Kintsugi Heroes
John Milham · 42 min
Thirty years after a handwritten note from Dick Smith said 'you do it,' Ian Moorland finally launched Kintsugi Heroes — a storytelling network turning broken lives into gold for anyone who needs hope.
You don't have to be in crisis to call.
John Milham was a corporate high-flyer with a 27-year partnership he thought would last forever. He had built a life that looked complete on the outside: a successful IT career, three children, a house, the boxes all ticked. Then in 2006, his wife Glenn was diagnosed with bowel cancer. Eleven months later, she was gone. John was left at 42 with no idea how to be an adult without her. From age 16 onward, he had leaned on her for emotional maturity and life management. Now he had sole charge of three kids aged 13, 10, and 5, and no skills to nurture them.
What followed was years of what John calls his crazy period. Grief knocked him down in ways he didn't see coming. He sat on his deck at 3am smoking cigars, contemplating whether he could keep living. He discovered that the circle of people who gathered to help often drained energy from him instead. At work, he pretended to function while completely incompetent at home. Five hours in a car park, unable to breathe, he experienced his first anxiety attack. That moment became a turning point. It forced him to ask what his real values actually were.
What saved him was not one thing but many: faith, relationships, research, and a commitment to understanding himself. He learned that most people don't want to die; they just cannot keep going with what is happening. He learned that the worst thing he would take back in an instant has led to so much he would never give up. Now, sitting down with his kids, he enjoys every moment in a way he never could have as a corporate flyer working away from home. He has become a seeker of wisdom and a listener to other people's stories, finding his purpose in helping others find hope.
Every story here belongs to the person who lived it. They said yes to sharing it, and we sat with it carefully before it went up. Nothing here is exaggerated and nothing is used without permission. Read how we handle these stories ↗
Kintsugi Heroes · Registered Australian not-for-profit · kintsugiheroes.com.au ↗