Grief and joy go hand in hand. How one woman learned to embrace both
Part 3 of the TED Radio Hour episode Curious stories of coexistence
After her father's death, Laurel Braitman chased success as a way to suppress her grief. But she eventually learned that running from pain prevented her from experiencing joy.
About Laurel Braitman
Laurel Braitman is the director of writing and storytelling at the Stanford University School of Medicine's Medical Humanities and the arts program and a Senior TED Fellow. Braitman is the author of Animal Madness: Inside Their Minds and the memoir What Looks Like Bravery: An Epic Journey Through Loss to Love.
In 2020, she founded Writing Medicine, a global community of healthcare professionals and has since helped thousands of healthcare professionals who have experienced loss and other trauma to share their stories.
This segment of the TED Radio Hour was produced by Harsha Nahata and edited by Rachel Faulkner White Sanaz Meshkinpour. You can follow us on Facebook @TEDRadioHour and email us at TEDRadioHour@npr.org.
Web Resources
Related TED Bio: Laurel Braitman
Related TED Talk: Why thinking about death helps you live a better life
Related TED Talk: My mother's final wish -- and the right to die with dignity
Related NPR Link
Morning Edition: What Looks Like Bravery' explains how achievement can't protect us from grief
TED Radio Hour: What Does Animal Madness Teach Us About Our Own? : Why this poet sees grief as its own kind of spiritual practice
All Things Considered: Why this poet sees grief as its own kind of spiritual practice
