We are honoured to be speaking with Dr. Sheldon Solomon, one of the founders of Terror Management Theory (TMT). TMT suggests that the dawning of the awareness of our own existence is quickly followed by the awareness of our eventual and inevitable demise. This awareness of being alive and knowing it, creates a state of awe and wonder. Conversely, the awareness of our mortality also causes us to experience dread, anxiety and terror. TMT suggests that we use culture as a buffer to soothe and protect from our death anxiety.

But what happens to the buffering effect of our cultural worldview when we are challenged by reminders of our mortality? How does it inform our actions and attitudes, our conscious and unconscious behaviour? To answer these questions, Sheldon explains TMT and walks us through the decades of research from colleagues around the world. He also paves the way and gives a nod to where the future of his research is headed.

In a style that is both humorous and academically serious, and with a command of the English language this is uniquely Sheldon's, this episode is rich and dense with information. You may need to listen more than once... but it's worth it!

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The death of a child is a traumatic event for any parent and a death by suicide carries its own unique challenges. As Sharon MacLeod shares her story, we hear a difficult journey of a family’s struggle to support, manage and seek help for their exceptional yet complex son Alexander. We are honoured to have Sharon join us and thank her for her openness and courage. We hope this recording honours Alexander’s life; as David Kennedy often says, a person should be remembered for their life in its entirety and not for just how they died. May Sharon's story also serve and support others who travel these hard roads.

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In Season 2 we offered "The Written Word": which was an episode dedicated to sharing poems, lyrics and quotes that speak to us. We had positive feedback from the original episode, so we decided to do it again this season. We hope some of these words will resonate with our listeners and we welcome your feedback!

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In this episode we engage in a lively discussion with our colleague and friend, Dr. John Beamish. Together, we explore what it means to face our own mortality and work toward finding moments of acceptance and peace with the inevitable reality of death. Our conversation explores how we and John have worked with death anxiety and grief within ourselves over the years. It's a treat to have Dr Beamish join us and we thank you for joining our discussion.

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People often speak of the importance of dignity at the end of life.

Sometimes the medicalization of illness interrupts being seen in our full humanness which erodes our sense of dignity.

In the first episode of 2025, we speak with Dr. Harvey Chochinov, physician, author, researcher, and developer of Dignity Therapy, who shows us how to put dignity front and center in the process of caring for those living with a life-threatening illness.

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In this last episode of 2024, the co-hosts offer support, compassion and suggestions for navigating the holidays.

It’s often not the most wonderful time of the year, especially for those grieving and living with illness. Have a listen or pass it along to someone who needs a little extra support during this month. Our blessings to all our listeners.

We’ve got some great episodes lined up for January 2025, please c'mon back to listen! We are so grateful for your support.

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In a previous episode, we discussed how guilt and grief are frequent companions on the journey. Anger can also be a frequent traveler.
In this episode, we discuss the protective and helpful role of anger, how to go beneath anger to other feelings, and offer suggestions about what to do if you find yourself stuck in your anger. Being in the presence and feeling the effects of another’s anger can also be challenging. For those supporting a person on their grief journey we provide valuable insights that may help us hold space for anger.

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In this episode we have the honour of speaking with members of the Birrell family who share their insights after the death of their 8-year-old son and brother James in 2001.
Our conversation focuses on grief and its long-term impacts on families. The Birrells aid us in understanding grief from the parental and sibling perspectives. Pam, Syd and Rebecca are transparent and honest in sharing the difficult and sometimes dangerous aspects of grief that challenge personal, and family dynamics and change relationships for a lifetime.

The Birrells are well known, locally, and around the world. Their fund-raising efforts have raised over $13 million dollars towards research into neuroblastoma.
James' journey of cancer is documented through the book published by the family, with the title contributed by James “Ya Can’t Let Cancer Ruin Your Day.” We would also like to acknowledge Ben, James' brother, who due to his studies, was away at the time of recording and unable to join us.

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