Sean Jeung, hospice and hospital chaplain, is a pioneer in demystifying and destigmatizing end-of-life and death and dying. Her words touch and inspire individuals; they make people pause and they make people think.
I have mentioned how I came to be doing this work. And when asked, if someone has the time, I will tell them this story. It was a pivotal time in my life, as one can well imagine, a time of great change and growth. And, it's a very sweet memory. Thank you for listening to Where the Veil Grows Thin. You can always get these wherever you get your podcasts or for more information, visit seanjeung.com.
The title of this piece kind of says it all as far as what the subject matter might be. It's a very short 7 and a 1/2 minute slice of my life.... Thank you for listening to Where the Veil Grows Thin. You can always get these wherever you get your podcasts or for more information, visit seanjeung.com.
Grief is something we all know. It is not something we necessarily know what to do with. This episode is a sort of beginners guide to knowing how to be with someone else who is grieving, while hopefully also addressing what each one of us can do for ourselves when we suffer a loss. Thank you for listening to Where the Veil Grows Thin. You can always get these wherever you get your podcasts or for more information, visit seanjeung.com.
I realized, when I listened to this, that some of what I say sounds harsh. When I wrote it I was on a soap box for reform and expansion in the way things happen when someone is diagnosed with a life-limiting disease. I know I wear my comfort with talk of death sometimes too loudly, and I am choosing to publish it anyway, with this caveat: I have respect for and faith in all the doctors I have ever had the honor to work with in my career. I know every single one of them comes to work each day hop...
Part Two of a two part piece on sitting with someone who is actively dying. In this 19 minute episode we continue the conversation on what it looks like to be in the home of someone who is actively dying and what happens at the moment of and the moments after death occurs. Thank you for listening to Where the Veil Grows Thin. You can always get these wherever you get your podcasts or for more information, visit seanjeung.com.
This two part series is based on a training I did for hospice volunteers interested in sitting vigil with people actively dying. As Death Doula work gains popularity here in the US. it feels appropriate to take the opportunity to talk about what it looks like to be in someones home when they are dying, or to sit with someone in a facility who is actively transitioning. There is so much to be said, I barely scratch the surface but it's a good starting place if you think you have ever wanted to vo...
We hear a lot about 'balance' these days; the necessity for it in all areas of our lives. In this episode, we take a look at how the compartmentalizing of our various roles in life can make our heads spin when we think we have to try to balance so many hats; and how the possibility of seeing ourselves as all we are all the time can actually help us feel more whole and more balanced. Thank you for listening to Where the Veil Grows Thin. You can always get these wherever you get your podcasts or f...
This episode was the result of someone in a grief group asking, 'What do the rest of you do with regrets?" and the amazing conversation that followed. When I was asked shortly after that to be a guest speaker at a local church I said I would if I could talk about Regrets. This is what came forth. Thank you for listening to Where the Veil Grows Thin. You can always get these wherever you get your podcasts or for more information, visit seanjeung.com.
This story took shape after a particularly challenging week in our cancer center. Staff shortages and a wave of deaths among our patients helped teach me how a small group of individuals can pull together to see one another through. And, a week that showed me the toll it can take in the process. Thank you for listening to Where the Veil Grows Thin. You can always get these wherever you get your podcasts or for more information, visit seanjeung.com.
This story was written in 2014. It was one of the first I wanted to record for this website. I think it was because this experience became a driving force behind my passion for what hospice can bring to a family. Even if the loved one in question never signs up. In rural communities like ours, connectors become vital for optimum outcome. At a certain point, the outcome of someone not dying isn't an option, but we can move mountains to try to make a dying persons wish come true. I believe that of...
I cannot recall a time in my life lived without a dog, or multiple dogs. Animals are the closest we ever come to unconditional love in this life. They are the very best therapists for those who grieve. This story, even though it involves tragedy, is beautiful for all the reasons anyone who loves animals already knows. Thank you for listening to Where the Veil Grows Thin. You can always get these wherever you get your podcasts or for more information, visit seanjeung.com.
I was asked once to sit in a busy cafeteria with an older gentleman who had just been told his cancer did not respond to treatment, and he chose to go home with hospice care. It could have been awkward and uncomfortable, but somehow, he made it easy. We felt a protective bubble around us and we just talked, uninterrupted, and as though we'd known one another for years. Thank you for listening to Where the Veil Grows Thin. You can always get these wherever you get your podcasts or for more inform...
The story of one afternoon that brought the surprise gift of sitting with a dying patient in the hospital before I knew anything at all about any of this, except what my mom had shown us in her dying. Thank you for listening to Where the Veil Grows Thin. You can always get these wherever you get your podcasts or for more information, visit seanjeung.com.
Before we could air this podcast I needed to find, and ask the blessing of, 3 individuals. I was gratefully surprised by how beautifully they received me and how readily they agreed to allow the story to be aired. I was also made aware that for some people, these stories will allow for a re-visiting of memories from long ago...... Thank you for listening to Where the Veil Grows Thin. You can always get these wherever you get your podcasts or for more information, visit seanjeung.com....
In this episode, Sean looks at world challenges from a different angle; one that might help us feel less alone, less afraid, less hopeless. Thank you for listening to Where the Veil Grows Thin. You can always get these wherever you get your podcasts or for more information, visit seanjeung.com.
First, thank you for coming to this site. Today's podcast is a story written many years ago. This particular death was the only one that ever sent me home. When I walked into the office and learned that he had died, I had to leave. Join me now as I remember the impact one hospice patient had on my life 20 years ago. Even though I never met him, never spoke with anyone in his family and never knew what happened in their lives after his death, his funeral service changed the course of my work; ope...
When I was little I prayed that I would die before anyone I knew or loved because I was so sure I couldn’t bear the loss. I was sure that the enormity of the grief would swallow me whole or spit me out all chewed up, ugly and unlovable. I did not want to know that kind of pain. Then, someone I loved died. And I survived the pain, but grew just a tiny bit less naive. Still, I went on to think, “Okay, so I was lucky on that one. I still don’t want anyone else I know to die.” But they did. And I su...
Welcome to the culmination of a life. I am grateful for your presence and appreciate you being here. I had intended for this introduction video to give you both the back story as well as what you might expect to find here as time goes on. However, a work in progress is an unfolding that, until it reveals itself, cannot be explained. My biggest hope now is that these stories will be shared with those who might benefit. Please feel free to do that. Love, Sean Thank you for listening to Where the V...
