Surviving Loss

Humans are undeniably creatures of habit. So when sudden, unexpected plot twists pull the metaphorical rug from beneath our feet, it can sometimes feel impossible to regain our footing. Therapist and podcaster Jana Firestone knows this better than most, after losing her mum suddenly at the age of 21 and spending many years providing professional counselling to her clients during their darkest days. But in bearing witness to outpourings of grief, loss and pain on a daily basis, Firestone also experienced and observed remarkable resilience, transformation and hope.

On the day that Minister Peters boards a train from South Carolina heading north, he has nothing left but ghosts: the ghost of his murdered wife, the ghost of his drowned daughter, the ghosts of his father, and his grandmother, and the people who disappeared from his town without trace or explanation. In the cramped car, Minister finds himself in close quarters with three passengers also joining the exodus from the South - people seeking a new life, whose motives, declared or otherwise, will change Minister's life with devastating consequences.

On April 24, 1996, Becky Olson was diagnosed with breast cancer. Suddenly, the 43-year-old mother of five and highly successful businesswoman now stood at the crossroads between life and death. Surviving arduous treatments and physical, mental, and emotional turmoil, Becky used the only weapon she had - her hat - to win the battle against the uninvited and overwhelming foe.