In the latest episode of On the Marie Curie Couch. bereavement expert Jason Davidson meets Stephanie Hirst.
Radio and TV broadcaster Stephanie Hirst has more than 30 years’ experience on the airwaves and is at the helm of The Stephanie Hirst Show on BBC Radio Leeds each weekday afternoon. In this episode of On the Marie Curie Couch, Stephanie sits down with Jason to talk about the death of her mum and caring for her father, who, at the time of recording, was gravely ill with terminal cancer.
Difficult conversations
“Mum turned to me and said, ‘I’m dying, aren’t I?' And at this point you either say, ‘No, it’s going to be OK, you’re going to be OK,’ or you can just be really honest. At this point the doctors had told her that it was incurable and all sorts of stuff like that. I think she was just asking me outright. I held her hand and I just said, ‘Yes, you are,’ and she said, ‘I know I am. I just needed to hear it from you.’”
Make recordings
“Record your parents. These days we’ve got smartphones and a lot more content is recorded than ever before, really, because of that. The day of my birthday that year, I sat on the bed with Mum and just asked her about my birth and how long she was in labour for.”
Listen now
Tap the link near the top of this page to listen to Stephanie’s chat with Jason. 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. Be sure to like and subscribe so you know when we’ve uploaded a new episode – there are more conversations coming soon.
Content note: discussion of death and grief with reference to themes/topics that might be triggering or upsetting.
