Peaceful Exit is back with new episodes starting Tuesday, November 11! Host Sarah Cavanaugh is on a mission to dispel people's natural fear surrounding death, dying and grief. This season, she'll talk with a new slate of exciting guests: writer Mary Roach, palliative care physician Dr. BJ Miller, psychologist Dr. Lucy Hone, grief activist Lisa Keefauver, poet Jenny George, and many others. You'll hear how death has brought each of them meaning, connection, and even moments of joy. Not one of us is getting out of here alive - so we might as well talk about it. 

Dacher Keltner is the founding director of the Greater Good Science Center and a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. He’s one of the world’s leading scientists studying emotions, and his latest book is "Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life." In this episode, Dacher tells Sarah why we need awe, and where (and how) to find it each and every day. He also shares the deeply personal story of losing his brother to colon cancer, and why this relationship was a key source of awe in his life.

You can learn more about Dacher Keltner’s work and find his book here:

https://www.dacherkeltner.com/

Journalist Katy Butler spent years listening to hundreds of people’s stories of good and difficult deaths. She’s talked to countless experts in palliative care, geriatrics, hospice, and oncology. Those conversations, paired with lots of research and the story of her own father's challenging death, come together in her deeply practical and existential book, "The Art of Dying Well: A Practical Guide to a Good End of Life." In this episode, Katy tells Sarah what she learned from each of her parents’ deaths, what the research says most people want in their final chapters, and what she'd like for the end of her own life.

Actress and author Patti Davis spent ten years caring for her father, President Ronald Reagan, as he faced Alzheimer's disease. She joins Sarah to share the hard truths of caregiving for a loved one with dementia, the emotional toll it takes, and the surprising moments of grace that can emerge.

Hospice nurse Barbara Karnes helped set the standard for end-of-life care 35 years ago, when she wrote "Gone From My Sight." It's a little blue pamphlet that uses simple, straightforward language to explain the dying process - and it is still widely used today by hospice agencies across the country. In this episode, Barbara tells Sarah how hospice helps not just the dying individual, but their loved ones too. They also discuss what the dying process looks and sounds like, and what to know if you're helping someone through it.

You can learn more about Barbara’s advocacy work and buy all of her pamphlets here: https://bkbooks.com/

Michelle Hord has lived through any parent's worst nightmare: her ex-husband murdered their seven-year old daughter Gabrielle. She talks about her book, "The Other Side of Yet," and tells Sarah how she transformed her grief into action, hope, and resilience, particularly through founding the nonprofit Gabrielle's Wings. Michelle also discusses the impact of other significant deaths in her life, the unexpected gifts loss can bring, and why it's essential to find love and joy in its aftermath.

Find Michelle’s book at: https://michelledhord.com/the-other-side-of-yet

Learn more about Gabrielle's Wings at: https://www.gabrielleswings.org/

This week, we’re re-releasing an episode featuring Sarah's conversation with Michael Wiegers, who gives us a masterclass in poetry. He's the editor-in-chief at Copper Canyon Press, an independent nonprofit press that publishes award-winning poetry. Under his leadership, CCP has published over 400 titles, including winners of the Pulitzer and Nobel Prizes, as well as the National Book Award. If you’ve ever felt that poetry is unattainable, Michael will convince you otherwise. Have you ever wondered why poets are always writing about death? Michael offers Sarah his thoughts, along with an essential poetry reading list.

You can learn more about Michael’s work and Copper Canyon Press at: https://www.coppercanyonpress.org/authors/michael-wiegers/

This week, we’re re-releasing an earlier episode featuring Sarah's conversation with Episcopal priest, playwright, and former economist Steven Tomlinson. He tells Sarah about his personal journey through grief and healing after the sudden loss of his partner, David. Tomlinson reflects on how community, faith, and the process of writing his play Curb Appeal helped him navigate the complexities of loss. They also discuss the raw realities of losing a partner, and how his understanding of death and resurrection has shifted. Tomlinson's story offers deep insights into finding peace amidst uncertainty.

Basil Twist is a world-famous puppeteer. His first full-length production, Symphonie Fantastique, flipped the audience's concept of the art form by existing entirely underwater in a massive tank. As he looks back on his decades-long career, we talk about what aging feels like, how losing a mentor changed him, and all the wonderful live shows he has collaborated on, and why seeing performances in-person matters. We explore the world of puppetry, and how the veil between being alive and not alive is so thin. He argues the audience does not need to suspend disbelief, but simply to believe.

Learn more about Basil's work and see a video of Stickman: https://basiltwist.com/

Quan Huynh's story details the resilience of the human spirit. His book, "Sparrow in the Razor Wire: Finding Freedom from Within While Serving a Life Sentence," is an open, honest look at his life while incarcerated for committing murder. Quan was paroled in 2015, and, just six months later, he started his first company. He has devoted his entire career to helping incarcerated people have the best shot at a second chance. His lessons of internal transformation, healing, and friendship are universal.

You can learn more about Quan and his work here: https://quanxhuynh.com/

This mother-daughter, writer-illustrator duo, has created two illustrated books together. The first stemmed from Hallie's painful realization that her mother would die someday. The second from Suzy's heartbreak when her husband of 30 years unexpectedly left her. The three of us talk about the ways that a break up is like a death, all the feelings that come with grief -- including rage -- and how to make your own ritual as a healing tool. Their grief literacy and dark sense of humor made this conversation relatable and models what is possible to talk about in families if only we have the courage.

You can follow Suzy on Instagram @hopkinssuzy and Hallie @hallithbates.

https://geni.us/whenyougetdumped

https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/what-to-do-when-im-gone-9781632869685/

http://halliebateman.com/

In my conversation with poet Danusha Laméris, we talk about art, poetry, grief, and language. She reads from her latest collection of poems, "Blade by Blade," which is described as a book of hungers. We talk about what that means, how it relates to grief and how grief is rarely isolated. It's always connected to so many other human experiences and feelings. And she would know. We talk about two big losses in her life -- her brother and her son.

Lauren Canaday has lived quite a life. Two lives, if you ask her. In her memoir, Independence Ave: How Individualism Killed Me and Community Brought Me Back, Lauren recounts her dating life and career from statician to hair stylist to hair industry executive. Then the moment that changed everything -- Lauren suffered sudden cardiac arrest and didn't have a heartbeat for 24 minutes. By her husband's quick action and one fierce EMT, she survived, and was miraculously declared cognitively intact. In our converation, Lauren talks about how her endless pursuit for independence was turned upside down by this near death experience. She shares about the long and brutal road to recovery and how she's yet again rebuilding life to meet her reality.

You can find Lauren and learn more about her work at https://laurencanaday.substack.com/

Oliver Burkeman's latest book, "Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts," is a guide to embracing what he calls the imperfect life. It's the realization that you're never going to sort your life out. So instead of attempting that futile task day after day and viewing your limitations as a human as obstacles to a meaningful life, you embrace them. In our conversation, Oliver and I dig into some common misconceptions about the human condition, why existing in the modern world asks so much of us, and how and why we must take action admist uncertainty.

You can learn more about Oliver and his work here: https://www.oliverburkeman.com/

Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer knows grief. Her dad and son died in the same year. Like her latest book, The Unfolding, if this interview were music, it would be in the key of grief. Rosemerry shares how her daily writing practice helped her navigate the days and weeks following her son's death. She also explains how we can hold opposite things that may both be true. We can let go of the tired stories we tell ourselves and find new metaphors that better serve us.

You can find Rosemerry's work and learn more about her poetry here: https://www.wordwoman.com/

Joél Simone Maldonado is a licensed funeral director and embalmer, spiritual death care educator and the founder of the Multicultural Death & Grief Care Academy. She's helping to revolutionize the death care industry by educating practitioners about culturally sensitive protocols and death care for communities of color. In this episode, we talk about everything from restorative art, to various disposition methods, to how Covid impacted the death care industry. Joél also talks about growing up in Beaufort, South Carolina, immersed in the Gullah Geechee culture.

You can learn more about Joél and The Multicultural Death & Grief Care Academy: https://thegravewoman.com/

You can find Joél's available death and grief care courses: 2AR0NMLjE3MzU3MDQ1MjAuQ2owS0NRaUF5YzY3QmhEU0FSSXNBTTk1UXp1NGl6UURSU1dCZjJkb25PWjN4eGNJSUZtOHdmT2E4eWdNQUtlaXBsR0RsYktIcWhraEYtd2FBa05KRUFMd193Y0I

Joél's podcast, Death & Grief Talk with The Grave Woman: https://open.spotify.com/show/3mdh03yZygapqGX53tAwEn?si=e6b7f395d24d4938&nd=1&dlsi=0748b855318d4380

Joél's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/thegravewoman

Rabbi Neil Blumofe is the senior rabbi at Congregation Agudas Achim in Austin, Texas, and has been part of that community for 26 years! Rabbi Blumofe and I talk about how music can help facilitate community and spirituality. If life is improvisation, then Judaism is jazz. And sometimes rock 'n roll. We also talk about forgiveness, belonging, what makes something sacred and how forgiveness is possible at any time.

You can learn more about Rabbi Blumofe's work here: https://theaustinsynagogue.org/rabbi-neil-f-blumofe/

Daryl Horton is the senior pastor at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Austin, Texas. He explains why community is a key tennant of his faith and why it's so critical that we preserve Black churches. We also talk about the death of his brother, getting the call to ministry and how the church can be a critical voice in the conversation about racial justice.

You can learn more about Pastor Horton's work here: https://www.mtzion-baptist.org/content.cfm?id=577

Like authors, faith leaders are a great source for language about life and death. Venerable Jue Ji is a Buddhist nun who grew up in Taipei, Taiwan, and now calls Austin, Texas, home. Death is a key focus in Buddhism and Venerable shares ways that we can incorporate the idea of impermanence in our daily lives. We talk about how nature reflects impermance back to us, the afterlife, the death of her mother, and how her take on meditation is different from what many westerners think.

You can learn more about Venerable Jue Ji's work here: https://www.ibps-austin.org/en/news/20240302C.php

Dr. Michael J Moore is a veterinary scientist who spent his entire career studying and advocating for the North Atlantic Right Whale. This is a critically endangered species, on the brink of extinction, due in large part to commercial fishing and shipping in the waters where they live. We talk about the critical role right whales play in the ocean's biodiversity and why biodiversity is so important to human survival. We explore what it means to have a relationship with the natural world, how we can conceptualize extinction in a way that our brains can grasp, and how he's working with industry to advance fishing technology to reduce whale death and ultimately save our ecosystem.

You can learn more about Michael and his work here:

https://www.whoi.edu/news-insights/content/michael-moore/

https://www2.whoi.edu/staff/mmoore/?_gl=1%2Aa4isjz%2A_gcl_au%2AODU1NjMwNjUuMTczMjMwNTQyOQ..%2A_ga%2ANjA0MjQ3MTQwLjE3MzIzMDU0Mjk.%2A_ga_HLKFZX9JZK%2AMTczMjMwNTQyOS4xLjAuMTczMjMwNTQyOS4wLjAuMA..

You can find his book, We Are All Whalers, here: https://www.amazon.com/We-Are-All-Whalers-Responsibility/dp/022680304X