Poema Podcast James Prescott

Friend of the podcast Rob Bell returns today to discuss his new latest work, a novel, "Where'd You Park Your Spaceship? An Interplanetary Tale of Love, Loss and Bread: Book One, Welcome to Firdus."
(Yes this is the title). 
It's an incredible novel, which explores grief, identity, toxic systems, all from the perspective of someone outside of earth learning it for the first time.
Rob tells me his creative process in writing the novel, how the experience changed him, and how he discovered joy and fun in the creative process, and we talk about a WHOLE lot more too.
What we hear from Rob here is truly inspirational, and speaks a lot to those going through healing, awakening, embodiment and finding freedom in their creative, personal and spiritual lives. 
 

This week my friend MJ joins me to discuss Dan Levy's movie director debut, 'Good Grief', which is available on Netflix. 
The movie is about a person who loses their mother and husband in the space of the year, and their grieving process which reveals a lot of secrets and surprises, and how it impacts his life. 
MJ and I, who both have lived experience of grief, watched it together and in this episode we share our own reflections, insights and lived experiences. We talk about the ways the movie covers and explores grief so well and tenderly, and what we learned. 

This week my friend Jenna DeWitt returns to discuss Taylor Swift's "1989 - Taylor's Version" which released earlier this year. 
Jenna shares her own experience with the album - both the new version, and the original - and what these meant for her as she explored her own identity.
Then together we explore various tracks on the album and the stories behind them. We discuss how these songs and their stories, and art in general, can help us as we process issues of grief, transformation and identity. 
As we do so, we see more of how the creative process can heal and transform us.

My guest today is Virginia Spotts. She is a writer, actor, fiction podcaster, and aspiring death doula.
In this episode she shares her experiences of grief and how they impacted her. As a writer, actor and fiction broadcaster, she shares unique experiences of how witnessing death and going through the grieving impacted the creative aspects of her life and identity. 
Virginia also shares her experience of training as a death doula, helping people prepare for death. Its' a fascinating and unique insight into death and grief.

Today we begin another series exploring grief on the podcast, with Andrea De Ward talking about her experiences of doing pastoral work with the dying, as chaplain of a care home.
Andrea talks about how this impacted her perspectives on death and grief, as she then herself had experiences of grief and loss. She tells us how these impacted her life, her relationships and her personal/spiritual journey.
Andrea's story gives us a very unique perspective on death and  grief, and can help us understand these experiences much better. 

Today I'm joined by writer, advocate and podcast host Shari A Smith. She talks to us about her advocacy works with trauma victims and survivors, and the importance of sharing our stories. 
Shari shares her experiences of sharing and bearing witness to trauma and grief stories, and how its' impacted her and the people sharing those stories. She tells us how sharing stories can provide solidarity to those hearing, and a voice to those who share them, and help us in the road to healing.