Disrupting Death
Conversations about Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada
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About the Podcast
Disrupting Death: conversations about Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada. Hosts, Kathy Kortes-Miller and Keri-Lyn Durant lead with curiosity as they interview a wide range of guests who know M.A.i.D intimately.
About the Research Project
This podcast is funded through a 5 year Insight Grant: Disrupting Death; An examination of Canadian experiences with medical assistance in dying (MAiD) from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). Our research team is grateful for this funding and excited to use this podcast to have important conversations about MAiD and end-of-life. The goal of this research is to provide insight and contribute to improving the implementation of accessible, person-centered MAiD for Canadians and alongside the following objectives:
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Acquire a deeper understanding of the experiences of Canadians who are intimately impacted by MAiD including 3 different groups of Canadians most intimately involved with MAiD, those who request it (individuals), those who accompany them (informal caregivers; friends and family) and those who provide the intervention (health care providers)
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Increase understanding about the questions, concerns, and desires that Canadian have about MAiD and other aspects of end-of-life care through interviews and focus groups;
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Use a community engagement process to increase the information Canadians have about MAiD using digital stories and a podcast.
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Expand upon a multi-year research program informed by people who have bee impacted by MAiD that will directly address identified knowledge, system and policy gaps; to develop a research relationship with community partners and community members as a basis for future collaboration.
Episodes
Friday Feb 24, 2023
Friday Feb 24, 2023
In this first episode of Disrupting Death, Kathy and Keri-Lyn have a conversation with Sandra Martin about the history of M.A.i.D in Canada, stories of early M.A.i.D advocates, the importance of leading with an open heart, writing your own obituary, the power of narratives and much more.
Trigger warning: Themes of death, dying and suicide
As a journalist for The Globe and Mail, Sandra Martin was known for her books and arts coverage and her perceptive, deeply researched and vividly written obituaries. Sandra Martin is the author of the critically acclaimed national bestseller, A Good Death: Making the Most of Our Final Choices. Winner of the B.C. National Non-Fiction Award and a finalist for both the Dafoe Prize and the Donner Prize in Public Policy, A Good Death was named one of the best books of 2016 by The Globe and Mail, the CBC and several other media outlets. Margaret Atwood has called A Good Death “a timely and deeply felt account of assisted dying: the histories, the issues” and included it on her list of best books about death and dying. A Good Death was published in a revised paperback edition in 2017 with a new chapter on Bill C-14, Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying law (MAID).
For more information about Sandra Martin, check out her website! http://www.sandramartinwrites.com/
Links to items mentioned in this episode:
Sandra’s Martin’s book: A Good Death:
https://www.amazon.ca/Good-Death-Making-Final-Choices/dp/1443435961
Pierre Berton’s Obituary: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/a-voice-of-canada-is-gone-as-pierre-berton-dies-at-84/article18278395/
On Kim Teske’s Death: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/kims-choice-how-one-family-confronts-a-genetic-time-bomb/article19657030/
On John Hofsess:
https://reviewcanada.ca/magazine/2022/04/death-of-an-author/
“By The Time You Read This I’ll Be Dead” by John Hofsess:
https://torontolife.com/life/john-hofsess-assisted-suicide/
Atul Gwande’s Book: Being Mortal:
https://www.amazon.ca/Being-Mortal-Medicine-What-Matters/dp/0805095152
Music for Disrupting Death was created by the ever lovely Sarah McInnis. Sarah is a music therapist, a songwriter, a multi-instrumentalist and End-of-Life Doula. In 2021, Sarah began The Legacy Song Project, writing original songs for folks at the end-of-life, and for folks who have lost loved ones. To learn more about Sarah, visit her website https://sarahmcinnis.com
This episode of Disrupting Death was edited by Sadie Mallon.
Friday Feb 10, 2023
Friday Feb 10, 2023
Disrupting Death: Conversations about Medical
Meet our hosts, Kathy Kortes-Miller and Keri-Lyn Durant!
A new episode of Disrupting Death will be released every 3rd Friday of every month. Email us at disruptingdeathmaid@gmail.com to subscribe to receive notifications each time a new episode is released. Visit our website for more information about the project: https://www.disruptingdeath.ca/
Music for Disrupting Death was created by the ever lovely Sarah McInnis. Sarah is a music therapist, a songwriter, a multi-instrumentalist and End-of-Life Doula. In 2021, Sarah began The Legacy Song Project, writing original songs for folks at the end-of-life, and for folks who have lost loved ones. To learn more about Sarah, visit her website https://sarahmcinnis.com