Let's Talk Death! ... a HealGrief® program

In this episode Dr. David Fajgenbaum discusses how his personal experiences with grief have lead him to not only look for every opportunity to live life to the fullest and look for hope in some of the darkest times, but how to also write about it to inspire others.

David Fajgenbaum, MD, MBA, MSc, is currently the co-founder and Executive Director of the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network (CDCN) and an Assistant Professor of Medicine in Translational Medicine & Human Genetics. Previously, he co-founded in memory of his mother and led the Actively Moving Forward Support Network, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting grieving college students. He is the author of Chasing My Cure (release date: 9/10/19) and co-author of We Get It: Voices of Grieving College Students and Young Adults.

Dr. Fajgenbaum has dedicated his life to discovering new treatments and cures for deadly disorders like idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease (iMCD), which he was diagnosed with during medical school. After spending months hospitalized in critical condition, having his last rites read, and having four deadly relapses, he is now in his longest remission ever thanks to a treatment that he identified in the lab.

Dr. Fajgenbaum’s work has been profiled in a cover story by The New York Times as well as by Reader’s Digest, Science, the Today Show, and Forbes 30 Under 30 healthcare list. Dr. Fajgenbaum earned a BS from Georgetown University magna cum laude with honors and distinction, MSc from the University of Oxford, MD from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, and MBA from The Wharton School.

Learn more about Dr. Fajgenbaum’s books Chasing My Cure and We Get It: Voices of Grieving College Students and Young Adults.

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In this episode Dr. Neimeyer helps us take a deeper look into the idea of how we can utilize meaning-making in our own grief, while talking about how it has made a positive impact on his own journey.

Bob is Professor of Psychology, University of Memphis, where he maintains an active clinical practice. He also directs the Portland Institute for Loss and Transition, which provides training internationally in grief therapy. Since completing his doctoral training at the University of Nebraska in 1982, he has published 30 books, including Techniques of Grief Therapy: Creative Practices for Counseling the Bereaved and Grief and the Expressive Arts: Practices for Creating Meaning, the latter with Barbara Thompson, and serves as Editor of the journal Death Studies. The author of nearly 500 articles and book chapters, he is currently working to advance a more adequate theory of grieving as a meaning-making process, both in his published work and through his frequent professional workshops for national and international audiences. Neimeyer served as President of the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC), and Chair of the International Work Group for Death, Dying, & Bereavement. In recognition of his scholarly contributions, he has been granted the Eminent Faculty Award by the University of Memphis, made a Fellow of the Clinical Psychology Division of the American Psychological Association, and given Lifetime Achievement Awards by both the Association for Death Education and Counseling and the International Network on Personal Meaning.

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In this episode Denny talks about the “Real World” issues that families face and how they are often amplified during the holiday season. Denny also shed’s light on why he connected with HealGrief.

A note from Denny:

Merry Christmas (Real World) starts with the opening line “mother’s a closet smoker, daddy’s three days sober, joy is spilling over , sister’s depressed ….it’s the pills I guess”.  What I had in mind was this raw in your face realism that we all share with our families during the holidays. I wrote the song with Bill DiLuigi, Kirsti Manna, and Buford Williams Jr. 

Every year we encounter our family differences during the holidays. This story shares is not the expected but what to expect that doesn’t always end with joy and laughter.

The story consist of real experiences I have faced along with others in my life. I remember my best friend going through the same struggles. I also have family that has channeled similar differences through alcoholism and prescription drug use. 

The subject matter of this song doesn’t hide the issues it embraces them. It’s real life struggles that we as a society ignore. I hope this will touch many people like myself that they are not alone. Merry Christmas (Real World) is set to release soon. 

Warm regards,

Denny

Merry Christmas (RealWorld) is available for download on iTunes and Denny will generously donate a portion of the proceeds to HealGrief®.

You can follow Denny on Twitter and Instagram @dennystrickland

To can learn more about Denny and his work at DennyStrickland.com

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