an unplanned, deeply personal conversation that began professionally and turned into a Mother's Day tribute. Recorded on the eve of the holiday and just past the one-year anniversary of his mother's passing, Sean and Deb discover they share more than a working relationship.
"Grief that is so enormous is actually a reflection of how great the love was on the other side of it."
They are both navigating life after losing their mothers within months of each other. What unfolds is a conversation about grief as a non-linear process, hope as a discipline, and the quiet, radical act of men opening up about what they carry.
Underlying the conversation is a reframe of grief not as something to "get over," but as direct evidence of how deeply someone was loved. Sean shares how his mother, a single mother of four who became a nurse, modeled a kind of love that asked for nothing in return and how losing her cracked open a part of him that had been dormant since college: a return to philosophy, to writing, and to a public, vulnerable practice of sharing what he's learned. The result is not a tidy resolution. It is two people holding sadness and gratitude at the same time, and inviting listeners to do the same.
Key Highlights
How a conversation that started as business between Deb and Sean turned into a mutual, unplanned exchange about losing their mothers and what that says about holding space for people you only know in one context.
Sean's work as an eminent domain lawyer and partner at Faegre Drinker, and how the discipline of legal problem-solving shapes (and is shaped by) his personal writing.
Why grief, for Sean, is "two things at once": sadness for the loss and gratitude for the love, and why that paradox doesn't have to be resolved to be lived with.
F. Scott Fitzgerald's test of first-rate intelligence, and how Sean uses it as a personal compass for holding hope and hopelessness at the same time.
A candid conversation about men, emotional expression, and why Sean has "never felt stronger as a man" the more he's opened up.
Why hope, unlike a pyramid scheme, is an exponential model that actually works; one person, one honest conversation, at a time.
Quote of the Episode
"Grief that is so enormous is actually a reflection of how great the love was on the other side of it." – Sean Metherell
About Our Guest
Sean Metherell is a partner in the real estate litigation practice at Faegre Drinker, where he specializes in eminent domain law. Outside the courtroom, Sean has become a voice for grief, hope, and human flourishing through his Substack and Instagram, writing and recording reflections that began as a way to process the loss of his mother in January 2025 and have since resonated with readers navigating their own losses. He is husband to an avid reader, father to a nearly-10-year-old daughter, an enthusiastic cyclist, and a devoted student of philosophy.
Connect with Sean Metherell
Read Sean's Substack: https://seanmetherell.substack.com/
Follow Sean on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanmetherell
Connect with Sean on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanmetherell/
Learn more about Sean's work at Faegre Drinker: https://www.faegredrinker.com/
About The HX Collective
The HX Collective explores the human experience through three lenses: work, relationships and self, through raw, authentic conversations rooted in human-centered design. Each episode offers gripping stories, thought-provoking discussion, and concrete tools that help you rethink your relationship with distress and strengthen your whole human experience.
