Death and Other Awkward Transitions

Support the cast and get lots of other goodness at www.jennitooley.com or venmo a little love to @jenni-tooleyThis episode of Cancer Chronicles is about death. Stick with me. What I’ve discovered is that death isn’t just about the end of life. It shows up in transitions, endings, pivots, and the letting go we all have to do along the way.I share about sitting in the hospital surrounded by both birth and death. How I walked the hall between the NICU and labor & delivery while patients near me were in hospice. How I was celebrating as much as I could that I was coming to the end of my journey with rectal cancer while my friends mourned the death of someone whose rectal cancer journey had also come to an end. I also reflect on the death of my film dream, the shifts cancer forced into every part of my life, and even how I’ve experienced “wanting to die” in the sense of wanting a life I was living to end.What I’ve come to believe is that every ending is a doorway into something else. Each transition—whether it’s losing health, identity, plans, pets, or people—is a kind of death that eventually leads to a new life.So, if you’re in the middle of one of those big transitions, know this: you are loved, always. You’re going to make it through. And while it may not feel good all the time, you can still find moments of joy, even peace, in the middle of it all.Lotsa love, JenniTranscript and captions available and beautifully imperfect! Episodes I mentioned in this episode- all except the poop ones, there are too many to list:) Get full access to w/Jenni Tooley at www.jennitooley.com/subscribe