Belonging: Leaving the Only Life I Had Ever Known
Margaret Eastman Smith left the movement she was born into at 35 and drove to Boston to start over. Hear what she kept and what she left behind.
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- Margaret Eastman Smith grew up in a tight-knit Swiss community dedicated to changing the world, where personal dreams like becoming a doctor were quietly suppressed.
- A pivotal moment of clarity struck Margaret while riding a bicycle down a hill in Oxford, signaling that she would eventually need to leave her known life behind.
- Leaving the only community she had ever known required three additional years of internal processing, a medical crisis, and the eventual understanding of her father.
- At age 35, Margaret loaded up a small blue Plymouth and drove to Boston to start completely over without a map or a pre-established template for her identity.
- In this episode, Margaret Eastman Smith reflects with both respect and honesty on the lessons learned from her upbringing and how she discovered her own true voice.
Have you ever carried something you were handed, a belief, a role, a way of seeing yourself, and wondered how much of it was ever really yours?
Margaret was born in an old hotel in Switzerland, into a community that believed giving yourself fully could change the world. She grew up traveling with it, acting in plays, and living in community, and she slowly learned to quiet her own dreams. She wanted to be a doctor and could not say so out loud. Years later, riding a bike down a hill in Oxford, she knew her questions would not be answered until she left. It took three more years, a medical crisis, and a father who finally understood. At 35, she loaded up a little blue Plymouth and drove to Boston with no template.
This is a gentle and honest conversation about silence, belonging, and what love looks like once you see a person as they really are. Margaret speaks about what she left with respect and honesty, and she stays curious about what it gave her. If you have ever had to start over without a map, I hope you feel a little less alone here.
What You'll Hear
- Growing up in a community that believed it could change the world
- The doctor she wanted to be, and the courage she did not yet have
- A bike ride in Oxford and the moment leaving became a real option
- Three more years of staying, and the father who finally understood
- Driving to Boston at 35 with no template and no one to tell her who she was
- What she learned about love from a husband very different from her
Guest Bio
Margaret Eastman Smith is the author of the new book A Spectacular Inheritance: What I Kept and What I Left Behind. She currently serves as the Director of the Program on Trauma Healing and Community Resilience for the Institute of World Affairs, a Washington, DC-based NGO. She served on the faculty of American University's Program on International Peace and Conflict Resolution for nearly two decades. Her academic work focuses on the role of history and memory in divided societies, as well as grassroots approaches to peacebuilding. She pursued counseling studies to gain a greater understanding of these matters.
Website: www.margareteastmansmith.com
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starting over at 35, leaving a movement, Moral Re-Armament, growing up in a movement, finding your own voice, walking away from the only life you know, what to keep and what to leave, midlife reinvention, memoir, family inheritance
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the guest on this episode of Life Shift?
The guest is Margaret Eastman Smith, author of the memoir A Spectacular Inheritance: What I Kept and What I Left Behind and Director of the Program on Trauma Healing and Community Resilience.
What is Margaret Eastman Smith's book about?
Her book, A Spectacular Inheritance: What I Kept and What I Left Behind, explores her journey of leaving a restrictive community, rediscovering her voice, and figuring out what to keep and what to leave behind.
At what age did Margaret Eastman Smith leave her community to start over?
Margaret left her lifelong community at the age of 35, driving to Boston in a little blue Plymouth to begin a completely new chapter of her life.
Margaret Eastman Smith is the author of the new book A Spectacular Inheritance: What I Kept and What I Left Behind. She currently serves as the Director of the Program on Trauma Healing and Community Resilience for the Institute of World Affairs, a Washington, DC-based NGO. She served on the faculty of American University's Program on International Peace and Conflict Resolution for nearly two decades. Her academic work focuses on the role of history and memory in divided societies, as well as grassroots approaches to peacebuilding. She pursued counseling studies to get a greater understanding of these matters.
