How Orli Understood Joy and the Present

What happens when you live on a planet where grief rewrites the language of everyday life? Kate Bowler speaks with writer and New York Times editor Sarah Wildman about her daughter Orli’s incandescent life and staggering courage while living with terminal cancer. Together they explore the limits of positivity culture, the fierce tenderness of caregiving, the sacred discomfort of truth-telling, and the love that carries us when nothing adds up. This is a conversation for anyone who has lived inside the ache—and chosen joy anyway.

Show Notes:

• Sarah Wildman’s award-winning writing at The New York Times

• Leonard Cohen’s “Who By Fire”

• Jewish practices of grief (shiva) and care (bikur cholim)

• Blessing for Life After Loss

• Support Guides: Parenting a Medically-Complicated Child, When Your Child is in Pain, When You’ve Been Diagnosed

• Orli, in all her joy: @orli_halpern on TikTok

• For those of us who live on a different planet now: Small Talk Survivor Tee | Mug

• Kate’s Substack – blessings, reflections, and our tender corner of the internet

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