13 episodes
Goodbye to All This BBC World Service
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- Society & Culture
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4.6 • 163 Ratings
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“I still love him and I miss him.” Losing the thing you are most sure of and coming out the other side - a story about life, love and loss. A 12-part memoir by Sophie Townsend.
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12. Moving
He’s still here all the time. Yet he’s not. And a diary has more in it than expected.
“I’ll feel his absence every day, like a bruise that’s tender to the touch.”
A Falling Tree production for the BBC World Service. -
11. The shoe
“She hates me going into her room”. A pink, strappy, high-heeled shoe causes a big row. The girls are growing up – fast. And now Sophie is crying over a shoe.
A Falling Tree production for the BBC World Service. -
10. Appointment
The washing machine breaks. The bills are mounting. Sophie almost electrocutes herself. And just as it couldn’t get any worse, it’s raining and there’s nowhere for the delivery men to park. Now she is going to be late for her appointment.
A Falling Tree production for the BBC World Service. -
9. Something new
“You’ll never find anyone if you’re not online.” Sophie is ready to start dating again but finds it’s done differently now. She meets a man who likes her shoes.
A Falling Tree production for the BBC World Service. -
8. Going under
“Mama, I can’t get to you!” There’s unexpected danger on a holiday, when the family is swept out to sea in Byron Bay, Australia.
A Falling Tree production for the BBC World Service. -
7. Port in the storm
“His death is nothing like the worst thing. The worst thing is now.” Sophie is struggling after Russell’s death. Everyone is trying to help, but is saying the wrong thing – except one person, who knows what it’s like because his wife has died.
A Falling Tree production for the BBC World Service.
Customer Reviews
A must listen.
So beautiful, warm, and full of wisdom.!and most of all a beautiful reminder that life is messy.
Raw and honest
Thank you to Sophie for sharing her journey with such honesty. This podcast series is moving and gives an incredible insight into the experience of loss and grief. It was a privilege to listen.
Goodbye to All This
Deeply though I sympathise with the writer I found this one of the most depressing narratives on the subject of cancer that I’ve ever heard. Delivered in an irritating slow motion funereal monotone I just wanted to play it at double speed, but instead I skipped large parts of most episodes. Not something I would recommend to anyone enduring a deeply profound life changing experience because listening to this uninspiring, joyless, dirge will simply make you feel worse.