"It wasn't the suffering that I took away from hospice, it was the living." Cheryl Marita
It is my privilege to meander today with my friend Cheryl Marita, and we explore her book “Touching the Veil: End of Life Stories Through the Eyes of a Nurse.”
This podcast looks at joy in the everyday, and Cheryl’s work as a hospice nurse does that for her… it brings joy to her everyday, that’s clear. After a career spanning almost 60 years, and at 79 years of age, she continues to work as a hospice nurse two days a week because not doing so, well, it’s just not possible for her.
In her book, she talks about the beginnings of her career, in the early 1960s, and her entry into supporting people to their natural death at a time when death meant "failure" to the medical professionals. Since she started her career, we’ve come a long way in human-focused care. Cheryl’s book shares some of those stories. It was a pleasure to meander with Cheryl; I hope you too enjoy this episode.
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Episode links:
This podcast is supported by my company, Chapman Coaching Inc.
You can get Cheryl’s book, "Touching the Veil: End of Life Stories Through the Eyes of a Nurse" via her blog, "Morsels of Marita" or via Indigo if you’re in Canada, or via your independent book store
You can read her blog on Medium
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“Anne of Green Gables” by Lucy Maude Mongomery
The origins of the quote I used: “Those who have a 'why' to live, can bear with almost any 'how'." is Viktor E. Frankl, from "Man’s Search for Meaning"; Hersh Goldberg-Polin modified it to help himself and his fellow hostages find hope while in captivity in Gaza
Royalty free music is called Sunday Stroll – by Huma-Huma