PCSBV Community Summit HIGHLIGHTS & RESOURCES
Hope for the Best, Plan for the Rest, authored by Dr. Seow and Dr. Winemaker, is a new book featured and discussed at our Fall Community Summit.
“This book is about hope in the face of uncertainty. It's about how to live well, be fully informed, and be activated. How to feel more like a person, not a patient. But most of all, how to be hopeful and prepared at every step along the way.”
Dr. Kathryn Mannix and Leslie Machon
“ I was honoured to meet the woman who was a pivotal part of my creating and teaching death curriculum in Alberta classrooms. “ Infusing her talk with a dash of British humor and drawing upon her 30 years of experience in the palliative field to illuminate her points, Dr. Kathryn Mannix highlighted that death is a 'delicate' topic, rather than a 'difficult' one, a reframe that creates more space for engaging in these conversations. She discussed the concept of "ordinary dying" to alleviate the stigmas that arise from sensationalized portrayals of death in the media. Dr. Mannix explained that by gaining a genuine understanding of the physical process of a normal death, and by moving conversations about death from behind a doctor's door to open dialogues involving individuals, families, and communities, fears diminish, enabling individuals to create a supportive environment well in advance of someone's passing, where wishes and preferences can be better understood and respected. Dr. Mannix enabled her audience to imagine a future where community containment and systemic support were intricately interwoven into the way people experience and interact with death. Dr. Mannix’s presentation inspired me to cultivate deep space, within myself, and relationally too, for the inevitability of death, the confrontation with the unknown, and the most important conversations. She reminded everyone in the room to lay our avoidance to rest, to speak candidly about death with everyone around us, and to infuse dignity and beauty into the dying process —-preferably with a cup of tea in hand. I express my profound gratitude to PCSBV for affording me this invaluable opportunity to learn from Dr. Mannix and carry her teachings into my classroom, where I can better support our youth in exploring the complex topics of grief, loss, and death.
Thanks to the generosity of the authors, part of the proceeds go to PCSBV. If you would like to purchase copies, please call 403-707-7111 or email info@pcsbv.ca.
VIDEO RESOURCES
During our Community Summit, Dr. Mannix and Drs. Seow and Winemaker allowed us to film their public presentations.
IN CONVERSATION WITH DR. KATHRYN MANNIX
IN CONVERSATION WITH: DR. SAMMY WINEMAKER AND DR. HSIEN SEOW
Also, Theresa Radwell, CEO, speaks on the growth and future of the Palliative Care Society of the Bow Valley. The Future of PCSBV
- Leslie Machon, 7-12 Humanities Teacher
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