NYC Dad Lorne Jaffe Wows Dad 2.0 Summit

UPDATE AGAIN!

• Matt Norman of And So It Has Come to This: “I’ll leave you with this clip of Lorne Jaffe – a man I hadn’t heard of before the conference and didn’t introduce myself to during the conference, but from whom I took a great amount of inspiration — reading a post from his blog Raising Sienna. It’s a struggle, but if Lorne can stand up in front of a couple hundred people and put himself out there by reading an intimate post, I can stick out my hand and introduce myself to more people.”
• Nathan VanStory of Punk Dad: “After a little coffee I was able to listen to blogger Lorne Jaffe read a post that not only made me have the most feels of the weekend but made me feel I had a kindred spirit there in the mental illness department. Here is his reading of his post “Do I really like what I like?” my favorite listen of the summit … The closing remarks made me realize that I only had a small amount of time to network left so I sought out Lorne Jaffe and made sure to tell him how much his talk meant to me.”
• Eric Boyette of Dad on the Run: “We were comfortable with our emotions, we were supportive of each other’s stories, we were in awe of a newcomer to the Dad Blogger community, Lorne Jaffe of Raising Sienna, when he battled his own emotions and fought through a fog of doubt and anxiety to discuss his battle with questions we all feel at some level, “Who am I? Do I deserve to be here? Am I one of the “good ones?” Well, Lorne, you are indeed deserving and one of the best ones. The intestinal fortitude of reading your own work, a work that bared your soul, in front of a crowd is outstanding and what you do every day and the love you shower on your family inspires us all. I’m happy to be your acquaintance and hope that one day I’ll be more of a friend to you and so many others I mentioned.”
• Aaron Gouveia of The Daddy Files: “The most riveting and emotional moment of the conference for me was listening to Lorne Jaffe read his piece “Do I Really Like What I Like?” Lorne has a history of severe anxiety and depression, and the thought of speaking in front of hundreds of people about his nervous breakdowns was one of his biggest fears. Despite assurances from many of us that he’d do great, he was shaking HARD when he got up to the podium. But he forged ahead and when he was done, 250 people popped up from their chairs like they were spring loaded to give him a standing ovation. The power of that moment can be summed up by the fact that I, a lifelong Boston Red Sox fan, gave Lorne (who was wearing a Yankees hat), a teary-eyed standing ovation. … Because true courage is being terrified and doing it anyway. I’m proud of you Lorne.
• Adrian Kulp of Dad of Alive: The morning continued with a Blogger Spotlight featuring Queens resident, Lorne Jaffe, who writes the blog ‘Raising Sienna’. … Lorne’s piece is entitled, ‘Do I Really Like What I Like?’ and it focuses on his battle with depression over the last several years.  It talks about diminishing self-confidence and increased self-doubt, both of which I’ve personally experienced.  Mine was rooted in the transition in going from a full-time executive to a full-time stay-at-home dad to three.  Sometimes, we as dad (and mom) bloggers find ourselves writing inside of a bubble.  Many of us don’t let anyone else proofread our inner emotions and explicit thoughts, we simply pour them onto the page for the internet to decipher and form an opinion on…OR…we’re too scared to even go that far sometimes. I applaud Lorne for having the courage and confidence to stand up and talk about his journey.  I think everyone in the room that day found a way to connect with him, I know I did.
• NYC Dads Group member Dave Lesser of Amateur Idiot, Professional Dad: “The speech that got to me, got to everyone, and got the loudest standing ovation was from the most unlikely of speakers. Lorne Jaffe, who I had the pleasure of meeting and spending time with, has suffered some debilitating and, at times, crippling panic attacks. To see him is to know he is a man uncomfortable with his surroundings. He read from one of his blog posts, contemplating whether he really likes what he likes or if these preferences have been foisted upon him. He was barely able to get the words out. He broke down several times. Though clearly ill at ease with the resounding applause he received, he finally understood that he was among friends. Lorne may be an extreme example, but he was not the only one who felt like less of an outcast just by being part of Dad 2.0.”
• Chris Routly of Daddy Doctrines: “The most inspiring moment of the weekend was, it seems unanimous, when Lorne Jaffe – who writes about raising his daughter while he battles sometimes crippling anxiety and depression — read, during a Blogger Spotlight, a brutally honest piece to the enraptured crowd. The fear in his face was palpable, but his bravery was stronger than his fear, and we love him for it. He seemed genuinely shocked at the standing ovation he received, but it was well earned. By the end of the weekend I was glad to have the chance to share a meal with him and tell him how inspiring he was to me.”
• David Vienna of The Daddy Complex: “One of the highlights for me, however, was an emotional and brave presentation from Lorne Jaffe of Raising Sienna, who battled crippling fear to read a post about his depression, anxiety and fatherhood. His post moved the whole room and he got a genuine standing ovation.”