Peaceful Exit

After a terminal brain cancer diagnosis, Cynthia Clark’s husband chose to have a medically assisted death when his treatment stopped working. Cynthia shares all about the grief of losing your partner while being his primary caregiver, how she parented young children who were also grieving and the nuance that comes with scheduling your death. In our last episode, we talked to Dr. Stefanie Green about her work as a MAID practitioner. My conversation with Cynthia is about what it’s like to experience MAID as a family member. She’s an advocate for families going through the MAID process and has a blueprint for how you can show up for a loved one who’s dying.You can Cynthia’s advocacy work and find her book, “The Many Faces of MAID: What to Expect When Someone You Know Chooses Medical Assistance in Dying” here: https://www.dyingwithdignity.ca/blog/the-many-faces-of-maid/This podcast is produced by Larj Media.

Stefanie Green, MD, was one of the first providers of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) in Canada, when it became legal in 2016. Her book, This Is Assisted Dying: A Doctor's Story of Empowering Patients at the End of Life, chronicles her first year working in the field of MAID. In our conversation, Stefanie reflects on what has changed in her work in the past eight years, the people she’s met and how she created a national organization for physicians working in this field. She also shares how this work has shaped her own life and thoughts about death.You can learn more about Stefanie’s work and her book at https://www.stefaniegreen.com/

Claire Bidwell Smith knows grief well. When she was 14, both of her parents were diagnosed with cancer at the same time. Her mom died when Claire was only 18, and her dad died when she was 25. After getting her master's degree in clinical psychology and becoming a therapist, she worked with hospice. She's also written five books about grief, including her latest, Conscious Grieving: A Transformative Approach to Healing from Loss. In a culture that avoids sad feelings at all costs and where bereavement leave is severely inadequate, Claire gives us the tools and a map for embracing grief and incorporating it into life.You can learn more about Claire’s work and her books at https://clairebidwellsmith.com/

Julie Metzger has been teaching families about puberty for over 30 years. Her book, “Will Puberty Last My Whole Life?” and her course, Great Conversations, are amazing resources to help teens and families recognize and navigate the important transition to adulthood. In conversation, Julie and I draw parallels between puberty and death. Both are sacred experiences and periods of great transformation for our bodies and communities. We dig into the use of ritual, the importance of language when it comes to talking about the sacred, and a really fascinating thought exercise about what it means to be an adult. You can learn more about Julie’s work at https://greatconversations.com/

ALS is a heartbreaking disease. Just ask my guest Rachael King. Her husband, health care activist Ady Barkan, recently died from complications of ALS at age 39. They have two young children. Despite all that ALS took from Rachael and her family, they navigated the constant change and setbacks and found a way to live and be together for the six years that Ady lived with ALS. Rachael’s grief is still really fresh, yet she’s telling her story to carry on Ady’s legacy. She hopes to help other caregivers who are feeling overwhelmed and facing the impossible.You can learn more about Rachael’s work and her forthcoming book at: https://rachaelsking.com/

This episode is all about how to talk to kids about death. Experts Elena Lister and Michael Schwartzman both have decades of experience working with kids and families, in schools and private practice, to navigate conversations about death, dying and illness. Their book, “Giving Hope: Conversations with Children About Illness, Death, and Loss,” is both a practical how-to guide filled with tangible advice and a north star for open, honest conversations with kids about hard topics. This episode is not just for parents, it’s for anyone with kids in their life – from neighbors to coaches and teachers, aunts and uncles, etc. If you've ever been with a kid in your life and just know there's something big you want to say, and don't know how to say it, this episode is for you.You can find their book and more about their work at: https://michaelschwartzmanphd.com/https://www.elenalistermd.com/

Leslie Gray Streeter tells it like it is. Her husband, Scott, suddenly died one night when he was just 44 years old. Leslie chronicles that heartbreaking experience and the depths of her grief in her book, “Black Widow: A Sad, Funny Journey Through Grief for People Who Normally Avoid Books with Words Like ‘Journey’ in the Title.” We discuss why humor is so essential for navigating grief, how you can’t take anything too seriously, what NOT to say to a grieving person and how she found catharsis in Keanu Reeves movies.You can find Leslie’s book and more about her work at https://lesliegraystreeter.com/

Sunita Puri is a palliative care doctor who chronicles her journey through medical school, fellowship and finding her specialty in her book, “That Good Night: Life and Medicine in the Eleventh Hour.” Sunita has an accomplished medical career and she’s also a brilliant writer. We talk about how her love of poetry and language directly serves her as a palliative care doctor, whose job it is to have hard, direct conversations with people at the end of their lives. If you or a loved one are navigating the medical system, this episode is for you. Her book is a must read if you’re considering medical school – Sunita’s candor and nuance about the grind of becoming a doctor and the opportunity to help people is refreshingly honest. You can find Sunita’s book and other work at https://sunitapuri.com/

This week, we’re re-releasing one of our earliest episodes, and still one of my favorite conversations. Author and activist Valarie Kaur shares personal stories from her work as an activist, which led her to write her book, “See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love.” Valarie’s message really resonated with me because she approaches strangers as if a part of them is a part of you that you don’t know yet. Her openness to conversations with strangers is deeply needed right now. We all need to promote love and understanding. She also shares the beautiful, tangible actions she uses for herself and her family to embrace mortality.You can find Valarie’s book and more about her work at https://valariekaur.com/

Michael Wiegers is the Editor-in-Chief at Copper Canyon Press, an independent nonprofit press that publishes award-winning poetry. Under his leadership over the past 30 plus years, CCP has published over 400 titles, including winners of the Pulizer and Nobel Prizes and the National Book Award. In this episode, Michael gives us a masterclass in poetry. If you’ve ever felt that poetry is unattainable, Michael will convince you otherwise. You’ll walk away with a reading list and his answer for why poets are always writing about death.You can learn more about Michael’s work and Copper Canyon Press at: https://www.coppercanyonpress.org/authors/michael-wiegers/