S3E42: We All Want Impossible Things – with Catherine Newman

As the Red Queen counseled Alice, she said “Why sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”  What about you?

When faced with serious illness, dying, or death it is natural to want things that are impossible. For example, everyone dies; we may cheat death a time or two, but in the end death is inescapable. If we never died, would life be unendurable and meaningless if it went on forever? This week we explore the elusive parts of life, the seemingly impossible aspects of living.

In this Episode:

• 02:45 – Foods That Can Help You Get Better Sleep
• 12:11 – The World Needs Some Impossible Things
• 29:39 – Interview with Catherine Newman, “We All Want Impossible Things”
• 53:22 – Outro

We talk about the things we want in life but that we can’t seem to get. In the first half Charlie talks about one of those things – sleep – and he has our recipe of the week. Marianne talks about the things in life that seem to be impossible to have, but that we want anyway, and we have an interview with the author of the best-selling book, We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman. This novel is about dying and death of a woman with ovarian with ovarian cancer from the perspective of her best friend since nursery school.

Speaking of Impossible things, if you’ve been following along, you have heard about Marianne’s remodeling project and how she is refinishing her door. Here’s a couple of pictures of the door. Doesn’t it look good?

References:

• The Top 10 Things People Want In Life But Can’t Seem To Get by Kathy Caprino: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-top-10-things-people_b_9564982
• The World Needs Some Impossible Things by Deepak Chopra: https://deepakchopra.medium.com/the-world-needs-some-impossible-things-aa52287b82b3
• Wick J. Y. (2013). Managing expectations: “what do you mean?”. The Consultant pharmacist: the Journal of the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists, 28(1), 58–62. https://doi.org/10.4140/TCP.n.2013.58

Resources:

• We All Want Impossible Things: A Novel by Catherine Newman Order link: https://amzn.to/3GR0u7j  #affiliate
• The Impossible List Plus, weekly motivation, resources & tools to do more badass stuff every day: https://impossiblehq.com/impossible-list/

Recipe of the Week

Pining for a taste of summer? Try this Chamomile tea cake with strawberry icing!

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As a songwriter, ‘Everyone Dies’ is inviting you to showcase your original work on an upcoming podcast.

There are many wonderful songs that could be played at a funeral. We also know there are songs that could be played, but are cringeworthy (e.g. Ding Dong the Witch is Dead; Another One Bites the Dust; Ring of Fire, etc.).

We are inviting you to send us a recording of two of your original songs (i.e. that could be played at a funeral, one that is appropriate, one that is likely not) to be included in the third half of the ‘Everyone Dies’ podcast. We will include as many artists over the next year (maybe longer if we are enjoying the segment) as possible.

What we need:
Go to this link, fill out the form and submit it along with your two original songs in .wav or .mp3 format (i.e. two original songs that could be played at a funeral, one that is appropriate, one that is likely not). We will screen them and let you know what week your work will be included. We will include all your information in our show notes so people can purchase your recordings.

From Everyone Dies:

Everyone Dies: and yes, it is normal!

Everyone Dies (and yes, it is normal) is a story about a young boy named Jax who finds something special on the beach where he and his grandpa Pops are enjoying a wonderful day. Pops helps Jax understand that death is a normal part of life. This book provides an age appropriate, non-scary, comfortable way to introduce the important topic of mortality to a preschool child. Its simple explanation will last a lifetime. Autographed copies for sale at: www.everyonediesthebook.com. Also available at Amazon

Mourning Jewelry

We offer a way to memorialize your loved one or treasured pet with a piece of handmade jewelry.  When people comment on it and the wearer can say for example “I received this when my mother died” which opens the conversation about this loss. All our jewelry is made with semi-precious stones and beads, vintage beads, and pearls. You can choose between earrings or bracelets and the color family. Learn More

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