Season Three, Episode #9: How Do We Talk to Our Kids About Death With Dr. Marianne Matzo
To hear Dr. Marianne Matzo tell the story, it sounds like she has always wanted to work with the elderly, and from the early days of nursing school, she quickly noticed a difference between the way the doctors attended to elderly, declining patients, and the way the nurses did. Maybe that was because doctors intended to fix and cure, while nurses...well, they tend to spend enough time around the patients to get to know them in a way that puts comfort and concern ahead of numbers and success rates.
Dr. Matzo threw herself into the field of gerontology wholeheartedly, as she went on to achieve a Doctorate in Gerentology, became a licensed and registered Nurse Practitioner, and wrote one of the foremost books about palliative care in nursing.
These days, Dr. Matzo likes to call herself "retired," although between you and I, dear listener, she is kind of full of crap. But in a good way.
Dr. Matzo didn't actually retire, she just found a few new "side hustles" to keep her busy.
Dr. Matzo is the host of the podcast "Every 1 Dies" (www.ever1dies.org), a weekly podcast where Dr. Matzo invites guests to come discuss all aspects of dying, whether it be hosting a pet psychic, or interviewing a death doula, or speaking honestly and openly to someone who might be struggling to come to terms with their own mortality.
Dr. Matzo is also the author of Everyone Dies (www.everyonediesthebook.com), a children's book that is meant for both caregiver and child to help all of us find the words to use to discuss death.
In addition, Dr. Matzo has an educational website that provides resources related to understanding, coping, and accepting death. That website is https://every1dies.org
One last quick note: I was so intrigued with Dr. Matzo's explanation for how simple it is to talk to children about death that as a bonus Patreon episode -- just $5 a month and you get 3-4 extra behind the scenes episodes! -- I will be releasing an episode where I talk to my 10 and 12-year-old using Dr. Matzo's explanations. Join Patreon and you'll hear that and so much more!
