Episodes

When Karen Stefano was attacked on her way home at 19 years old, those moments led to fear; of footsteps behind her and of the dark. Only later would she understand that she carried the imprint of her attack with her. When her life felt, again, uncertain, the symptoms returned and she knew that only if she faced her early experience head-on would she be able to move forward. But how would she make sense of the impact on her life? How would she come to understand why she'd become a defense attorn...

What helps us to choose courage and resilience over resignation? What helps us to pick ourselves up when we're knocked down? Living with a child who was diagnosed with a mental illness at a very young age, then facing her own health challenges made it clear to Ann Grady that she would need to develop both her courage and her resilience! As she researched what it took to live her life positively and optimistically she realized these were skills she could get better at. SHe could practice and, whe...

Religions like Jehovah's Witness promise their followers certainty and safety. Leaders demand obedience to proscribed standards of behavior, beliefs and practices. But what happens when a follower begins to doubt? For Amber Scorah, leaving the Witness meant giving up everyone and everything in her life. On top of this severing of every tie, she would have to live with uncertainty in a way she never had before. Growing up in the culture, which she now saw as a cult, brought what she thought of as...

LGBTQ+ people face discrimination, marginalization and oppression often from a very early age. Gay men, in particular, have also lived with the trauma of the AIDS epidemic. Those in the oldest generation, who experienced a crushing amount of loss and the fear that this new disease created faced perhaps the most extreme set of emotional consequences. But two generations since, those who came out after AIDS was better understood and young gay men today still grapple with the mark those times left....

When hospice is the best possible choice, families are often lost in a sea of confusion, not even sure what hospice is. At the same time, reading long descriptions of the services and goals is sometimes beyond them. After years of work in chaplaincy and hospice (and his own personal experiences of loss), Larry Patten thought he could help. What resulted was a clear, readable guide to what hospice is, and isn't, written with the uninformed in mind. Taking a light tone and sharing short chapters, ...

Poetry is a language perfectly suited for grief, resonating with deep experience without needing to be too literal. we hear our own experience captured and are comforted in companionship with this resonance. But can poetry also offer a jumping off place for exploration of our mourning? Out of her belief that it can, and does, Kim Langley has created a book full of poems written by grievers, adding suggestions for how to add to the readings in our own voice. through her careful selection of the p...

As medicine advances, it is harder and harder to accept the moment when it is time to face death and make the most of our remaining time. Dr. Jessica Zitter is a fierce advocate for asking the tough questions. Is doing everything always best? And how do we support each other when doing more is doing harm? How do we face the sense of failure, both as doctors and patients, which often comes with suspending treatment? As a physician she came to realize the moral quandary created for doctors when pa...

Part of loving someone deeply is a hidden promise to take care of them if need be. But nothing prepared Donna Figurski for her husband's sudden disability and her headlong launch into life as a caregiver. As she adjusted to a new and not always manageable life in this unexpected circumstance, she learned how to manage it- and what wasn't manageable at all. Her impulse to share her experience, and what she's learned from it, led to a book, Prisoners Without Bars: A Caregiver'sTale. It's an experi...

Joanne Steen had what she considered a perfect life. She had a satisfying career and a good marriage to a Naval officer. Then her world turned upside down when her husband was killed while on duty. Evolving over time, her loss led to a new career working with Gold Star families; those who, like her, lost someone close while they were on duty. What helped her through, built her resiliency and formed her new normal? And what does she now offer others who are experiencing this special kind of loss?...

An illness when he was only 13 planted the idea in Dr. Bradley Nelson's mind that he would some day be a healer. Although he almost gave that up for a career in business and computer science, his calling made itself undeniable. Becoming a chiropractor seemed almost fated or at least spiritually led and he set about bringing his whole self to correcting the imbalances in his patients' bodies. Over time, he discovered that the brain, just like a computer, held codes that could return mind and body...

D.J. Chang learned early in her life to explore the big questions. When her childhood caregiver died she began to hear from him with both questions and answers. Through all her struggles and challenges she felt his guidance and support. She could face the setbacks she encountered because of the constant sense that he was in her corner. When she came out, when her beloved struggled with AIDS, when she worked for marriage equality she did so with the confidence gained from a spiritual viewpoint de...

When Tembi Locke spent a college semester in Italy, it changed the course of her life. Meeting Saro, the man she would love and marry, filled her with joy and also challenged them both to bridge the gap between his Sicilian farm family and her Houston Texas family of civil rights activists. Over time their persistence and courage began to connect their two families. But no struggle before it could have prepared them for Saro's ten years living with cancer, his death, and Tembi's grief. Who could...

How did attorney Julie Potiker evolve from her career in law to writing a book about mindfulness? She discovered, through a brush with death and the ADHD of her kids along with countless other events of living, that she couldn't always control what happened in her life. Mindfulness was recommended to her as a way to stay balanced in out of control times. The result was life-changing, sending her into an entirely new career and resulting in her book, Life Falls Apart, But You Don't Have To. Now a...

Gabrielle Jimenez never imagined she would find a calling as a hospice nurse. But when she got a job supporting a woman who was declining, she loved it. Struggling to finish the course work to become a nurse, her own soft landing came when she got a job in hospice. She felt privileged and lucky to be working with people in such a deep way. The time she was able to spend with people fed her soul. What did she learn about the end of life and how to sit with dying people? How has it impacted her ow...

Decades of work with people as they are dying taught Dr. Charles Garfield valuable lessons about giving and receiving peace when a loved one is at the end. As the founder of Shanti Project, a compassionate end of life organization, he learned from thousands of people at this most sacred time of their lives. In his latest book, Life's Last Gift, Dr. Garfield shares what he's learned about maintaining connection and growth up to the very last breath. He offers a lifeline for friends and family as ...

Being very accomplished in other areas doesn't prepare you for caregiving. Kathleen Flora found that out when her mother began struggling with dementia. Despite her strong commitment to caring for her mother, she had lots to learn. Hoping to help others navigate this rough terrain, she wrote about her experiences and lessons and created a memoir designed to offer experience and instruction for others. Walking My Momma Home encourages others to realize they aren't alone, that many people have wal...

With the death of a spouse, the future dies too. If you're a planner like Lori LoCicero there are many smaller losses along with the big loss. When Lori's husband died, she became unmoored, as if her tether to earth was broken. Her world seemed to stop cold. How did she come through her grief to a place where she could once again see her way forward? And what came next? Whatever came next depended on a belief that she could make something of meaning from the experiences she had with him. She cou...

Raised with a keen awareness that everything is impermanent, that all life ends, Sunita Puri was challenged to find a way to come to terms with medicine's inability to accept these truths. Her perspective was at odds with the training she was receiving as a medical student, where any death, even an inevitable one, was a failure. When she was finally exposed to a palliative care rotation she found her home in medicine. Palliative care, which supports patients to live well for as long as possible,...

There is a crisis for young people in our country when it comes to equal access to mental health services. Some of the most traumatized and therefore anxious and depressed young people have little or no access to the services they need. Seeing this disparity, Sean Perry created a coaching program to teach kids and teens how to regulate their toughest emotions and find their ways to the life awaiting them. His organization, We R H.O.P.E., takes their proven program into schools and offers valuabl...

After any trauma in our lives, there is the possibility that we will, over time, choose to grow from it. One profound way this happens is in our spiritual outlook or belief. Having cancer as a young person, Anthony Maranise experienced just such an effect, leading to a life as a chaplain and Christian scholar. How does he rely on his faith to face the losses, anxieties and fears he confronts? Does Christianity push its believers to forego grief or to fully embrace that part of living? And how ca...

Annie Mattingley endured what many of us, especially parents, fear most. Her daughter died of an overdose. Nothing could have prepared her for the communication she received from her just weeks after that death. It felt real, as if her daughter had communicated to let her know she was ok, not to worry. Out of this experience, Annie became deeply curious about after death communication. What had other people experienced with their own beloveds? what did researchers have to say about these reposts...

When Norah Casey's husband died after a short illness, she found her way quickly to what she'd learned as a business woman. Taking action gave her a focus and a contrast to her grief and her child's grief. Saying yes to opportunities, even when she didn't know how she would be able to respond to them, brought back her energy and made it possible to create a new life, even while grieving for her husband. Norah has brought this kind of resolve to many of the struggles in her life. Join us to find ...

There are few things like losing a parent, even at an older age, suited to generating an inner discussion of loss and mortality. What makes for a good death? How can we contribute to everyone involved feeling good about our death? What are mourners left with when things go wrong or badly? After the death of Lisa Shultz' father, she became immersed in these questions and ultimately wrote a book full of her feelings, thoughts and research on the end of life, including her experience with her own f...

When Melissa Lyons embarked on a radical sabbatical she expected a few months to reset and a return to her successful high-powered life. As the time extended, she felt lost, unsure what might happen next, she learned to let time unfold at its own pace. Then one day, at a cafe in Thailand, she realized that a book about loss had spilled out on pages of her journal, setting a new direction for the rest of her life. Join us to talk about how Melissa learned to surrender to each moment and let life ...