
Life's Dirty Little Secrets Podcast | Breaking Silence Around the Secrets We All Carry Secret #71: What a Terminal Diagnosis Taught Me About Living with Dr. Ray Owen and Sam Stroud
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Secret #68 — Secrets of Rest with Alex Soojung-Kim Pang
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Secret #69 — No One Is “Self-Made” with Dr. Lakeysha Hallmon
A tender, practical conversation about how a terminal diagnosis can sharpen priorities, deepen connection, and teach the rest of us how to live on purpose—today.
Psychologist Dr. Ray Owen and Sam Stroud, recently diagnosed with MND/ALS, join Emma and Chris to talk about presence, priorities, and building a life that stays wide—even when options narrow. Sam shares what helped in the first weeks after diagnosis (stay engaged with life, ask for real support), while Ray maps compassionate skills for meeting pain without letting it shrink your world. Together, they show how practices like meditation can hold difficulty and meaning at the same time, and why honest community is a lifeline for patients and families alike. You’ll leave with grounded tools for navigating illness—and for living more fully even if you’re well.
Topics Discussed in this Episode:
- Staying engaged with life after diagnosis
- First-person stories as antidotes to fear
- Meditation as capacity-building (not escape)
- Compassion skills for making room for pain
- Community and honest conversation as lifelines
- Mortality as a focusing practice for priorities
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