In this episode of You Only, host Low Jackson explores American Family by Catherine Marshall-Smith, a powerful novel that dismantles the myth of the “perfect” American family and replaces it with something far more honest: a story about love, judgment, silence, and the roles we assign to one another in order to survive. Drawing from Marshall-Smith’s exploration of custody, identity, addiction, and belonging, this episode examines how families often mistake quiet strength for absence, intelligence for laziness, and unconventional care for failure.

Blending the book’s themes with personal reflection, Low Jackson shares a defining story about misjudging his stepdad—an experience that reveals how easily inherited narratives become accepted truth. Through psychological insight, attachment theory, and family-systems thinking, the episode unpacks archetypes like the hero and the mascot, showing how these roles form, why they persist, and how they shape adult identity long after childhood ends. This conversation isn’t about rewriting the past or assigning blame—it’s about seeing clearly. American Family becomes a lens for understanding how perception shapes memory, how misunderstanding becomes legacy, and how healing often begins when we learn to look again at the people who raised us and recognize the unseen work they were doing all along.

In this episode of The You Only Podcast, Low Jackson cracks open one of the most important books he’s ever read: The Emotionally Absent Mother by Jasmin Lee Cori. This isn’t a clinical breakdown or a textbook summary — it’s Low’s honest, unfiltered understanding of the book and how its ideas are helping him make sense of the wounds he carried since childhood.

Low walks through the core concepts of the book: what emotional neglect actually looks like, the subtle ways an absent mother shapes your sense of self, why so many adults still feel “unseen,” and how those patterns show up in relationships decades later. He breaks down the book’s healing steps and shares how he’s applying them in his own life — from recognizing unmet needs to learning how to feel safe, connected, and grounded for the first time.

This episode is for anyone who grew up feeling alone, misunderstood, or emotionally unsupported. Low isn’t claiming to be an expert — just a man doing the work, learning from the pages, and rebuilding himself piece by piece. If you’ve struggled with the silent ache of a mother who couldn’t show up for you, this conversation might be the one that finally helps everything click.

Inside the Violent Mind: What Creates a Killer—and What Could Stop One

What makes a person cross the line into violence? Is it trauma, biology, environment—or something darker buried deep in the brain?
In this episode of The You Only Podcast, we dive headfirst into Adrian Raine’s groundbreaking book The Anatomy of Violence and uncover the shocking science behind why some minds fracture… and others survive.

This episode isn’t just about criminals or killers.
It’s about us.
Our pasts.
Our pain.
And the invisible forces shaping who we become.

Using Raine’s research, we explore:
🔹 The brain abnormalities linked to aggression
🔹 How childhood trauma wires the mind for violence
🔹 The haunting question—are some people born bad?
🔹 And what society gets dangerously wrong about rehabilitation

As someone who’s survived the kind of childhood most people never speak about, I take Raine’s findings personally. Because when you’ve lived through violence, you don’t just study it—you feel it in your bones.

This episode is raw.
It’s honest.
And it might change the way you see the people around you… and the person you used to be.

If you’ve ever wondered why violence exists—or how anyone breaks free from its grip—you need to hear this.

Press play. Go deep. And walk with me into the mind we fear the most.

Welcome to The You Only Podcast, the place where psychology meets real-life survival, healing, and the courage to keep going—especially when life feels heavier than the holidays can sometimes handle. If you’re new here, I’m grateful you found your way into this space. This show was built for people who carry unseen weight: the childhood survivors, the quiet fighters, the ones who look strong on the outside while their heart is whispering, “Please keep going.” Here, I break down the psychology of pain, patterns, and personal growth in a way that actually connects—with facts, with honesty, and with the lived reality of what healing looks like.

Today’s episode is inspired by Bo Stern’s powerful book When Holidays Hurt, because for so many of us, this season isn’t wrapped in joy—it’s wrapped in memories, grief, and emotions we’ve tried to outrun. But buried inside that pain is strength, and hope doesn’t disappear just because life gets hard. Together, we’re going to explore why the holidays trigger so much, what the research says about emotional overload this time of year, and how you can create small but meaningful moments of peace, courage, and self-compassion. Whether you’ve been here since the beginning or you’re listening for the first time, you’re not alone. And you’re in the right place.

What if every choice you’ve ever made — every triumph, every regret, every whispered “what if” — was never truly yours to begin with?

In this episode, we journey deep into Robert Sapolsky’s groundbreaking book, Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will — a work that challenges everything we think we know about choice, responsibility, and human nature.

From the savannahs of Kenya, where Sapolsky studied baboons and the biology of stress, to the quiet corridors of Stanford’s neuroscience labs, this is a story of science colliding with the soul. Sapolsky argues that our actions aren’t acts of freedom, but the final expressions of causes stretching back through time — genetics, childhood, trauma, culture, and chance — all converging in a single, inevitable moment we call “decision.”

But far from hopeless, Determined reveals something deeply human: that understanding our limits might be the first step toward compassion, justice, and peace.

Join us as we explore every chapter, every idea, and every personal revelation that shaped Sapolsky’s lifelong search to understand what makes us who we are.

“Free will is an illusion,” he says — “but kindness never was.”

In this episode of You Only Podcast, we dive deep into Jonathan Haidt’s groundbreaking 2024 book The Anxious Generation, a shocking and essential look at how childhood has been transformed in just over a decade. Haidt, a social psychologist at NYU Stern and author of The Righteous Mind and The Coddling of the American Mind, reveals how overprotection, loss of free play, and the rise of the smartphone have collided to create soaring rates of anxiety, depression, self-harm, and disconnection among young people. With data, neuroscience, and real stories, this book exposes why girls are suffering at alarming rates, why boys are disengaging, and how a phone-based childhood has rewired an entire generation.

But Haidt doesn’t stop at diagnosis—he offers a roadmap for healing. From delaying smartphones and social media, to rebuilding free play, to reforming schools and communities, The Anxious Generation is both a warning and a call to courage. Published in 2024, it’s already considered one of the most important books of our time, challenging parents, educators, and policymakers to take bold action before we lose another generation.

In this episode, we break down every chapter, explore expert insights, highlight coping skills, and uncover how we can all reclaim resilience and joy in an anxious world.

In this powerful installment of the You Only Podcast with Low Jackson, we journey through Diane Poole Heller’s groundbreaking book The Power of Attachment — a guide to understanding how childhood experiences shape the way we love, connect, and even suffer as adults.

This episode features insights not only from Dr. Diane Poole Heller herself, but also from a wide range of psychological voices who illuminate the paths from insecure attachment toward healing and wholeness. Together, we’ll explore how antisocial personality traits, narcissism, borderline personality disorder, PTSD, and chaotic attachment styles often begin in early family dynamics — and, more importantly, how they can be repaired.

We’ll go chapter by chapter through Heller’s work, uncovering the essence of each attachment style with rich examples, eye-opening statistics, and even nostalgic throwbacks that ground these lessons in everyday life. From the feeling of safety around the family dinner table to the anxious wait by a landline phone in the 1980s, we’ll show how attachment theory is not just clinical — it’s lived.

Expect moving quotes from psychology’s greatest minds — Bowlby, Rogers, Jung, Frankl — blended with modern science, statistics that hit home, and practical tools like breathwork and repair practices.

✨ With over 80,000 listens across all platforms and 300 new followers this month, our community continues to grow into a global circle of seekers. To our faithful listeners in India, the Philippines, Egypt, Bangladesh, and America — thank you. This episode is for you.

Pull up a chair, take a breath, and feel safe. Together, we’ll uncover the hidden blueprint of attachment — and discover how healing is always possible.

In this transformative episode of the You Only Podcast with Low Jackson, we journey into Eckhart Tolle’s groundbreaking book The Power of Now — a work that has become one of the most influential guides to living fully in the present moment.

We’ll uncover how Tolle, a man once trapped in depression and despair, awakened to a new way of being that placed him among the world’s leading spiritual teachers. His message is simple but life-changing: freedom, peace, and clarity are only ever found in the Now.

To deepen this exploration, trauma therapist Hillary Wasson joins us to reveal how empathy and compassion create bridges to healing, and why trauma survivors can especially benefit from the practice of presence. We’ll also discuss the role of breathwork — not just as a relaxation tool, but as a gateway into the present, rewiring the nervous system and calming the mind.

Expect profound insights, moving stories, and practical tools that bring The Power of Now off the page and into your daily life.

✨ With over 80,000 listens across all platforms and 300 new followers this month, the You Only Podcast is growing into a worldwide community of seekers — from India, the Philippines, Egypt, Bangladesh, and America. Thank you for listening, and welcome to the Now.