Voices of the Completed Life: Recent Episodes
The Completed Life Initiative
Voices of The Completed Life is a podcast brought to you by the Completed Life Initiative. We share unprecedented conversations at the heart of the human experience. As our hosts dive into honest conversations about mortality, loss and grief, we hear first-hand experiences from individuals who are grappling with what it means to live a completed life. This podcast works to dissolve the idea that there is a singular image of the completed life. Each of our guests hold unique, and deeply ingrained philosophies on a life well lived. These stories embrace human mortality with respect, compassion, and dignity. These are stories that may challenge and surprise you. These are stories worth listening to. These are the Voices of the Completed Life.
Interested in sharing your perspective on a Completed Life, whether for yourself or a loved one, and wish to add your voice to our podcast? Please reach out to us via email at info@completedlife.org.
This podcast features an interview with Paul Crawford, Curator of the Penticton Art Gallery in Penticton, British Columbia. Crawford has used his platform as a curator to bring the community together around art exhibits which serve as a catalyst for deeper conversations around current events. In the Spring of 2024, he invited family and friends of the 50,000 Canadians who have used MAiD to handwrite, type or email letters sharing feelings of grief and loss. Their stories shaped the exhibit and became the topic of many community conversations.
Welcome back to Last Doctors, a new podcast series in the Voices of the Completed Life where we will share conversations with physicians who listen to and care for patients in the last chapters of their lives – when a cure is no longer in sight and the comfort and dignity of the patient becomes the physician’s primary focus.
Our final episode features an interview with Dr. Peter Reagan, a retired Family Practice Physician who was the first to write a prescription for MAiD medications in Oregon in 1998.
If you would like to share a response to this episode, please feel free to reach out to us on our social media platforms. Additionally, if you would like to share your story of a Completed Life on our podcasts, whether for yourself or a loved one, please reach out to us via email atinfo@completedlife.org.
The Completed Life Podcasts are also available on YouTube
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Welcome back to Last Doctors, a new podcast series in the Voices of the Completed Life where we will share conversations with physicians who listen to and care for patients in the last chapters of their lives – when a cure is no longer in sight and the comfort and dignity of the patient becomes the physician’s primary focus.
Our second episode features an interview with Dr. Christian Ntizimira, a specialist in palliative and end-of-life care in Rwanda. He is a global advocate, a Fulbright Alumni, a graduate of Harvard Medical School’s Global Health and Social Medicine program, and author of The Safari Concept: An African Framework for End of Life Care, which we discuss in the interview.
If you would like to share a response to this episode, please feel free to reach out to us on our social media platforms. Additionally, if you would like to share your story of a Completed Life on our podcasts, whether for yourself or a loved one, please reach out to us via email atinfo@completedlife.org.
The Completed Life Podcasts are also available on YouTube
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Last Doctors is a new podcast series in the Voices of the Completed Life where we will share conversations with physicians who listen to and care for patients in the last chapters of their lives – when a cure is no longer in sight and the comfort and dignity of the patient becomes the physician’s primary focus. Dr. Jean Marmoreo, a Canadian physician and author, has helpfully called these remarkable people our “last doctors,” which is the inspiration for the title of our series.
This episode features an interview with Dr. Jean Mormareo as she discusses her book, The Last Doctor: Lessons in Living from the Front Lines of Medical Assistance in Dying. New episodes coming May 10 and 17 will feature Dr. Christian Ntizimira, a Palliative Care Physician from Rwanda, and Dr. Peter Reagan, a Family Practice Physician who was the first to write a prescription for MAiD medications in Oregon in 1998.
If you would like to share a response to this episode, please feel free to reach out to us on our social media platforms. Additionally, if you would like to share your story of a Completed Life on our podcasts, whether for yourself or a loved one, please reach out to us via email atinfo@completedlife.org.
The Completed Life Podcasts are also available on YouTube
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In this latest episode, our hosts reflect on the word, “Mgbalu."
Lexicon of Life and Death is a new podcast series where Lynn and Mark Barger Elliott will explore the vocabulary we employ to express beliefs, hopes and attitudes towards life and death. While asking what it means to live a completed life, they will probe ways that language guides us towards embracing full and whole moments in our lives. As we come into the world, we inherit language to interpret and to express our experiences and emotions. Language evolves as the world changes – evidenced by the 690 new English words Merriam-Webster added to the dictionary last year. Language can also limitour abilities to interact with and to describe the world we inhabit. As the poet Jane Hirschfield once observed, as humans, we attempt to explain something that already exists fully, on its own, without words.
If you would like to share a response to this episode, please feel free to reach out to us on our social media platforms. Additionally, if you would like to share your story of a Completed Life on our podcasts, whether for yourself or a loved one, please reach out to us via email atinfo@completedlife.org.
The Completed Life Podcasts are also available on YouTube
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In this latest episode, our hosts reflect on the word, “Transplant."
Lexicon of Life and Death is a new podcast series where Lynn and Mark Barger Elliott will explore the vocabulary we employ to express beliefs, hopes and attitudes towards life and death. While asking what it means to live a completed life, they will probe ways that language guides us towards embracing full and whole moments in our lives. As we come into the world, we inherit language to interpret and to express our experiences and emotions. Language evolves as the world changes – evidenced by the 690 new English words Merriam-Webster added to the dictionary last year. Language can also limitour abilities to interact with and to describe the world we inhabit. As the poet Jane Hirschfield once observed, as humans, we attempt to explain something that already exists fully, on its own, without words.
If you would like to share a response to this episode, please feel free to reach out to us on our social media platforms. Additionally, if you would like to share your story of a Completed Life on our podcasts, whether for yourself or a loved one, please reach out to us via email atinfo@completedlife.org.
The Completed Life Podcasts are also available on YouTube
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In this episode, our hosts discuss the word "Suerza" – a combination of the Spanish words for luck and force: suerta and fuerza. It was coined by the author John Koenig in his book The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows.
Lexicon of Life and Death is a new podcast series where Lynn and Mark Barger Elliott will explore the vocabulary we employ to express beliefs, hopes and attitudes towards life and death. While asking what it means to live a completed life, they will probe ways that language guides us towards embracing full and whole moments in our lives. As we come into the world, we inherit language to interpret and to express our experiences and emotions. Language evolves as the world changes – evidenced by the 690 new English words Merriam-Webster added to the dictionary last year. Language can also limitour abilities to interact with and to describe the world we inhabit. As the poet Jane Hirschfield once observed, as humans, we attempt to explain something that already exists fully, on its own, without words.
If you would like to share a response to this episode, please feel free to reach out to us on our social media platforms. Additionally, if you would like to share your story of a Completed Life on our podcasts, whether for yourself or a loved one, please reach out to us via email atinfo@completedlife.org.
The Completed Life Podcasts are also available on YouTube
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Welcome to Lexicon of Life & Death, a new podcast series from the Completed Life Initiative. In this series, Lynn and Mark Barger Elliott will explore the vocabulary we employ to express beliefs, hopes and attitudes towards life and death. While asking what it means to live a completed life, they will probe ways that language guides us towards embracing full and whole moments in our lives. In this first episode, our hosts discuss the Finnish word, "Sisu," which literally translates to "guts" or "intestines" – but is informed by political and cultural history to carry much more meaning.
As we come into the world, we inherit language to interpret and to express our experiences and emotions. Language evolves as the world changes – evidenced by the 690 new English words Merriam-Webster added to the dictionary last year. Language can also limit our abilities to interact with and to describe the world we inhabit. As the poet Jane Hirschfield once observed, as humans, we attempt to explain something that already exists fully, on its own, without words.
If you would like to share a response to this episode, please feel free to reach out to us on our social media platforms. Additionally, if you would like to share your story of a Completed Life on our podcasts, whether for yourself or a loved one, please reach out to us via email atinfo@completedlife.org.
The Completed Life Podcasts are also available on YouTube
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Welcome back to Gifts of the Completed Life: Transitions and Transformations. In this episode, Executive Producer Lynn Barger Elliott reflects upon transformations - when we no longer find ourselves in that in-between space. Inspired by the works of Rebecca Solnit and Eric Carle, this episode considers the gift of "instarring" and what emerges on the other side of life's transitions.
Gifts of the Completed Life will include reflections and interviews with authors, artists, physicians and philosophers who help us explore the many ways of answering, “What is a Completed Life?” This series will be hosted by our Director of Outreach, Lynn Barger Elliott, and will highlight voices from our staff.
If you would like to share a response to this episode, please feel free to reach out to us on our social media platforms. Additionally, if you would like to share your story of a Completed Life on our podcasts, whether for yourself or a loved one, please reach out to us via email atinfo@completedlife.org.
The Completed Life Podcasts are also available on YouTube
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Welcome to this special Valentine's Day episode of Voices of the Completed Life. In this episode, we will hear the “voice” of New York Times-Bestselling Author of In Love, Amy Bloom – from our 4th Annual Fall Conference – with additional commentary by Executive Producer, Lynn Barger Elliott.
Voices of the Completed Life will highlight the lives and work of those who are exploring End of Life options.
If you would like to share a response to this episode, please feel free to reach out to us on our social media platforms. Additionally, if you would like to share your story of a Completed Life on our podcasts, whether for yourself or a loved one, please reach out to us via email atinfo@completedlife.org.
The Completed Life Podcasts are also available on YouTube
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Welcome back to Gifts of the Completed Life: Transitions and Transformations. In this episode, we explore the external and internal signs, and the “complete moments,” that indicate it is time to leave the “in-between spaces” of our lives.
Gifts of the Completed Life will include reflections and interviews with authors, artists, physicians and philosophers who help us explore the many ways of answering, “What is a Completed Life?” This series will be hosted by our Director of Outreach, Lynn Barger Elliott, and will highlight voices from our staff.
If you would like to share a response to this episode, please feel free to reach out to us on our social media platforms. Additionally, if you would like to share your story of a Completed Life on our podcasts, whether for yourself or a loved one, please reach out to us via email atinfo@completedlife.org.
The Completed Life Podcasts are also available on YouTube
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Welcome back to Gifts of the Completed Life: Transitions and Transformations. In this episode we discuss Visions, Perfume, and How the Heart Heals, by continuing to explore “in-between spaces" – and specifically the liminal space between life and death.
Gifts of the Completed Life will include reflections and interviews with authors, artists, physicians and philosophers who help us explore the many ways of answering, “What is a Completed Life?” This series will be hosted by our Director of Outreach, Lynn Barger Elliott, and will highlight voices from our staff.
If you would like to share a response to this episode, please feel free to reach out to us on our social media platforms. Additionally, if you would like to share your story of a Completed Life on our podcasts, whether for yourself or a loved one, please reach out to us via email atinfo@completedlife.org.
The Completed Life Podcasts are also available on YouTube
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Welcome to a new Gifts of the Completed Life podcast series – Transitions and Transformations. Join us as we begin with In Between the Tides, an exploration of the “in-between spaces” that we experience in our families, health, workplaces, and relationships. These are transitions that can be unsettling, challenging, and yet, there are also gifts that can be discovered in that space between where we were – where we are – and where we are going.
Gifts of the Completed Life will include reflections and interviews with authors, artists, physicians and philosophers who help us explore the many ways of answering, “What is a Completed Life?” This series will be hosted by our Director of Outreach, Lynn Barger Elliott, and will highlight voices from our staff.
If you would like to share a response to this episode, please feel free to reach out to us on our social media platforms. Additionally, if you would like to share your story of a Completed Life on our podcasts, whether for yourself or a loved one, please reach out to us via email atinfo@completedlife.org.
The Completed Life Podcasts are also available on YouTube
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The end of the year can prompt us to reflect upon the past year and to gaze towards what is to come. Join us for a special podcast series with Director of Outreach Lynn Barger Elliott and Executive Director Mark Barger Elliott as we reflect on the completed life and the gifts it offers of grief, unfinished business, and open windows. In this episode, our hosts consider the words of our Fall Conference speaker Amy Bloom and the poet Jane Hirshfield as they consider what brings us back to life.
To view all of the sessions from our 4th Annual Fall Conference, click HERE.
If you would like to share a response to this episode, please feel free to reach out to us on our social media platforms. Additionally, if you would like to share your story of a Completed Life on this podcast, whether for yourself or a loved one, please reach out to us via email at info@completedlife.org.
Voices of the Completed Life is also available on YouTube
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Voices of the Completed Life is a podcast brought to you by the Completed Life Initiative (www.completedlife.org). Here, we share unprecedented conversations at the heart of the human experience. Each of our guests hold unique, and deeply ingrained philosophies on a life well lived. As our hosts dive into honest conversations about mortality, loss and grief, we hear first hand experiences from individuals who are grappling with what it means to live a completed life.
Follow the Completed Life Initiative:
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The end of the year can prompt us to reflect upon the past year and to gaze towards what is to come. Join us for a special podcast series with Executive Director Mark Barger Elliott and Director of Outreach Lynn Barger Elliott as we reflect on the completed life and the gifts it offers of grief, unfinished business, and open windows. In this episode, our hosts draw on insights from several of our Fall Conference speakers – Jennifer Senior and Anita Hannig – as well as the film The Bucket List, to consider what opportunities are present when facing a completed life.
To view all of the sessions from our 4th Annual Fall Conference, click HERE.
If you would like to share a response to this episode, please feel free to reach out to us on our social media platforms. Additionally, if you would like to share your story of a Completed Life on this podcast, whether for yourself or a loved one, please reach out to us via email at info@completedlife.org.
Voices of the Completed Life is also available on YouTube
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Voices of the Completed Life is a podcast brought to you by the Completed Life Initiative (www.completedlife.org). Here, we share unprecedented conversations at the heart of the human experience. Each of our guests hold unique, and deeply ingrained philosophies on a life well lived. As our hosts dive into honest conversations about mortality, loss and grief, we hear first hand experiences from individuals who are grappling with what it means to live a completed life.
Follow the Completed Life Initiative:
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The end of the year can prompt us to reflect upon the past year and to gaze towards what is to come. Join us for a special podcast series with Executive Director Mark Barger Elliott and Director of Outreach Lynn Barger Elliott as we reflect on the completed life and the gifts it offers of grief, unfinished business, and open windows. In this episode, our hosts draw on insights from several of our Fall Conference speakers – Rupert Callender, Amy Bloom, and Jennifer Senior – to discuss reflections on grief.
To view all of the sessions from our 4th Annual Fall Conference, click HERE.
If you would like to share a response to this episode, please feel free to reach out to us on our social media platforms. Additionally, if you would like to share your story of a Completed Life on this podcast, whether for yourself or a loved one, please reach out to us via email at info@completedlife.org.
Voices of the Completed Life is also available on YouTube
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Voices of the Completed Life is a podcast brought to you by the Completed Life Initiative (www.completedlife.org). Here, we share unprecedented conversations at the heart of the human experience. Each of our guests hold unique, and deeply ingrained philosophies on a life well lived. As our hosts dive into honest conversations about mortality, loss and grief, we hear first hand experiences from individuals who are grappling with what it means to live a completed life.
Follow the Completed Life Initiative:
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To conclude our series, Women's Voices of the Completed Life | What Matters Most: Believing Beyond Borders, we welcome Rachel Timoner. She is the Senior Rabbi at Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn, New York, a graduate of Yale University and Hebrew Union College, and in 2022, she was featured in the Emmy-nominated film Last Flight Home. The film, which was written and directed by her sister, Ondi Timoner, and premiered at Sundance Film Festival, documents their father’s request for Medical Aid-in-Dying in California and his family’s efforts to support his decision. It can currently be viewed on Paramount Plus.
If you would like to share a response to Rachel's story, please feel free to reach out to us on our social media platforms. Additionally, if you would like to share your story of a Completed Life on this podcast, whether for yourself or a loved one, please reach out to us via email at info@completedlife.org.
Voices of the Completed Life is also available on YouTube
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Voices of the Completed Life is a podcast brought to you by the Completed Life Initiative (www.completedlife.org). Here, we share unprecedented conversations at the heart of the human experience. Each of our guests hold unique, and deeply ingrained philosophies on a life well lived. As our hosts dive into honest conversations about mortality, loss and grief, we hear first hand experiences from individuals who are grappling with what it means to live a completed life.
Follow the Completed Life Initiative:
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In the second episode of Women's Voices of the Completed Life | What Matters Most: Believing Beyond Borders, Completed Life Initiative Advisor, Didi Sanchez, interviews Beatriz Pizano. She is a Colombian-born Canadian actor, director, and playwright. In 2019, she was recognized as one of TD Bank’s 10 Most Influential Hispanic Canadians. Pizano tells the story of her life, including the death of her mother, in Dividing Lines, the one-person play which she wrote and performed at Toronto’s Aluna Theatre, where she serves as the Artistic Director.
If you would like to share a response to Beatriz' story, please feel free to reach out to us on our social media platforms. Additionally, if you would like to share your story of a Completed Life on this podcast, whether for yourself or a loved one, please reach out to us via email at info@completedlife.org.
Voices of the Completed Life is also available on YouTube
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Voices of the Completed Life is a podcast brought to you by the Completed Life Initiative (www.completedlife.org). Here, we share unprecedented conversations at the heart of the human experience. Each of our guests hold unique, and deeply ingrained philosophies on a life well lived. As our hosts dive into honest conversations about mortality, loss and grief, we hear first hand experiences from individuals who are grappling with what it means to live a completed life.
Follow the Completed Life Initiative:
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Our podcast returns with a new series, Women's Voices of the Completed Life | What Matters Most: Believing Beyond Borders, and a brand new episode featuring social media influencer, model, and life coach, Ali Tate Cutler. With over 250,000 Instagram and 50,000 TikTok followers, in May 2023 her videos went viral when she shared her last conversations with her grandmother, who had chosen to use Medical Aid-in-Dying in Canada. Each video has been viewed from 250,000 to 5 million times.
If you would like to share a response to Ali's story, please feel free to reach out to us on our social media platforms. Additionally, if you would like to share your story of a Completed Life on this podcast, whether for yourself or a loved one, please reach out to us via email at info@completedlife.org.
Voices of the Completed Life is also available on YouTube
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Voices of the Completed Life is a podcast brought to you by the Completed Life Initiative (www.completedlife.org). Here, we share unprecedented conversations at the heart of the human experience. Each of our guests hold unique, and deeply ingrained philosophies on a life well lived. As our hosts dive into honest conversations about mortality, loss and grief, we hear first hand experiences from individuals who are grappling with what it means to live a completed life.
Follow the Completed Life Initiative:
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In this episode of Voices of the Completed Life, we interviewed Fred Philippi. Fred reached out to the Completed Life Initiative to share his own story. He does not have a terminal diagnosis, chronic aches and pains, or any other notable physical or medical conditions. He has lived a meaningful life: done everything he wanted to do, said everything he wanted to say, and said goodbye to the people he loves. Fred’s vision for his completed life has been met. It is a vision informed by a lifetime of religious and spiritual study, a successful professional career, a 20-year marriage, and his recent volunteer work in the area of medical aid-in-dying education. While under current laws in the United States, there is nothing Fred can do to complete his life on his own. His perspective on what such laws would mean for himself and others, is one worth sharing.
If you would like to share a response to Fred’s story, please feel free to reach out to us on our social media platforms, @completedlife. Additionally, if you would like to follow in Fred’s footsteps and share your story of a Completed Life on this podcast, whether for yourself or a loved one, please reach out to us via email at info@completedlife.org.
**Voices of the Completed Life is also available on YouTube
Voices of the Completed Life is a podcast brought to you by the Completed Life Initiative (www.completedlife.org). Here, we share unprecedented conversations at the heart of the human experience. Each of our guests hold unique, and deeply ingrained philosophies on a life well lived. As our hosts dive into honest conversations about mortality, loss and grief, we hear first hand experiences from individuals who are grappling with what it means to live a completed life.
Follow the Completed Life Initiative:-
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In this episode of Voices of the Completed Life, we interviewed Lynda Shannon Bluestein. Lynda is a Connecticut woman who recently won the right to access Medical Aid-in-Dying in court under Vermont’s Act 39. Prior to Lynda’s decision to sue Vermont, she received a terminal cancer diagnosis in 2021, which followed two-prior battles with cancer dating back to 2019. Lynda’s desire to seek out Medical Aid-in-Dying is motivated by her wish to live a life she sees as complete, and has created her own checklist for what she values most as she nears the end of her life.
In this podcast interview, we will hear Lynda’s first-hand account of receiving her terminal diagnosis. We will also explore how she found her unique role in Right to Die advocacy, including when she met her co-plaintiff in the Vermont case, Dr. Diana Barnard, a Vermont-based physician, and connected with the Advocacy organization, Compassion & Choices, who helped file the lawsuit on Lynda’s behalf. We will conclude with a discussion about Lynda’s upbringing, where she gained her beliefs about death, and her “Death Plan,” which she intends to complete by the time she accesses Medical Aid-in-Dying.
Following the recording of this episode, Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed House Bill 190 into law on May 2nd, 2023. With this landmark action, Vermont became the first state in the US to pass legislation that permits medical-aid-in-dying services to qualifying patients regardless of the state in which they legally reside.
Lynda’s story has previously been written about in various publications, including the New York Times
If you would like to share a response to Lynda Shannon Bluestein’s story, please feel free to reach out to us on our social media platforms, @completedlife. Additionally, if you are interested in sharing your story of a Completed Life on this podcast, whether for yourself or a loved one, please reach out to us via email at info@completedlife.org.
Voices of the Completed Life is also available on YouTube
Voices of the Completed Life is a podcast brought to you by the Completed Life Initiative (www.completedlife.org). Here, we share unprecedented conversations at the heart of the human experience. Each of our guests hold unique, and deeply ingrained philosophies on a life well lived. As our hosts dive into honest conversations about mortality, loss and grief, we hear first hand experiences from individuals who are grappling with what it means to live a completed life.
Follow the Completed Life Initiative:
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For this episode, we spoke to Rachelle Chapman, an author and activist who suffered a spinal cord injury in 2010 that left her quadriplegic. Rachelle has since become an outspoken voice in the disability community, as well as an advocate for the right to die. She has made appearances in national media, such as the Today Show, Katie Couric, MSNBC, and Cosmopolitan magazine; she maintains a blog called “Diary of a Wheel Girl”; and her book titled, “The Promise: A Tragic Accident, a Paralyzed Bride, and the Power of Love, Loyalty, and Friendship” was published in 2015.
In this Voices of the Completed Life Podcast interview, Rachelle dispels many of the arguments against Medical Aid-in-Dying, and explains how these misconceptions negatively impact the disability community. Rachelle also details how she became involved in the right-to-die movement through Edmund Tiryakian at Dying Right North Carolina. By sharing Rachelle’s story, this podcast episode aims to underscore the importance of highlighting personal narratives within the disability community. These narratives show that the right to live well as a person with a disability, who has full decision-making choice over their bodily autonomy, can also be compatible with the value that persons ought to have the option, and therefore the right, to die with dignity.
Rachelle’s book, blog, and TV appearances are all available on diaryofawheelgirl.com. She was also featured in the World of Champions Map, published by the World Federation of Right to Die Societies, which you can view on our website HERE. You can follow Rachelle on social media: @Rachelles_Wheels on Instagram, and facebook.com/RachelleandChris.
If you would like to share a response to Rachelle Chapman’s story, please feel free to reach out to us on our social media platforms, @completedlife. Additionally, if you are interested in sharing your story of a Completed Life on this podcast, whether for yourself or a loved one, please reach out to us via email at info@completedlife.org.
Voices of the Completed Life is also available on YouTube
Voices of the Completed Life is a podcast brought to you by the Completed Life Initiative (www.completedlife.org). Here, we share unprecedented conversations at the heart of the human experience. Each of our guests hold unique, and deeply ingrained philosophies on a life well lived. As our hosts dive into honest conversations about mortality, loss and grief, we hear first hand experiences from individuals who are grappling with what it means to live a completed life.
Follow the Completed Life Initiative:
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In this episode, we will meet Cheryl Romaire. Cheryl lives with two autoimmune-triggered inflammatory spine diseases – as well as numerous related conditions, all of which cause serious neurological symptoms, the most present of which is a constant, electrifying pain. While Cheryl has been doing her best to cope with this pain, she has been approved for medical aid-in-dying in Canada, which she intends to use as a last resort. We will learn from Cheryl what it is like to live with pain that she knows will only get worse with time. Cheryl shares what is most important to her, and why she is so grateful to have this last resort option available to her. And finally, what she is expecting from her end-of-life experience.
Elements of Cheryl’s story have previously been covered in the Canadian press, including a documentary produced by Veracity for CityTV, which you can view HERE. Cheryl is also featured in the World Federation of Right to Die Societies' "World of Champions" map, which you can view on our website HERE.
If you wish to add your voice to our podcast with a perspective on a Completed Life, whether for yourself or a loved one, please reach out to us via email at info@completedlife.org. We welcome your submissions.
Voices of the Completed Life is a podcast brought to you by the Completed Life Initiative (www.completedlife.org). Here, we share unprecedented conversations at the heart of the human experience. Each of our guests hold unique, and deeply ingrained philosophies on a life well lived. As our hosts dive into honest conversations about mortality, loss and grief, we hear first hand experiences from individuals who are grappling with what it means to live a completed life.
This episode is the second part of the story of Gayle Garlock, a man diagnosed with Lewey Body Dementia, who legally accessed Medical Aid-in-Dying in Victoria, Canada in 2019. We spoke to Geoff Garlock, one of Gayle’s three sons, who provided us with insight into who Gayle was as a father, husband, and person. We will also hear, once again, from Barbara, to dive deeper into how Gayle’s death resonates with her to this day. Both Geoff and Barbara help us paint a picture of how Gayle’s MAiD impacted his family and community, both before and in the years since his death.
In part one, we spoke to Gayle's wife, Barbara, as well as Gayle's MAiD provider, Dr. Stefanie Green, about the legal, clinical, and ethical challenges he faced in accessing MAiD with a dementia diagnosis.
It was Gayle’s wish that his story be told. So we encourage you to share this podcast and continue the conversation in your community.
The CBC radio piece mentioned in this podcast is linked here.
Additionally, Barbara was kind enough to allow us to publicly share her diary during the time that Gayle was pursuing MAiD. Barbara’s Diary chronicles the process all the way up until the day Gayle died, and provides additional insight into what Barbara was thinking and experiencing as a wife and caregiver. Barbara’s MAiD diary is available to read on the Completed Life Journal.
If you wish to add your voice to our podcast with a perspective on a Completed Life, whether for yourself or a loved one, please reach out to us via email at info@completedlife.org. We welcome your submissions.
Voices of the Completed Life is a podcast brought to you by the Completed Life Initiative (www.completedlife.org). Here, we share unprecedented conversations at the heart of the human experience. Each of our guests hold unique, and deeply ingrained philosophies on a life well lived. As our hosts dive into honest conversations about mortality, loss and grief, we hear first hand experiences from individuals who are grappling with what it means to live a completed life.
This episode is the first part of the story of Gayle Garlock, a man diagnosed with Lewey Body Dementia, who legally accessed Medical Aid-in-Dying in Canada. We spoke to Gayle's wife, Barbara, as well as Gayle's MAiD provider, Dr. Stefanie Green. This first part of the story will focus on Gayle's background, and the legal, clinical, and ethical challenges he faced in accessing MAiD with a dementia diagnosis. We will hear the first-hand accounts of Barbara and Dr. Green, who were present on the day of Gayle’s chosen death in 2019.
Part two, which will release in February, will include the perspective of Gayle's son, Geoff, and will explore how Gayle's decision has impacted him, Barbara, and the rest of their family in the years since.
The two-part piece was informed by the CBC's report on Gayle's story back in 2019. For another account of the story, you can listen here.
If you wish to add your voice to our podcast with a perspective on a Completed Life, whether for yourself or a loved one, please reach out to us via email at info@completedlife.org. We welcome your submissions.
Voices of the Completed Life is a podcast brought to you by the Completed Life Initiative (www.completedlife.org). Here, we share unprecedented conversations at the heart of the human experience. Each of our guests hold unique, and deeply ingrained philosophies on a life well lived. As our hosts dive into honest conversations about mortality, loss and grief, we hear first hand experiences from individuals who are grappling with what it means to live a completed life.
In this episode, we interview Faith Sommerfield, Founder of the Completed Life Initiative. Faith’s mission was to change the way people die. Throughout her life, close experiences with horrible deaths taught Faith that suffering was not natural. Access to self-determination at the end of life became a core tenant of Faith’s beliefs. The story of Faith Sommerfield is the story of the Completed Life Initiative. Together, we explore her personal history, her hopes for the future, and what this organization means to her and her ambition to end suffering at the end of life.
On September 27th, 2022, in Basel, Switzerland, Faith died peacefully at the time of her choosing. The Completed Life Initiative owes its existence to Faith’s extraordinary vision and perseverance. We will forever honor her contribution to our cause.
If you wish to add your voice to our podcast with a perspective on a Completed Life, whether for yourself or a loved one, please reach out to us via email at info@completedlife.org. We welcome your submissions.
Voices of the Completed Life is a podcast brought to you by the Completed Life Initiative (www.completedlife.org). Here, we share unprecedented conversations at the heart of the human experience. Each of our guests hold unique, and deeply ingrained philosophies on a life well lived. As our hosts dive into honest conversations about mortality, loss and grief, we hear first hand experiences from individuals who are grappling with what it means to live a completed life.
In this episode, we interview Carol, a woman who's husband, Doug, chose to end his own life. Carol and Doug's life together, and their frequent conversations about death, led Carol to have a unique perspective on her husband's decision. Together, we explore Doug's decision, what led to it, what kind of person he was, what kind of family he and Carol raised, and how all of these factors contributed, if at all, to the manner in which Doug ended his life. Carol’s bravery and strength in both sharing this story and supporting her family in the process is unmistakable.
If you wish to add your voice to our podcast with a perspective on a Completed Life, whether for yourself or a loved one, please reach out to us via email at info@completedlife.org. We welcome your submissions.
Voices of the Completed Life is a podcast brought to you by the Completed Life Initiative (www.completedlife.org). Here, we share unprecedented conversations at the heart of the human experience. Each of our guests hold unique, and deeply ingrained philosophies on a life well lived. As our hosts dive into honest conversations about mortality, loss and grief, we hear first hand experiences from individuals who are grappling with what it means to live a completed life.
Episode 3 contains the first half of a live panel discussion that originally aired on March 10th, 2022.
This event explored the complexities of our inaugural Podcast narrative, the Story of Sheryl. Our esteemed panelists discussed the elements of Sheryl's story that intrigue our listeners in both Episode 1 and Episode 2 of the Voices of the Completed Life Podcast. What does Sheryl mean when she says she is one fall away from having a bad death? In what ways does Sheryl want to have a gentle death? What are the challenges that she faces in achieving a peaceful, completed life? This event was moderated by Program Director Sarah Kiskadden-Bechtel, MBe.
In this episode, we interview a member of the Completed Life community, a woman named Sheryl, who reached out to us with her story about her notion of her completed life. Together, we explore the aspects of life that make Sheryl’s life worth living, how she seeks to eliminate suffering at the end of her life, and how she sees herself as “one fall away” from having a bad death. Sheryl will describe a bad death as a death that is not gentle, with which she has unfortunately had many experiences. We hear how each of those experiences impacted Sheryl, as she considers her own end-of-life plan to take control of her life and therefore craft her own death. Sheryl’s bravery, strength, creativity and brilliance is unmistakable.
If you wish to add your voice to our podcast with a perspective on a Completed Life, whether for yourself or a loved one, please reach out to us via email at info@completedlife.org. We welcome your submissions.
Voices of the Completed Life is a podcast brought to you by the Completed Life Initiative (www.completedlife.org). Here, we share unprecedented conversations at the heart of the human experience. Each of our guests hold unique, and deeply ingrained philosophies on a life well lived. As our hosts dive into honest conversations about mortality, loss and grief, we hear first hand experiences from individuals who are grappling with what it means to live a completed life.