Nicci de Wet-du Toit

Sitting at the feet of masters

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Death in all forms has been a part of my life since I was a six-year old growing up in South Africa. Each death felt like something that was connected to me got lost or broke off. I was drawn to discussions about death and found it odd and irritating…
Christine Flagler

The gift of living with cancer

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Christine was first diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 39, and when it recurred at 42, her doctors told her she probably wouldn’t survive. Now, at 80, she’s lived with cancer for more than half her life. “When I didn’t die…
Lori Tupper

The tightrope

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Every morning, I wake up and walk the line to the bathroom (as most people do), but two years ago, when I was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer, the line became a tightrope. My balance became very important to me as the cancer…
David Talmor

An elephant-sized impact

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I could say that participating in the “Dying Without the Elephant” healing circle changed my life, but that would be an understatement. It changed my death, which turns out to have an even greater impact. I have what Robin Williams had:…
Polly Marshall with her dog Pumpkin and daughter Emilia

Preventing cancer while supporting those who have it

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I was diagnosed with invasive ductal breast cancer in 2009 at the age of 52, when both my children were teenagers. I had three surgeries, chemotherapy, and radiation while trying to maintain my career as an attorney at a small housing and community…
Exploring the cancer journey by Lisa Peacock

Finding My Tribe

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by Lisa Peacock I need to build my own support network. The young neighbors who walk our dog Maude The NHS volunteer who’s in a rock band drives me to and from the hospital in their van The friend who gives me beeswax lip…
Multiple hands

The benefits of persistence

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For Serita Winthrop, one of the best things about being a co-host for Healing Circles Global was that it gave her an opportunity to serve others from home. At 80, she struggled with the technology involved, especially Zoom, but she persisted.…
Stethoscope

In search of authenticity

Despite being born into a male-dominated environment, Charlie Pieterick wound up in a profession dominated by women. “I grew up in a flat above a tavern owned by my father,” Charlie says. “I was immersed in a very patriarchal culture,…
Ferry to Vashon Island

Lifting the veil and encountering Truth

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You wouldn’t think a 37-square-mile area inhabited by 11,055 people would feel like a small town, but Vashon Island does–especially for someone like Gail Labinski. During her decades as a teacher, she has watched many an islander grow up…
Young hands holding older hands

Caregiving for loved ones

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I began attending a healing circle while caregiving for my brother and sister-in-law. She was suffering from multiple chronic diseases all wrapped in quickly accelerating dementia, and my brother was exhausted from caregiving. He was experiencing…