Seeing Death Clearly

Send us Fan Mail This episode celebrates a significant milestone: two years of our podcast! Stephen and I reflect on the journey, exploring our growth, challenges, and the remarkable connections we’ve made along the way. A highlight of our conversation is our annual tradition of reviewing the past year, made even more special this time by recording in the same room, creating an intimate and dynami...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Seeing Death Clearly, Holocaust survivor Ben Lesser shares his incredible journey of survival, resilience, and hope. At 96 years old, Ben recounts his story with remarkable detail, leaving no need for questions during this one-and-a-half-hour conversation. His experiences, detailed further in his memoir Living a Life That Matters: From Nazi Nightmare to American...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Liz Fiedler shares her remarkable journey of resilience, transformation, and finding joy after profound loss. Raised on a cattle farm in Southwest Minnesota, Liz cultivated a love for agriculture, leadership, and flowers. Life took a pivotal turn when she married Josh, a man deeply connected to farming, and together they purchased 40 acres of his family’s original...

Send us Fan Mail David Edey, a certified executive advisor with over 35 years of experience, joins the podcast to share insights from his book Executor Help: How to Settle an Estate, Pick an Executor, and Avoid Family Fights . Inspired by his seven-year struggle to settle his parents' estate—despite them having a will—David provides practical guidance to help families avoid the legal battles,...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Kate Carson, a love, sex, and relationship coach, shares her transformative journey from scientist to a supportive guide for couples navigating grief and intimacy. After losing her baby at eight months pregnant, she faced the impact of profound loss on her relationships and sexuality, and she soon recognized a gap in resources for others experiencing similar strug...

Send us Fan Mail Adam Zuckerman has a unique and varied background, holding both a law degree and an MBA. His path took a different turn that led him to his current work, which revolves around estate planning and end-of-life organization. Despite his accomplishments in law and business, Adam uses his expertise in a less conventional but deeply impactful way through his company, Buried in Work . Th...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode my guest is Naila Francis, a grief coach, poet, interfaith minister, and community grief tender dedicated to providing compassionate, holistic support for those navigating grief, loss, and dying. Born in Barbados and raised across several Caribbean islands, she moved to the Philadelphia area as a child.  Her early career as a journalist and greeting card writer off...

Send us Fan Mail Whitney Chew, born and raised in California, recently moved to New York. As a physician, she completed her residency during the pandemic. However, less than a year after finishing, Whitney realized that being a physician wasn’t her long-term calling. During this time, she witnessed immense death and dying, not only in her role as a physician but also on a personal level with the l...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Bob Uslander, based in San Diego, runs a medical practice called Empowered Endings with his wife and partner, Elizabeth. Their work focuses on supporting people through difficult end-of-life journeys and providing personalized in-home care, including palliative care, dementia care, geriatric care, and more. With a holistic, high-touch approach, their team of compassionate prof...

Send us Fan Mail Kelly Butler, based in Ottawa, Ontario, has lived in various parts of Canada and the U.S. She’s a mother of five and has worked in the realm of death and dying for 30 years, starting with hospice work in Atlanta, Georgia. For Kelly, the cycle of birth and death reflects life itself—beginnings and endings intertwined in a continuous flow. Her work has spanned decades, and she recen...

Send us Fan Mail Jill Bodak, an osteopath in Toronto, Ontario, shares the deeply personal story of her father’s stroke in 2020, which flipped her world upside down. His stroke happened unexpectedly while skiing on the other side of the country, and what followed was an intense two-year journey of caregiving. Initially told that he wouldn’t survive, her father defied the odds but was left in a seve...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, David Downie shares his profound journey, reflecting on his life and health as he nears the end of his time. Now in his 70s, he opens up about his long battle with heart issues, including multiple valve surgeries, and the challenges he's faced in managing his condition.  David candidly discusses the reality of doctors losing interest when patients can no long...

Send us Fan Mail This episode is the first part of a two part episode where I had a deeply personal conversation with my friend David Downie, a former nurse who worked during the early days of the HIV pandemic. As someone who grew up in the 80s, I was aware of the epidemic but didn’t understand the full scope of what it was like for those on the frontlines. A few weeks ago, while on a phone call w...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Viola Pierce, or Dr. V, has had a truly remarkable journey in the nursing profession, from starting as an LPN to becoming a doctorally prepared nurse with extensive experience in the emergency department. Her passion for nursing and education is evident in her commitment to helping other nurses not only survive but thrive in their careers. Through her work as a nurse business...

Send us Fan Mail Rose Luardo is a vibrant, multifaceted artist living in South Philadelphia, where she engages in various odd jobs, art projects, and gigs. She's a person who's always been intrigued—and admittedly a bit obsessed—with the concept of death. In this episode of Seeing Death Clearly , Rose reflects on the human condition and our relationship with mortality, presenting a persp...

Send us Fan Mail Rose Luardo is a vibrant, multifaceted artist living in South Philadelphia, where she engages in various odd jobs, art projects, and gigs. She's a person who's always been intrigued—and admittedly a bit obsessed—with the concept of death, a curiosity that began in her childhood, possibly sparked by watching The Exorcist too young. This fascination with the unknown led he...

Send us Fan Mail Indra Rinzler is an astrologer who has been on a spiritual journey for over 50 years, specializing in Vedic astrology and the Enneagram of Personality. His work focuses on helping people discover their true selves, beyond who they think they are. With a unique perspective shaped by his extensive time in India and a deep commitment to spiritual growth, Indra shares his insights on...

Send us Fan Mail Stephanie Chevrier, an artist based in Vancouver, Canada, has found herself deeply immersed in the exploration of death, reality, and what it means to be human. As an artist, she primarily works as a tattoo artist and illustrator, with a strong affinity for black ink. However, her curiosity extends far beyond her artistic pursuits, as she delves into the mysteries of consciousness...

Send us Fan Mail Rev. Christine Davies, the director of pastoral care at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey, shares her journey into hospital chaplaincy. As an ACPE supervisor and seminary professor, she teaches the art of hospital chaplaincy and educates clergy. Christine’s path began with a deep connection to her local Presbyterian church, a passion for helping...

Send us Fan Mail Yvonne Caputo, from Southeastern Pennsylvania, is deliciously semi-retired after a varied career. She began in education, moved to the area, and leveraged her second master's degree in clinical psychology to work in employee assistance. Eventually, she became the vice president of human resources for a retirement community, which was her last full-time job. Her experience in...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, George Ackerman, also known as “Sharon's son George”, shares his deeply personal journey of caring for his mother, who battled Parkinson's disease. He lost his mother, Sharon Riff Ackerman, on 1/1/2020 due to Parkinson's Disease. To honor his mother and continue helping in the Parkinson's awareness cause, George started TogetherForSharon® as a...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Marie Gasper Hulvat, hailing from Canton, Ohio, originally grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. She is a human design specialist, an intuitive EFT practitioner, and a trained Reiki master teacher in the Tibetan Usui tradition. Her journey began with Reiki, where during her Reiki One training, she encountered disembodied souls for the first time, an intense and sometimes painful experie...

Send us Fan Mail Sean Lynch has been writing his whole life. His first poetry book was published over a decade ago in 2013; since then, he's released four more. His latest book, “Halo Nest: poems on grief” is a deeply personal collection about grief, began nearly seven years ago after his mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2016. Sean's mother battled the disease for about a year...

Send us Fan Mail Shelby Forsythia helps grieving people move through the pain and overwhelm of loss to experience peace, purpose, and joy again. She believes everyone deserves a good life, even if it’s not the one they thought they’d be living. Shelby Forsythia (she/her) is a grief coach, author, and podcast host. In 2020, she founded Life After Loss Academy, an online course and community that ha...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Jeffrey Sankoff, originally from Montreal, Quebec, Canada moved to Denver over two decades ago, where he has been practicing as an emergency physician while raising their children. Outside of medicine, Dr. Sankoff is an avid triathlete and triathlon coach, hosting a podcast on the sport. He shares how early-career doctors often grapple with feelings of failure when a patient d...