Red and Julie are delighted to welcome colleagues and friends (and past What now? guests) Dr. John Beamish and Dr. Kaetlen Wilson. The foursome gathered for a robust conversation about some of the unique aspects of grief with a MAiD (medical assistance in dying) death. They discuss how MAiD can be disenfranchised grief: grief that is not recognized or supported in a culturally normative manner.

They also delve into how family dynamics, secrecy, contrasting emotional responses, and the actual provision of MAiD can manifest distinct grief experiences. The group brings their many years of experience supporting families through MAiD, both prior to death and during the grieving journey. As MAiD becomes more commonplace in our Canadian context, this episode will be enlightening and supportive for all.

Have feedback about the podcast? Have an idea for a future episode? Get in touch with us: whatnow@hospicepeterborough.org

This episode was sparked by an email from a listener who had been the primary care provider to a person who was not family, but over the course of many years became a dear friend, leaving them to feel as if their grief was unrecognized or disenfranchised after the friend's passing.

It caused us to stop and take a moment to consider situations and relationships when particular losses are not acknowledged or supported by our cultural norms and standards and how these circumstances impact the caregiving and grief journey.

Have feedback about the podcast? Have an idea for a future episode? Get in touch with us: whatnow@hospicepeterborough.org

Dr. Robert Macauley helps us kick off Season 4 with his powerful book Because I Knew You – How Some Remarkable Sick Kids Healed a Doctor’s Soul. At first glance, a book about children living with and dying from terminal illness might sound unbearably heavy, but listeners will find this episode surprisingly uplifting. Through his words and stories, Dr. Macauley reminds us of the deep goodness and resilience in our world.

His personal journey spans from Episcopalian priest to medical ethicist, and ultimately to pediatric palliative care physician. Woven throughout is how these experiences helped in his own healing from childhood sexual abuse.

Dr. Macauley’s skilled storytelling of the lives of these remarkable children invites us to connect with our own vulnerability, our shared humanity, and the unexpected beauty that can be found even in tragedy. Simply put, he is genuinely human — and we know that will come through in this conversation.

All proceeds from his book go to support the pediatric palliative care program at OHSU, with a portion contributed to Darkness to Light (d2l.org), an organization dedicated to preventing child sexual abuse.

Have feedback about the podcast? Have an idea for a future episode? Get in touch with us: whatnow@hospicepeterborough.org

In this lively short wrap-up to the season the co-hosts take the opportunity to give "shout outs" and thank yous to those who have supported and offered feedback (so listen up, you may hear your name). Julie surprises Red and David with a "lightning round" of questions as a way to reflect and discuss this jam-packed season. It's a short episode and worth a listen: it may prompt you to go back to episodes past and/or remind you of insights and learnings.

Thanks for your ongoing support for this podcast, please consider sharing the podcast with a friend! We will be back in September 2025!

Have feedback about the podcast? Have an idea for a future episode? Get in touch with us: whatnow@hospicepeterborough.org

Regular listeners will remember back in season 2 when Mary-Frances O’Connor joined us to discuss her groundbreaking book The Grieving Brain. For those who haven’t had the chance to hear this episode (S2E9) it is worth the time.

In this episode, we are very pleased to have Mary-Frances return to discuss her follow-up book, The Grieving Body. In this conversation, we explore how grief is experienced in our bodies—specifically the heart and cardiovascular system, the immune and endocrine systems, and cognitively. We answer questions such as: 'Can we die of a broken heart?' and 'Why might we be more prone to illness when grieving?' Our discussion draws on science and research, presented through a compassionate, open-hearted, and accessible lens.

Mary-Frances normalizes and helps us understand how intricately involved our bodily systems are in the grieving process and offers insights on how to care for ourselves and each other.

Have feedback about the podcast? Have an idea for a future episode? Get in touch with us: whatnow@hospicepeterborough.org

In this episode we have the great privilege to speak with Christopher Rhoden. We recorded our conversation on April 4th 2025. Twenty-one days later, on April 25th, Chris died of glioblastoma, an aggressive cancer of the brain. We are so honoured to have met Chris and share this time with him and we offer our sincere condolences to his family and friends.

At this point in Chris' journey his cancer was quite advanced and can be evident as our conversation floats and meanders in and out of a clear direction. We ask you to stay with the discussion because if you do, like Hansel and Gretel, you will be gifted with the little crumbs, or gems of wisdom, that Chris drops to guide you to deeper understanding and connection to yourself, others, and the greater world.

Chris is and was thoughtful, philosophical, courageous, grounded, soulful and deeply human. This is a wonderful and enlightening conversation with a man who leaned into the reality of his life, his joy, his suffering, and his dying, and had the courage to share it all with us and the world.

If you would like to read more about Chris' journey and glean the insights and wisdom he so freely shared, you can visit his blog, With and Wonder.

Peace and gratitude, Chris.

Have feedback about the podcast? Have an idea for a future episode? Get in touch with us: whatnow@hospicepeterborough.org

We're thrilled to welcome grief expert, trauma psychotherapist, and author Meghan Riordan Jarvis to the podcast. In 2024, Meghan released her book Can Anyone Tell Me? Essential Questions about Grief and Loss. Developed from both personal and professional experience—especially after the heartbreaking loss of her mother—Meghan set out to find a book that could answer the many questions grief brings. When she couldn’t find one that fit, she wrote it herself!

In this episode, we dive into the many ways grief shows up in our lives—including ones that might surprise you. Meghan shares her insight with both passion and expertise, offering wisdom that resonates.

Because loss touches all of us at some point, this conversation is for everyone.

Have feedback about the podcast? Have an idea for a future episode? Get in touch with us: whatnow@hospicepeterborough.org

We are thrilled to once again have the opportunity to speak with Dr. MaryCatherine (MC) McDonald. Listeners will remember MC from Season 2 Episode 2, When Grief and Trauma Meet, when we spoke with her about her book Unbroken, The Trauma Response is Never Wrong. MC is back to speak with us about her soon-to-be-published second book, The Joy Reset, Six Ways Trauma Steals Happiness and How to Get it Back.

MaryCatherine speaks about cultivating true joy, a joy that is very different from the "positivity” recently popularized in our culture that tells us we need to be optimistic or think positively when we are feeling distressed. MC helps us understand that living joyfully requires attention and practice, but if we put in the time and effort, we can learn to see small little joys every day even when we feel the pressures and stresses of life closing in on us.

MaryCatherine explains how we can sabotage our happiness with different strategies that may initially feel protective, but in practice act as “joy thieves”. She reminds us that joy can be messy but can be found in the shadows if we know how to look for it.

Have feedback about the podcast? Have an idea for a future episode? Get in touch with us: whatnow@hospicepeterborough.org