Peaceful Exit

Rebecca and her husband Hal were on the brink of divorce when Hal was handed a terminal cancer diagnosis. He died just months later. Her book gives us a really honest look at marriage, parenthood, cancer, grief and being a widow. We discuss all the nuances of grief, its lack of a timeline and what death means when the relationship is complicated.Find her book and her other work on her website https://rebeccawoolf.com/

In the wake of a terminal cancer diagnosis, Barbara and her late husband, Bob, kept on living. In fact, they partied. Barbara details how she helped preserve Bob’s humanity in the face of death. Everything from the themed parties Bob hosted from his hospice bed to how she swabbed his lips with his favorite scotch at the very end. Barbara advocated for Bob, carried out his final wishes and weathered her grief from a place of deep intuition and strength that surprised even herself.https://www.barbaralazearascher.com/

Reverend Deborah L Johnson (Rev D) shares the story of her remarkable call to ministry as a teenager and how she got there on her own time. Since then, she’s done extensive hospice work through her omnifaith outreach ministry: Inner Light Ministries. Rev D also shares the very personal experience of her mother’s passing one year ago at the age of 96.https://www.innerlightministries.com/about-us/rev-deborah-johnson/

Ever wonder why funerals look the way they do? Fourth-generation funeral director Todd Harra explains the evolution of the industry in America. Todd shares fascinating and little-known details of everything from the shape of caskets to how Abraham Lincoln created an embalming craze. We dig into why some practices have fallen by the wayside, why others have stuck around and what Todd thinks about the future of funerals.https://www.toddharra.com/

Father and distinguished professor WJT Mitchell (Tom) lost his son, Gabe, to schizophrenia. Tom details how Gabe embraced the term “madness” in order to normalize the challenges of living with schizophrenia. Tom also shares how their family grieved together after Gabe’s death, and how he’s still ever-present in their lives.About WJT Mitchell: https://english.uchicago.edu/people/w-j-t-mitchellHis book is, “Mental Traveler: A Father, a Son, and a Journey Through Schizophrenia” If you’re in the greater Chicago area and are looking for mental health resources, please visit https://www.thresholds.org/

Dr. Anita Sanchez shares Indigenous wisdom for living in today’s world. A big focus of the conversation is about forgiving the unforgivable. She explains how forgiveness can come even after someone has died. Anita also shares the beautiful story of her mother’s death, and what a peaceful exit means to her.You can learn more about Anita's work at https://anita-sanchez.com/

Gratefulness expert Kristi Nelson describes how facing death at a young age transformed how she faces life. For Kristi, being grateful isn’t a sustained state of being. It’s an everyday practice to befriend impermanence and live in the moment. While undergoing cancer treatment in her 30s, she also had to rewrite the death narrative in her family to accept that death isn’t always a failure of will. You can learn more about Kristi's work at https://grateful.org/kristi-nelson/

Father and architect Adam Robarts shares the intimate story of his son, Haydn, facing a cancer diagnosis at age 19 and the fight for life-saving treatments that were ultimately unsuccessful. Adam describes how his family navigated hospice at home at their family cabin during Haydn’s final weeks of life. As their family faced an enormous loss, they were extremely intentional about how they spent their time and ensured that Haydn had a peaceful exit.https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Nineteen/Adam-J-T-Robarts/9781682452004

Activist Valerie Kaur shares with us some of her transformative experiences with death and the way grieving in community expanded her capacity for joy. She gives us practical advice for how we can start these conversations with our loved ones and face the hard stuff together.https://valariekaur.com/

What do Little Debbie Rolls have to do with grief? Artist Day Schildkret explores the impact of losing our rituals in modern life and how to bring them back in big and small ways.https://www.dayschildkret.com/