In the latest episode of On the Marie Curie Couch, Jane Horrocks returns to speak to bereavement expert Jason Davidson for a second time.
This month, Jason is joined by British actress, singer and comedian, Jane Horrocks. Jane was originally a guest on this podcast back in April 2020, when she described the profound effect the death of her dad had on her and spoke honestly about her mum Barbara's devastating Alzheimer's diagnosis. In the three years since Jane and Jason last met, Barbara has died. In this episode, Jane returns to talk to Jason about her recent experiences of grief.
A deep connection
"The fact that she died within two hours of me arriving, I think she was saying to me, 'I am going to go soon and I would like you to be there, so come now.' It was a Saturday and I travelled out there, but I think she wanted me to be there. So, I'm so grateful for that, I feel so blessed that I was able to receive that calling and hear it and respond to it. To me, that just says what a deep connection me and my mum had, that even the distance, the geographic distance that we had between us, she was able to reach out to me and say, 'Travel now.'"
A sense of peace
"When I arrived at the care home, the carer said, 'Oh actually, she's deteriorated massively, even since this morning,' and they said, 'Prepare yourself for seeing her.' When I went into the room I thought I was going to be frightened, but I wasn't, because she was quite sedated but she had a real peaceful element to her. Her room was beautiful and there was just a sense of peace around the room."
Then she started to breathe slower and the intervals between each breath were longer and longer. Then she just took her last breath and, having never experienced death before, it was really reassuring because it was so peaceful and just utterly beautiful."
Listen now
Tap the link near the top of this page to listen to Jason's chat with Jane. Alternatively, listen to or download it via Acast, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you'd prefer, you can read a full transcript of the episode.
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Content note: discussion of death and grief with reference to themes/topics that might be triggering or upsetting.
