Swimming With Maya
June 24, 2015
Hosted by Cheryl Jones
[Download MP3] [itunes] [Bookmark Episode]
Guest Information
Episode Description
For many parents, the fear of losing a child is more vivd than losing their own lives. We can't imagine surviving it. And yet, parents do lose their children, to illness or accident, and are left to find a way back to their lives. Eleanor Vincent's 19 year old, Maya, died in an accident just as her life was unfolding, leaving Eleanor unsure if she wanted to go on at all. How did she find her way back to a life of meaning and beauty, bringing healing not only to the loss, but to other painful aspects of her life as well? In her honest and raw book, she shares her own road to a life without her daughter. Playing a part in the return to living was her decision, made from the depth of her, to donate Maya's organs. How did that help her, and also challenge her? As we talk about the loss and what came from her grief, we also gain a new perspective on what organ donation can mean, both to the recipient and also to the family that gives them the gift of life.
Good Grief with Cheryl Jones
Wednesday at 2 PM Pacific Time on VoiceAmerica Health and Wellness Channel
On Good Grief we explore the losses that define our lives. Each week, we talk
with people who have transformed themselves through the profound act of
grieving. Why settle for surviving? Say yes to the many experiences that embody
loss! Grief can teach you where your strengths are, and ignite your courage. It
can heighten your awareness of what is important to you and help you let go of
what is not.
On Good Grief, we are inspired by people who have made something miraculous
out of their deepest heartaches! We listen as they share how they have walked
through their own exquisite pain and what they have gained as a result. We
come away ready to follow our own dreams to a deeper, more meaningful time
on this beautiful earth! Listen for Good Grief, broadcast live every Wednesday at
2 PM Pacific Time on the VoiceAmerica Health and Wellness Channel.
Cheryl Jones
Cheryl Jones is a grief counselor. During her education as a Marriage and Family
Therapist, her first wife was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, which was at the
time a uniformly terminal illness with a six month to one year prognosis. In the
eight years that followed, Cheryl engaged daily in the work of preparing for her
death. She received training during this period from Stephen and Ondrea Levine
(Who Dies and Grieving Into Life and Death) and Richard Olney (founder of Self-Acceptance Training). After her wife’s death, Cheryl immersed herself in her own multifaceted grief, surprised by frequent moments of joy.
Cheryl is a consultant and group leader at the Free Therapy Program of the Women’s Cancer Resource Center. She has trained extensively with Erving Polster, leader in the field of gestalt therapy and author of Everybody’s Life is
worth a Novel. She was Clinical Director at the Alternative Family Project, which served the therapeutic needs of LGBTQ families in San Francisco. She also wrote a column called Motherlines for the San Francisco Bay Times and ran Considering Parenthood groups for the LGBT community.
Before becoming a therapist, Cheryl enjoyed careers as a musician, a restaurant owner and a carpenter. She still enjoys singing with the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, eating food in outstanding Bay Area locations and remodeling her Craftsman. She lives with her wife in Oakland, California and especially savors
time with her family and friends.
