Comments on: Podcast: Life with a serious illness

By: Laura Vanderkam

Laura Vanderkam — Mon, 26 Nov 2018 14:28:14 +0000

In reply to Kamala. @Kamala- thank you so much! We really appreciate it.

By: Kamala

Kamala — Mon, 26 Nov 2018 11:17:46 +0000

In reply to Laura Vanderkam. Laura, Sarah and Emily, thank you so much for this episode. I have been sharing this episode with each one of my friends.

By: Laura Vanderkam

Laura Vanderkam — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 13:57:54 +0000

In reply to Marcia (OrganisingQueen).

@Marcia- I think there’s a lot to be written/said about how in denial most of us are about death. But we are all going to die – your colleague’s family member sounds like she thought carefully about both living and dying. I’m sure the service, hard as it was, was inspiring in that way.

By: Laura Vanderkam

Laura Vanderkam — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 13:56:21 +0000

In reply to Cynthia.

@Cynthia – I hope you found this episode helpful. Emily’s website and podcast are great resources for people facing serious illnesses. It’s a real gift that she has chosen to do this as she lives with her illness.

By: Laura Vanderkam

Laura Vanderkam — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 13:55:19 +0000

In reply to Anjanette. @Anjanette- so glad you enjoyed the episode. It is interesting to think about the idea of having a quantity of time to plan (vs. dying suddenly). Interesting question on Zaslow!

By: Laura Vanderkam

Laura Vanderkam — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 13:53:52 +0000

In reply to Susan. @Susan - thank you. Emily was an amazing person to interview!

By: Marcia (OrganisingQueen)

Marcia (OrganisingQueen) — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 13:06:15 +0000

I can’t wait to listen to the episode.

I’ve actually just returned from a memorial service (colleague’s family member) and this lady had a cancer recurrence. She didn’t want to go through chemo again so made a decision to celebrate what life she had left. She left detailed wishes and notes about the service, songs, etc. and everyone knew how she felt about each of them.
While it was not easy to see her loved ones grieving, it was inspiring to me to see how intentionally she chose to die.

By: Susan

Susan — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 01:58:38 +0000

This was a great episode! What an amazing perspective she had to share, very real, but also very hopeful. You guys did great on the interview side too.

By: Anjanette

Anjanette — Tue, 20 Nov 2018 20:05:59 +0000

Thank you Laura, Sarah, and Emily for this podcast. Emily’s assertion that in some ways her diagnosis is the best way for something like this to happen to her if something like this had to happen reminded me of something else- like many people, I was moved by Randy Pausch and his Last Lecture. His book of the same title was a collaboration with author Jeffrey Zaslow, who died unexpectedly four years later in an accident. When I read of Zaslow’s death, I remembered the connection between the two men and wondered if the experience of knowing and working with Randy Pausch as he faced a terminal illness had changed anything about how Zaslow had lived his life- obviously no one would choose to face a diagnosis like that, or to face a sudden untimely death. That said, we don’t usually get to choose, and the idea of having the opportunity to plan for the future with regard to life, family, and work goals, even if the block of time is less than one would wish for, is in many ways preferable to the alternative to me, especially as a parent. I admire Emily’s positive attitude and I appreciate her sharing her story on the podcast and on her own blog. No one wants to face the challenge she has, but many people do or will, and it is wonderful of her to build a community of support to help others live as fully as she herself is clearly doing.

By: Cynthia

Cynthia — Tue, 20 Nov 2018 18:08:23 +0000

As someone with a chronic illness that has long-term uncertainty for my ability to work (and even survive, tbh), this is a huge topic I’ve wanted to explore but don’t have many outlets. Really looking forward to listening to this episode.