June 2nd, 2025
In this deeply personal episode, Mark Chesnut returns to Grief Out Loud to share his experience of losing his sister Glynn to ovarian cancer. Glynn chose medical aid in dying after nearly four years of treatment, giving Mark and his family the unusual experience of knowing when death would occur. This conversation explores the complexity of "scheduled death," the challenges of finding appropriate language to discuss medical aid in dying, and how knowing the date changed their family's grieving process. Mark Chesnut is a journalist, editor, public speaker, and the author of: Prepare for Departure. Mark previously appeared on Grief Out Loud in October 2022, discussing caring for his mother at the end of her life. Mark lives in New York City with his husband Angel and recently wrote an article about his sister's experience with medical aid in dying. This episode is the second in our 2025 three-part series highlighting the voices of communities who have historically been underrepresented in the grief world. The series is part of an ongoing collaboration between Dougy Center and The New York Life Foundation. We are deeply grateful for New York Life Foundation's tireless support and advocacy for children and teens who are grieving.
Go To EpisodeFor the past two decades, Alesia Alexander, LCSW, has worked with grieving children, teens, and families. The original inspiration for doing this work was very personal. Alesia's father died of cancer read more...
Go to EpisodeWhen Ashley Jones’s infant daughter Skylar was diagnosed with SMA (spinal muscular atrophy), she wasn’t unfamiliar with grief, but she had no idea how Skylar’s illness and death would propel her into read more...
Go to EpisodeChildren’s books transport us – sometimes to places of imagination and sometimes to places rooted in place and culture. Kao Kalia Yang is a Hmong American writer and grieving mother who recently publi read more...
Go to EpisodeThis episode is a little different. Rather than an interview, we are sharing information from the Dougy Center's most recent Tip Sheet - Back to School with Grief and the COVID-19 Pandemic. With how t read more...
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