So You’re Not Dead Yet: Lessons From Chemotherapy

There is a moment when the body becomes foreign, when the timeline of your life no longer extends indefinitely but narrows into an unpredictable horizon. In this episode, Tara sits down with Michael Nagel, a beloved member of the AOA community, to speak candidly about what it means to love and be loved in the face of his cancer diagnosis. They discuss: - The “psychedelic of mortality”—how the nearness of death transforms personal and social dynamics - Embracing the support of a community while wrestling with the vulnerability of needing help - The stark cost-benefit analysis of chemotherapy - The dual forces of grief and gratitude, and learning to hold both at once - Denial’s strange and necessary role in maintaining the will to live. - The radical act of saying yes to struggle, and what it means to want life even in its hardest moments Join us for a conversation that explores what it means to live when death is an ever-present companion.