Facing Mortality and Building a Legacy

In this episode of the EZ Conversations podcast, I welcome Kim Harms, who shares her profound experiences dealing with loss and grief. Kim, a former dentist and the first woman president of the Minnesota Dental Association, speaks candidly about losing her son and mother to suicide, and her husband to heart failure. Despite these tragedies, Kim has found peace and acceptance, which she attributes to contemplating her mortality. She discusses the importance of preparing for death, building a meaningful legacy, and managing grief. Kim offers practical advice on the importance of mental health, addressing family dynamics, and the value of creating a supportive community. This episode provides listeners with insightful reflections on life, purpose, and how to find joy despite significant loss. Dr. Kimberly Harms has been around the block in life. She has served as a Commissioned Officer in the United States Public Health Service, a dental school professor, a grief counsellor, a death doula, a civil mediator, a clinical dentist with her late husband Jim in Farmington MN, a school board Chair, President of an international women’s organization, the first woman President of the Minnesota Dental Association, a National Spokesperson for the American Dental Association (21 years), an award-winning, best selling author and international speaker on the topics of grief, conflict and legacy planning. She has also suffered many personal losses, including the deaths by suicide of her mother and son and the death by the broken heart of her husband after their son’s death. Her most important role now is mother to her two surviving children and grandmother to 6 precious grandchildren. 03:05 Introduction and Personal Reflections 04:05 Guest's Background and Personal Losses 06:59 Coping with the Loss of a Child 12:09 Mental Health and Family History 17:22 Grieving Differently and Marital Resilience 20:52 Facing Widowhood and Finding Support 24:13 Professional Pivot and Finding Purpose 24:53 From Dentistry to Legacy Building 25:36 The Importance of Legacy Planning 26:22 Changing Perspectives on Death 27:35 Building Positive Legacies 28:42 The Value of Relationships 29:47 Personal Reflections on Legacy 36:42 Practical Tips for End-of-Life Planning 42:13 Facing Death with Faith and Humor 46:21 Concluding Thoughts and Resources Sponsors of the Podcast: BetterHelp: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://betterhelp.com/ez10⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for 10% off your first month of therapy WeShape: https://weshape.postaffiliatepro.com/scripts/dcfogwyuk?a_aid=FurkhanDandia&a_bid=d7508fa8 for 35% all plans. Aura: https://aura.com/ez10 for a free two-week trial Plunge: https://plunge.com/ez Mint Mobile: ⁠https://trymintmobile.com/ez10⁠ for 15$ for an unlimited cell phone plan Mental: ⁠https://getmental.com/ez If you would like to support EZ Conversations, here are all the ways you can do that: Instagram⁠⁠:⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/eunoiazen⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://m.facebook.com/eunoiazen⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ YouTube⁠⁠: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrqBp_zdRiIfBRV4wURSZ2A⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/furkhan-dandia-macp-mba-072a8a1ba/⁠ Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/EzConversations⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Or find Furkhan's Book, Pursuit of Self Love: 30 Uplifting Messages and Reflections. The Kindle version is available on Amazon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.amazon.ca/Pursuit-Self-Love-Uplifting-Messages-Reflections-ebook/dp/B0C4D1XYL1⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to the EZ Reflections Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ez-reflections-newsletter.beehiiv.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices