Professor: 'I Don't Want to Get Over My Mom's Death

When podcast host Steven Bartlett asked marketing professor Scott Galloway about not getting over his mother's death, Galloway's answer stopped people in their tracks. "I don't want to," he said through tears.

Galloway, who teaches at New York University, opened up about losing his mom on The Diary of a CEO podcast. His mother raised him alone on a secretary's salary and gave him everything he needed to succeed.

"I think the receipts for love is grief," Galloway explained. "I hope my boys feel the same way about me."

He shared that his mother died slowly, which gave them time to say everything that needed saying. While watching someone decline is painful, Galloway calls it a gift because nothing was left unsaid between them.

For years, Galloway saw his ongoing grief as something to fix. He even went to grief counseling hoping to move past it. But his perspective shifted completely when he realized grief wasn't getting in the way of his life.

"Now I see it not as a bug, but as a feature," he said. The grief makes him more emotionally bold and reminds him daily of the love he received.

Why This Inspires

Galloway's honesty struck a chord with thousands who felt pressure to "get over" their losses. Our culture often treats grief like a problem requiring a solution, complete with timelines and stages we're supposed to complete.

But what if lasting grief simply means lasting love? His words gave permission to people who miss their parents years or even decades later to stop apologizing for their tears.

One person commented that they lost their mother 10 years ago and the pain can still be unbearable. Another said they've never gotten over losing their mom and felt relieved to know they're not alone.

Galloway's advice to young people captures his transformed view perfectly. "I hope they have a lot of joy in their life," he said. "I also hope they have a decent amount of grief, because that means they have people they love immensely."

He encourages everyone to tell their parents how much they love them, forgive them, and make sure nothing goes unsaid. His mother was the light of his life, and he's proud to carry that grief as proof of their bond.

Sometimes the deepest wounds are just evidence of the deepest love.