Where the Veil Grows Thin

This is a piece I wrote about an experience I had in trying to make room on my bookshelves for new books.  It's kind of funny and eye opening. It translated into all kinds of areas in my life. A parallel process of epiphanies and awakenings.

Thank you for listening to Where the Veil Grows Thin.  
You can always get these  wherever you get your podcasts or for more information, visit seanjeung.com.

We tend, at times, as care providers to camouflage or deny our feelings when the ones we are caring for are a 'job'. Even when it isn't our job, we sometimes don't know what to do with emotions that come up. After all, we are going to be fine, the one we are caring for is dying, so why should we get to be sad? This is the story off how one woman helped her hospice nurse see that the best care happens when we open our hearts and allow our emotions to be seen.

Thank you for listening to Where the Veil Grows Thin.  
You can always get these  wherever you get your podcasts or for more information, visit seanjeung.com.

In this episode I talk about the parallels between my Montessori work life and my work with those in Grief. Exploring the necessity to sometimes 'go back' before we can more successfully move forward. And how in going back, we find a deeper understanding and appreciation for what lies ahead.

Thank you for listening to Where the Veil Grows Thin.  
You can always get these  wherever you get your podcasts or for more information, visit seanjeung.com.

The piece missing from the story of my mom's death is what she wrote to us in her legacy letter. The story she told, after 32 years of silence, about an event we shared during one summer vacation. It is, in large part, responsible for my decision to leave teaching and start down this road of working with people at end of life.

Thank you for listening to Where the Veil Grows Thin.  
You can always get these  wherever you get your podcasts or for more information, visit seanjeung.com.

Just the mention of the word Hospice can sometimes cause great distress to a family.  But when someone is appropriate, in other words if their illness  qualifies them for Hospice services, NOT mentioning it is wrong. Generally, all people know is that Hospice means someone will die. And that is true.
So, how do we make friends with that reality?  How do we ease ourselves into that knowing and maintain a calm presence? One way is by learning what it is Hospice can do, what things a healthy Hospice agency can bring to a families experience of losing a loved one. 

Thank you for listening to Where the Veil Grows Thin.  
You can always get these  wherever you get your podcasts or for more information, visit seanjeung.com.

I have mentioned how I came to be doing this work. And when asked, if someone has the time, I will tell them this story. It was a pivotal time in my life, as one can well imagine, a time of great change and growth. And, it's a very sweet memory.

Thank you for listening to Where the Veil Grows Thin.  
You can always get these  wherever you get your podcasts or for more information, visit seanjeung.com.

The title of this piece kind of says it all as far as what the subject matter might be. It's a very short 7 and a 1/2 minute slice of my life....

Thank you for listening to Where the Veil Grows Thin.  
You can always get these  wherever you get your podcasts or for more information, visit seanjeung.com.

Grief is something we all know. It is not something we necessarily know what to do with.  This episode is a sort of beginners guide to knowing how to be with someone else who is grieving, while hopefully also addressing what each one of us can do for ourselves when we suffer a loss.

Thank you for listening to Where the Veil Grows Thin.  
You can always get these  wherever you get your podcasts or for more information, visit seanjeung.com.

I realized, when I listened to this, that some of what I say sounds harsh. When I wrote it I was on a soap box for reform and expansion in the way things happen when someone is diagnosed with a life-limiting disease. I know I wear my comfort with talk of death sometimes too loudly, and I am choosing to publish it anyway, with this caveat: I have respect for and faith in all the doctors I have ever had the honor to work with in my career.  I know every single one of them comes to work each day hoping to make someones life better.  And some days they do.

Thank you for listening to Where the Veil Grows Thin.  
You can always get these  wherever you get your podcasts or for more information, visit seanjeung.com.

Part Two of a two part piece on sitting with someone who is actively dying. In this 19 minute episode we continue the conversation on what it looks like to be in the home of someone who is actively dying and what happens at the moment of and the moments after death occurs.

Thank you for listening to Where the Veil Grows Thin.  
You can always get these  wherever you get your podcasts or for more information, visit seanjeung.com.