086: Mariel Hemingway – Gets Real About Conquering Her Summit

To escape, the mountains became Mariel’s refuge. She used the outdoors to get stable, to discover herself and find understanding. Even at an early age, Mariel explored the healing power of her mountain home. She rejected drugs and alcohol as a means of escape and leaned on nature and health focused choices.

Hemingway Family

Growing up in the Hemingway family meant dealing with generational emotional damage. Her grandfather Ernest, despite his success and notoriety, never felt or learned to love from his mother. The cycle continued with Mariel’s father Jack.

Failing at Love

Jack a hero in his own right, an OSS spy working with the French resistance during WWII; was never truly loved by his father. Amplifying the damage, Jack married a woman who also, lacked the capacity to love. His wife’s first husband was a fighter pilot who was killed in action; a loss that Mariel’s mother never overcame.

Learning To Play

Mariel wrote a book called The Invisible Girl revealing the life she led in a house that struggled to see her or one another. Mariel’s family was to occupied with other things that prevented any real engagement.

Today Mariel, is an evolved comfortable, and present person, nothing that she likes who she is…she’s learned to be happy with her life, and she continues to work on staying in that place.

That place in part, is sweetened by Mariel’s partner Bobby. Bobby taught Mariel how to play and about spontaneity. When Mariel asks, “Why?” as Bobby stops to enjoy a moment of inspiration, he’d say, “Why Not?” Showing her that embracing a whimsical moment sweetens life and warms the soul.

The young girl who dealt with so much tumult and chaos used control to limit her exposure has become the woman, Mariel, who’s comfortable and present has learned to let go.

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