We all know the saying life is short; it really is!
Today I honor my friend and first podcast guest, Janet.
Janet was very anxious about being a guest on the podcast, and in true Janet’s style, she was so humble, authentic, and full of grace and hope. At the end of the recording, she said, “that was kind of fun”!!
Whenever I spoke with Janet and shared that someone had mentioned how much her episode meant to them, she seemed genuinely surprised.
I am so grateful that Janet’s story will be out there forever in the podcast archives for anyone to find.
Please revisit her episode or treat yourself and find it for the first time in honor of Janet.
Janet lived her recovery out loud in every aspect of her life.
As a Family Addiction Specialist, I help family members develop healthier strategies to cope with the storm the disease of addiction creates within and around them.
If this is you or someone you know, please reach out for help.
Go to https://embracefamilyrecovery.com/work-with-margaret/
See full transcript of episode below.
00:01
You’re listening to the Embrace Family Recovery Podcast, a place for real conversations with people who love someone with the disease of addiction. Now here is your host, Margaret Swift Thompson.
Margaret 00:34
Welcome back, today is a sad day for me, because I need to acknowledge my first guest, Janet. For those of you who’ve been listening along this journey of the podcast, you will remember Janet who was my first guest. She was a person who lived her recovery out loud, on every aspect of her life. She was a friend. She was a teacher, and she was one of the most joyful people I’ve ever known.
As she shared when she visited with us on the podcast, she had terminal brain cancer. And unfortunately, on September 3, 2021, Janet passed.
I want to share a little bit from her obituary, which was so beautiful and represented her so well. Janet was very involved with the Al-Anon family program, and shared her story with many others, undoubtedly helping many families dealing with addiction. Janet was a friend to many, and her laughter was contagious. She was filled with grace and compassion and loved life.
On Saturday, we celebrated her life. Here in Wisconsin, in November, it’s chilly. But on Saturday, November 6, at Janet’s celebration of life, the sun was shining, there was a gentle breeze, and the temperatures were absolutely beautiful. It felt like a fitting day for such a warm and wonderful woman. There were many wonderful things shared family and friends surrounding a woman who had lived her life fully, despite having experienced such tragedy, and loss of her firstborn son. And then the journey of loving her son, who had a disease of addiction.
I want to invite you to honor Janet and learn from her and either revisit the episodes with Janet, if you’ve not heard them, go and hear them for the first time.
As you look on my website,
embrace family recovery.com
And you go to the podcast section, you can listen to any of the episodes, and Janet’s were Episode One, and two. You can also find these episodes on any of your favorite streaming podcast platforms. Janet was at peace. She knew her time was coming. And she had a faith and peace about her through the journey that was hard to comprehend, from the outside looking in. I remember sharing in our podcast how I had felt angry when I heard about her diagnosis, and it was coming from a selfish place. I didn’t want Janet to pass. I wanted to see her at meetings and learn from her more and hear from her and her wisdom and experience.
What I am so grateful for is that she was gracious enough to share her story on this podcast so that I always have a chance to hear her voice. Hear her giggle. Hear her stories and learn and be reminded of all she taught in her own experience.
That’s one of the beautiful things about Al-Anon and 12 step recovery. No one’s the expert. We all walk a path learning from one another, to have the best possible way of navigating life on life’s terms. In ending this short episode, I want to share A passage that was written on the celebration of life flyer for Janet.
Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some people move our souls to dance. They awaken us to new understanding with the passing whisper of their wisdom. Some people make the sky more beautiful to gaze upon. They stay in our lives for a while, leave footprints on our hearts and we are never ever the same. This passage was written by Flavia Weeden.
Janet, I picture you holding your son and I will never forget your warm smile. Your generous spirit and the unconditional love and regard you showed everyone you came into contact with. Rest in peace, my friend. Rest in peace.
06:15
The Embrace Family Recovery Podcast
