"You're in the moment: You're left with do I completely detach or am I in it? I was just in it." We're calling in an expert Withness today. Blum showed up for Tom and Sheila for coffee on regular afternoon visits and in what became their last days. Hear him try to describe what came naturally to him. 

"I want to give people one last message of hope and love and that you don't have to fear." We interviewed Joyce right after she outlived the doctor's prognosis, after she felt like her bucket list was checked off, and as it turns out, right before she died. Listen in as we talk about her decision to host a living wake and what it's like to look back on a life well lived. 

"We counted up. We didn't set an expiration date on how time we had with Benjamin. We just enjoyed every single day." Even though Leslie's son had a disease only 2 people in every million have, there are universal truths we all need from their story. 

"I just wanted her to say something--i wanted her to be that cheerleader." What do you do when you lose the voice that's rooted for you your whole life? And what do you do when they're with you but not with you? Jason tells the story of grieving his mom while she was still living. 

"I was more worried for his friends than for myself. I wanted them to hold onto life." Furaha woke up in the middle of the night to the knock no parent wants at their door. We talk about the big life of her son Evan and how her care for his friends led to a group selfie at his funeral. 

In exchange for coupons to mini-golf that may or may not be honored, Ben tells us the story of losing his parents at a young age and we wonder with him just how joy belongs in painful stories.

“I need my life to be a eulogy for him.” Sarah tells us the too-short story of her son Levi: how they laid him down and how they carry him still.

We make a case for Withness as a word and a reality. We talk about Laura’s own family story and how it made us hit Record on this project.