Memoir As Medicine: Film And Literature From The Parent And Patient Perspective
Recorded: February 2023
Webinar Moderator:
Kris Kington-Barker – INELDA Director of Outreach & Care Provider Programs
Webinar Guest:
Diane Shader Smith – Mother and Advocate
Maryanne O’Hara – Author | UVM End-of-Life Doula
Will Battersy – Oscar-nominated Filmmaker
Recorded: February 2023
The recording of this webinar is available to Tier 2 & 3 members as part of their INELDA membership benefits.
Webinar Moderator:
Kris Kington-Barker – INELDA Director of Outreach & Care Provider Programs
Webinar Guest:
Diane Shader Smith – Parent, Advocate, and Writer
Maryanne O’Hara – Parent, Author, and UVM-trained Doula
Will Battersy – Oscar-nominated Filmmaker
Listen in to Memoir as Medicine: Film and Literature from the Parent and Patient Perspective where we welcomed parent, speaker, and advocate Diane Shader Smith; parent, author, and end-of-life doula Maryanne O’Hara; and filmmaker Will Battersby for a conversation on the film Salt in My Soul and the book Little Matches.
Both Diane’s daughter, Mallory and Maryanne’s daughter, Caitlin were diagnosed with cystic fibrosis as toddlers. The two strong, young women lived beautiful and active lives before dying from complications from the disease. Mallory left a collection of videos and journals that was posthumously turned into the book, as well as a powerful film directed by Will, Salt in My Soul. Caitlin’s letters, texts, and videos are woven into Maryanne’s book, Little Matches, A Memoir of Grief and Light.
Together we explored the lives of Caitlin and Mallory through writings, narratives, and film making. We will discuss cystic fibrosis, the grief associated with a child’s death, and the transformative nature of storytelling.
Follow this link to purchase the audio book and hardcopy of Little Matches. Follow this link to purchase a copy of the Salt in my Soul book and/or to purchase the film.
*Please note for those that received the free streaming link to access the Salt in My Soul film provided at registration, the link will be available to view until March 11th.
Speaker Bios:
Diane Shader Smith had a vibrant career as a writer, speaker, publicist, and fundraiser with an extensive roster of clients that included products, personalities, services, and celebrities during her long career.
In 2017, Diane’s daughter Mallory died at the age of 25. This would prove to be the inflection point in Diane’s life as her catastrophic loss would lead her on a new path, both unexpected and transformative. Along the way she would stumble into a field previously unknown to her: narrative medicine, which would guide her work moving forward.
Diane has now given more than 200 talks at hospitals, medical schools, and other prestigious venues. Her topics include Why Medicine Needs Memoir, 3 Perspectives, One Purpose: The Power of Storytelling to Improve Health Outcomes, Salt in My Soul: An Unfinished Life, Narrative Medicine: Adding to Our Collective Consciousness, Documentary in Healthcare. Amid profound grief she gave a TED talk.
Maryanne O’Hara is the author, most recently, of “Little Matches: A Memoir of Finding Light in the Dark,” published by HarperCollins. “Little Matches” is inspired by a blog that Maryanne kept while her daughter Caitlin was waiting for a lung transplant. Maryanne and Caitlin’s story has been featured in The New York Times, Time Magazine, The Boston Globe, Psychology Today, and People Magazine. She is also the author of “Cascade,” a novel, and numerous short stories. She holds an MFA in creative writing, has taught creative writing at the college level, and was a longtime editor at a literary journal.
After many years of volunteering with the sick, and following the death of her daughter, she trained as an end-of-life doula at the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine. Drawing on insights gleaned from a lifetime of caregiving, she lectures on topics including mortality, bereavement, and secular spirituality, to schools, hospitals, libraries, and general interest groups. Her presentations include “A Caregiver’s Insights on Medicine and Mortality,” 3 Perspectives, 1 Purpose: The Power of Storytelling to Improve Health Outcomes,” and “Meaning, Purpose, and the Power of Synchronicities.” She is also the developer of a successful legacy workshop.
Will Battersby is a partner at Reno Productions, a New York film, television and theater production company that owns and operates the Westside Theatre. He has been making documentaries and features for 15 years. His films have played at major international film festivals such as Toronto and SXSW and been released worldwide.
His credits include Trumbo, which won the National Board of Review Freedom of Speech award; SXSW cult animated favorite The Spine of Night starring Richard E Grant and Lucy Lawless; Stephen King’s A Good Marriage; Oscar-nominated documentary Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room; They Remain starring Will Jackson Harper.
Salt in My Soul, Will’s second documentary as director, was released worldwide in January 2022 to universal acclaim. His first, The Canal, will be released by Showtime which is currently adapting it into a series. Will is producing alongside Patricia Arquette, who will also direct.
The recording of this webinar is available to Tier 2 & 3 members as part of their INELDA membership benefits.
VIEW A RECORDING OF THIS WEBINAR [HERE]
