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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About this listen

 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 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  
I love family stories, even sad ones. I love to hear the journeys people have. I hope in telling her interpretation of her dad's story, Luisa has reached a place of peace. I have never heard this topic approached with such compassion before, and I'd say it's really helped me to understand it better. thanks Luisa.

A Beautiful Tribute

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Beautifully, thougtfully crafted.
Deeply personal but still completely relateable.
I loved this podcast and the ode and love to self and family. How our and our parents experiences shape us.
I was so impressed by Mrs Tuckers work to understand her father through other family members thoughts and memories of him.

Beautiful

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This was a really great story. So many podcasts seem to be about murders and true crime, and it was nice to listen to something high-stakes and deeply meaningful that wasn’t about murder. Would love to hear more of the same on Audible.

Recommended

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Really interesting psychology behind families dynamics and how children have been raised historically. Makes you question and analyse your own parenting as well as looking at how you were raised and why. A captivating story and tribute to her Dad

Moving & beautifully captured

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Exceptional podcast.. It left me wondering about my personal relationships and the exploration of family

Deeply Personal

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A really thoughtful pod-cast. I thoroughly recommend it for any adult listener. With love from Ruth xxxx

Truly excellent

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