Tag: memoir

EOLPodcast

Ep. 525 Writing as a Lifeline Through Loss and Grief with Christina Holbrook and Jane Flynn

kwyattmd

Learn about a beautiful memoir co-written by friends whose correspondence helped them both navigate a year of overwhelming loss and grief.

My guests today are Christina Holbrook and Jane Flynn, co-authors of a shared memoir from a year when they were both confronting loss and grief–the diagnosis a glioblastoma brain tumor and the death of a child by suicide. Through a series of emails the two long-term friends shared not only their grief but also the little moments of life’s wonder and joy. They discuss their newly released book Antiphon: A Call and Response in a Year of Grief and Renewal and how writing together helped them navigate overwhelming grief while offering support to one another. Learn more at the website:

jane-flynn.com

Get the book here

Watch on YouTube

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • The long trajectory of friendship between Chris and Jane
  • Their personal grief that led to a year of email correspondence
  • Why they decided to share their writings in Antiphon
  • The waterfall metaphor for grief and how it applies to each of their stories
  • How writing helps us express complex and painful emotions
  • Why sharing our pain lightens the burden for both parties
  • How writing about the ordinary events of a day helps us stay in the present moment
  • The little joys that are present even within deep grief

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If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu. And thanks to everyone who has bought me a coffee or made a donation on Paypal, especially Austyn Wells! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 519 Dying to Live: How Death Gives Meaning to Life with Andy Chaleff

kwyattmd

Learn about a beautiful memoir that teaches readers how to contemplate death in order to find meaning in life.

My guest Andy Chaleff is an award-winning author, speaker, and mentor whose work explores the intersection of grief, love, and transformation. He facilitates deeply personal conversations and workshops that help people navigate life’s most challenging transitions. He is the author of 4 books including his recent memoir titled Dying to Live: Finding Life’s Meaning Through Death. He shares his insights about making peace with death and how it has shaped his life. Learn more at his website:

andychaleff.com

Get the book here

Watch on YouTube

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • What inspired Andy to write the book
  • How our view of death changes over the arc of life
  • Why we need to have a lot of pain resolved within ourselves in order to show up for another person
  • The “little deaths” of life as a training ground for grief
  • Our need to make peace with death
  • The dual meanings of “dying to live” and why he chose it as a title for the book
  • The value of presence at the end of life
  • Why navigating mistakes makes them even more beautiful
  • The value of writing Last Letters to people we love
  • the power of forgiveness

Links mentioned in this episode:

If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu and thank you to Alisha Jameson for making a donation on Paypal! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 489 Influencing Death: Teaching Hospice Care on TikTok with Penny Smith RN

kwyattmd

Learn from “Hospice Nurse Penny” how she started working in hospice and ended up being a viral influencer about end-of-life issues on social media.

My guest this week is Penny Smith RN, known on social media as “Hospice Nurse Penny.” She discusses her journey to becoming a hospice nurse and her rise to fame on TikTok during the COVID-19 lockdown. Her new book Influencing Death, Reframing Dying for Better Living is an honest and vulnerable look at her own life story and what she has learned from working with dying patients. Learn more and connect with Penny at her website:

hospicenursepenny.com

Get the book here

Watch on YouTube

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • How Penny’s life experiences helped her be a better hospice nurse
  • How she helps family members feel comfortable when their loved ones experience end-of-life visions and dreams
  • How Penny went viral on TikTok
  • What information TikTok users are searching for about death and dying
  • Why social media platforms can be a good place to address misconceptions about death

Links mentioned in this episode:

If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu, to Simply Celebrate for donating on Paypal and thanks (again) to Robin Bissell for buying me 3 cups of coffee! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 455 Briefly Perfectly Human with Alua Arthur

kwyattmd

Learn about a powerful NY Times bestselling memoir that teaches how acknowledging our mortality helps us live a more authentic life.

My guest Alua Arthur is the founder of Going With Grace, a death doula training and end-of-life planning organization. She is a frequent guest on television and radio and has been featured on CBS’s The Doctors and in Disney’s Limitless docu-series with Chris Hemsworth. Alua is the author of the recently published NY Times bestseller Briefly Perfectly Human: Making an Authentic Life by Getting Real About the End. She shares her story of how she was inspired to learn more about death and teach others how to live fully in the face of our mortality. Learn more at Alua’s website:

goingwithgrace.com

Get the book here

YouTube Channel

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This episode includes:

  • The value of authenticity in memoir-writing
  • How life prepares us for the work we are meant to do
  • How a single conversation shifted the path of Alua’s life
  • What inspired Alua to get training as a death doula
  • Creating better boundaries as we do this work with people at the end of life
  • Compassion allows us to honor another person’s journey without trying to control it
  • How death doula work can be financially viable
  • Why education of the public is an essential foundation for the work we are doing
  • How the “death-space” is welcoming to diverse people with a wide variety of skills

Links mentioned in this episode:

If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu, especially my newest donor Sara Badano. Also thank you to Karen Shapiro for donating through Paypal! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 431 “No Story Lost”: Preserving Meaning and Memories with Andrew Hall

kwyattmd

Learn about a service to create a beautiful “coffee table book” to preserve the cherished stories of a loved one.

My guest Andrew Hall is the co-founder of “No Story Lost” – a service to help families capture their loved one’s stories and photos into a beautiful print memoir book. He’ll discuss the value of preserving memories, both before and after death, and how he and his cousin decided to create a business helping people do that. Learn more at the website:

https://nostorylost.com

Watch on YouTube

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • How No Story Lost gathers and preserves stories for their clients
  • Why our stories and memories matter when we want to leave a legacy for others
  • How memorial projects have benefitted families as they grieve the death of a loved one
  • The significance of “memento mori” and how it informs Andrew’s work
  • How legacy and memorial projects help people find meaning at the end of life
  • How transformation and healing might occur through the process of creating a memorial book

Links mentioned in this episode:

If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu, especially my newest supporter Akhila Murphy and to those who’ve bought me a coffee! Also many thanks to all of you who joined the $10 for 10 Years Campaign including Stacy Ann Bussy! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.