Journeying Through Loss

This week on Interfaith Voices:

Andy Chaleff: Pioneering The Last Letter Project

When Andy Chaleff was 18 years old, he experienced a loss so profound, it would change the trajectory of his life. At the time of that death, he was “basically already dead, emotionally gone.” But 30 years later, he’s started The Last Letter project, inspired by his own experience. He facilitates letter writing workshops for people to break down emotional barriers and share their true feelings with loved ones both living and dead.

Andy Chaleff, author and creator of The Last Letter

Elaine Pagels: A lifelong religion scholar asks, “Why religion?”

Elaine Pagels is a seasoned scholar of religion and author of the National Book Award winning The Gnostic Gospels. An expert in religion in an academic sense, she was forced to grapple with faith on a personal level when she unexpectedly lost her husband in an accident, just a year after their son died of a rare lung disease. She says experiencing guilt was a mask for avoiding her real feelings… total helplessness. During this time, she came to realize the importance of traditional religious rituals and spiritual practices: “these things have been useful for thousands of years and we still need them.”

Elaine Pagels, author of Why Religion?

Inspired Story Slam: “My exposure to religion came from attending funerals”

We close the show with a story from our live show, held last November. Audience members were invited to share stories on the theme of “One Family, Many Beliefs.” This was the last story of the evening, shared by Maryland resident James Burns.

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