9. Dr. Kim Garchar (Part I)

Dr. Kim Garchar, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Kent State University, clinical ethicist, and pet parent (you'll meet Ozzy), takes us through her world—being raised to be comfortable with conversations about death and her realization as an adult that, oh, this is not normal—most people don't like talking about mortality. We talk about the language we use to describe dying, why "fighting" is the wrong metaphor when there's only ever one victor, and how she reframes death not as an enemy to defeat but as a transition—just another change in an ecosystem of change.We also get into how the real suffering at end of life often isn't death itself; it's the overmedicalization of dying and the loss of agency that comes with it. We discussed everything from Sartre, Camus, and Beauvoir and the two things that mark the human condition, to Thanksgiving dinner and the awkward genius of asking your grandma if she's an organ donor, to power of attorney versus living wills, to what understanding death can teach us about living a meaningful life. We end with the epitome of a full-circle moment, nearly a decade after I first sat in Dr. Garchar's classroom—a moment that still has my jaw on the floor.If you're wrestling with your own mortality, are curious about different perspectives on death, or are avoiding a hard conversation because you don't know how to start it, this one's for you.This conversation was so good, we had to keep it going. Stay tuned for part II, a metaphysical milkshake of existentialism, Buddhism, and the philosophy of mortality.Check out this video when you get to the "above the line" bit: Locating Yourself: A Key to Conscious Leadership: https://youtu.be/fLqzYDZAqCI?si=o5cS-SVrlKnZCukV