We don’t always recognize how trauma shows up at work. Sometimes it is hiding in the shadows. The quiet withdrawal. The anger that simmers just below the surface. The exhaustion that no amount of sleep can fix.

In this moving and honest episode, Eli Embleton shares his story of how a life-threatening trauma in his family sent him down a path of depression, rage, and emotional disconnection. Work became his survival strategy, a place to avoid the pain, to push through, to appear “fine.” But under the surface, he believed he was a burden.

What saved him wasn’t just time or treatment; it was connection. Through storytelling, community, and purposeful work, Eli learned the art of what he calls “muscular vulnerability” -- the ability to share pain with strength. Today, as Dream Manager at Zachry Construction, Eli walks alongside others with similar stories, helping people reach instead of retreat.