Three Million Acres Podcast with Maria Luisa Tucker cover art

Three Million Acres

The Search for My Father and the Meaning of Family

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Three Million Acres

By: Maria Luisa Tucker
Narrated by: Maria Luisa Tucker
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In this poignant and deeply personal audio experience, host Maria Luisa Tucker investigates the disappearance of her own father, and uses the many theories that emerge to explore what it means to be a family today. Luisa’s father disappeared into the 3-million-acre Tonto National Forest on a cold February day in 2006. As time passed and no clear information emerged, everyone around her had a different theory about what had happened to him: maybe he’d gotten lost on a hike in the mountains. He could have run off with another woman, or gotten so enraged with his wife and kids that he left to avoid hurting them. Or maybe he walked into the woods to die. Years later, Luisa realized that each theory revealed something about her family, and, in turn, our cultural understanding of love, care, the parent-child relationship, self-sufficiency vs. community, and more. In this five-part series, Luisa weaves together scenes from the search for her father with theory and research about love and family, as well as moments from her life now as a mother. Conversations with her loved ones as well as psychologists, anthropologists, and scholars will challenge listeners' ideas of what family is, or should be.©2022 Maria Luisa Tucker (P)2022 Audible Originals, LLC Biographies & Memoirs True Crime
Episodes
  • Trailer

    Trailer
    Jun 16 2022
    In this poignant and deeply personal audio experience, host Maria Luisa Tucker investigates the disappearance of her own father, and uses the many theories that emerge to explore what it means to be a family today. Luisa’s father disappeared into the 3-million-acre Tonto National Forest on a cold February day in 2006. As time passed and no clear information emerged, everyone around her had a different theory about what had happened to him: maybe he’d gotten lost on a hike in the mountains. He could have run off with another woman, or gotten so enraged with his wife and kids that he left to avoid hurting them. Or maybe he walked into the woods to die. Years later, Luisa realized that each theory revealed something about her family, and, in turn, our cultural understanding of love, care, the parent-child relationship, self-sufficiency vs. community, and more. In this five-part series, Luisa weaves together scenes from the search for her father with theory and research about love and family, as well as moments from her life now as a mother. Conversations with her loved ones as well as psychologists, anthropologists, and scholars will challenge listeners' ideas of what family is, or should be.
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    2 mins
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  • Episode 1: Self-reliance / The Forest

    Episode 1: Self-reliance / The Forest
    Jun 16 2022
    Tucker gets a call that her dad has disappeared into the forest and starts searching for him, assuming he went on a solo camping trip without telling his wife or kids. She talks to anthropologist Meredith Small about why so many American families value independence more than connection.
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    42 mins
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  • Episode 2: Silence / The Gun

    Episode 2: Silence / The Gun
    Jun 16 2022
    As the search continues, Tucker wonders if anger drove her father away. She talks to psychologist Michael Addis about how male depression often expresses itself as anger.
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    32 mins
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All stars
Most relevant
Ms Tucker took a deeply personal tragedy and shared it with incredible introspection and love. Through her search for her father, we can all better understand our histories, ourselves, and our families.

Powerful

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Ms. Tucker has written about and presented a very personal and difficult family story with grace and dignity.

Excellent

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Did I cry listening to this daughter's story of her father's suicide? Of course. But I also laughed and learned -- about opioid addiction, missing person searches, memory, family, and more. We hear Tucker making sense of what happened and giving her 7-year-old son a true and respectful and loving answer to the question, "How did your father die?" She blazes a path through tragedy toward hope and connection over the episodes. Beautiful stuff.

Heartbreaking, revelatory, and weirdly healthy

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This podcast captured my attention and led me on an incredible journey. I laughed out loud, I cried, I had to pause to reflect on the powerful messages begin shared. I binge listened and plan to listen to it again, so I can take notes. I am amazed at the strength of this young author whose tragic loss and subsequent struggles lead her to offer us so much HELPFUL information about family , community and the meaning of love. After listening, I understand myself, my partner and my personal relationships better. Thank you Ms.Tucker!

Amazing!

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Although you may think this podcast is solely directed to those affected by a loss of a family member, instead this story drives to our story as humans. Told in frankness and retrospection, Maria Luisa Tucker taps into our recognition of human connectedness, responsibilities, and search for happiness. Tucker’s personal story is supported with experts in multiple scientific fields. Listen to Three Million Acres.

Truths Illuminated

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