Episode Date December 6, 2022
Featured Guest Kathryn Mannix
Featured Book "Gratitude" by Oliver Sacks

Episode Summary

Kathryn Mannix reading from Oliver Sacks’ Gratitude, and discussing the satisfaction of helping others.

Recommend this show by sharing the link: pod.link/2Pages

What makes you uncomfortable? And, how do you hold yourself when you’re in that space? Some years ago, I noticed that a pair of leather shoes I was wearing was badly creased across the top of the right shoe. A friend of mine pointed out the problem – when I get nervous in a group, I sit on the edge of my seat and jiggle my right leg. When I do this, I’m on my toes, and I crease the leather, damaging the shoe. If being in a group makes me nervous, what’s it like to sit with death?

Dr. Kathryn Mannix is a woman who has spent her life being in the presence of death. Not only that, but doing it with grace, tenderness, humor, and kindness.

Kathryn reads two pages from ‘Gratitude’ by Oliver Sacks. [reading begins at 17:45]

Hear us discuss:

  • “The most important skill at the bedside of dying people is knowing how to be.” [10:30]
  • The preciousness of being alive. [22:56]
  • The importance of listening in living an essential life: “I’ve got nothing, but I’m here.” [25:44]
  • What a tender conversation calls for. [29:23]
  • “Stories are the way we understand everything.” [33:16]
  • The lost value of silence. [42:46]

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Resources:

Kathryn Mannix | Twitter | Instagram | With The End In Mind | Listen

Oliver Sacks | Gratitude

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Michael Bungay Stanier

Michael Bungay Stanier

I'm the author of five books that have collectively sold more than a million copies. I'm the founder of Box of Crayons, a learning and development company that helps organizations move from advice-driven to curiosity-led. I'm the host of the *2 Pages with MBS* podcast.

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