terminal illness

A Family's Personal Story About Dealing With Terminal Illness - New Half-Hour Documentary Airing On All Things Considered, March 27

Documentary Continues All Things Considered Commitment to Longform Programming

EDITORS NOTE: AUDIO REVIEW COPIES AVAILABLE

Washington, D.C. -- NPR afternoon newsmagazine All Things Considered will broadcast the audio diary of a 48-year-old Midwestern man in his final year of life and his wife's personal thoughts on how the illness affected their family in a new half-hour documentary on Monday, March 27. The special broadcast is the latest in a series of longform documentaries on All Things Considered that include investigative pieces, a recent town hall meeting and human interest stories.

Produced by Los Angeles based Mary Beth Kirchner, "A Year to Live, A Year to Die" follows the final year in the life of environmental consultant Stewart Selman, who died of a malignant brain tumor in 2004. After his diagnosis, Selman agreed to keep an audio diary of those last months to leave a record for his wife and their two children, ages 8 and 10, as well as for others going through similar crises. He gives voice to the emotions surrounding the discovery of the diagnosis; going into surgery; how his children reacted to his scars; the loss of his memory and language skills, and his thought about what might happen to his family after his death.

Selman's thoughts are interspersed with memories from his wife, Rebecca Peterson. She shares her sadness about not having a "glowing transcendental" final year with Selman but, instead, simply trying to survive as his illness and medications changed his personality. She recalls his increasing anger toward her and their children; his paranoia, loss of speech and movement, and her constant struggles to hold the family together. At one point, the changes in Selman become so extreme that Peterson tells her kids, "Your dad is not thinking right, and I want you to be careful around him... I want you to know this is not him. It's the brain tumor."

"What distinguishes this documentary is its unwavering honesty and candor," said Christopher Turpin, Executive Producer, All Things Considered. "By allowing us inside their family, the Selmans strip away the idealistic notions that often surround death and bring the listener into the difficult and very human process that surrounds it. Mary Beth Kirchner has done a masterful job."

"A Year to Live, A Year to Die" is the latest in a regular series of longform pieces airing on All Things Considered. In February, host Robert Siegel continued his ongoing examination of the residents of Honeysuckle Lane, New Orleans with a town hall meeting. Documentaries have also included investigations into the New Orleans levees and into the death of a detainee in a U.S. prison due to substandard medical care.

All Things Considered is NPR's signature afternoon news magazine and reaches nearly 11 million listeners weekly on 625 NPR Member stations across the country. It also can be heard in more than 100 countries through NPR Worldwide. To find local stations and broadcast times, visit www.NPR.org.

Funding for "A Year to Live, A Year to Die" was provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Mary Beth Kirchner is an independent producer and national programming consultant based in Los Angeles. With an extensive track record in public broadcasting, she has been honored with over fifty national and international awards, including a 1997 duPont-Columbia University Silver Baton, and three Gold Medals from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for her documentaries, radio dramas and music series selected as public radio's best cultural programming of the year.

abc

As I walk down the road there he stands.Back aginst his truck.Coda looking perfect.Describing him would take a life time.Exactally what took you so long ask me?Fixing your hair again?Gosh babe I reply "how did you know"?He did this lilttle smirk as he wraped his arms around me;he wispered in my ear "babe I missed you"!I looked up into his eyes a pretty coper brown,the sunlight hit them so perfectly;and said "I missed you too".Just as my words came out he kissed me;this wasnt any kiss it was so perfect like the ones you see in the movies;then we stoped kissing,he let go of me;he walked me to the other side of the truck,opened the door for me and then we took off!Knox city her we come!Let me tell you why we were going to knoxs city;well you see his ex that he went out with for 2 and a half years cheated on him,he new about most of the guys,but just the other day he found out there were more;I got upset and were coming up here so I can well..you know!More and more thoughts went thew my head as we got closer and closer!Near the end of my thoughts I heard!Open the door door babe!Please!Quite a dream I just had;I guess I had fallen asleep in codas pickup;we were at the stock show and I got bored,and came to the pickup, I guess I fell asleep!Right as I went to open the door I opened it to fast!So then I saw coda looking all suprised!Thank god I caught the door!Unusally there was a little cow just standing there!Verry akward coda said.What are you doing out here sleeping;I thought you would come back!Xward his dog was barking at the cow in the back ground.Yeah I was but I guess I fell asleep im sorry babe.Zenon codas friend walked up and said "dude come on,your coming up to show your chickens;so I got out in went with them,coda ended up winning,that was a verry long day.

fake/haters

I hate fake people!Thats all thus school is full of.For real though people love to run there mouth and talk stuff when you walk by,but there is not one of them that will come up to your face and say it!That just gets on my nerves so bad!Oh in the ones that do try to run there mouth they wont say nothing when there alone!Just when they are around there friends.They sure do think the the you know what too just because you wont say nothing.See i am the type of person that waits for them to say it to your face.But there has not been one person do that to me in the hole school!So yeah I guess I have alot of haters!I think its funny they be thinking they make me mad,they got it twisted if they think that all I do is laugh foreal.If they was something they would come up to you.In if they didnt like you they would just tell you stright up in not try to be making a sene when they around there friends.Oh well just goes to prove that the majority of people are fake.Well me I really dont say nething bout no body.You can sit there be like yeah whatever!If i had something to say id go up to you,but if you play thos games with me where you run your mouth about me i could do the same but that wouldnt make me eny better than you would it??ha didnt think so!So yeah people need to take time in relize what im saying!The next time you wanna hate on me go ahead.I aint one to do anything till you come up to my face!!!Im the one that keeps my mouth shut in ignores it.So to any one thats one of my haters just come up to me.Ight peace.

its a dogs world

Hi my name is bell.Im only 3 months old.My best friend is santana shes a cat.Akward I know me and her fight like brother and sister.We run around the house my owners samantha, maria and larry get verry angry at me and santana. They dont realize where just having fun.I got upset the other day because samantha was talking about getting a husky. I really dont know what it is but it sounds verry scarry.I hope its not another dog I dont want someother pet coming in to the household trying to take my spot!I love the attion I get.I just dont understand why santana gets her own bathroom area in the house and why I have to go outside in the cold!Sometimes when there not watching I pee and the floor,but they always seem to find me and know that I did it.They I have to go outside in the frezzing weather!They expect me to do my bussiuss in that weather.Its verry hard to at night because we live out in the country and there are alot of weird sounds.It scares me.I usally just do what I have to and ruin in jump up on the pourch.Im fianly growing so hopefully I can jump on the couch here pretty soon.Its no fair santana can.I get mad at her beacuse we willl be playing then she will cheat in run in jump on somehing where i cant reach her.I just sit in wait till she comes down. She seams to sneak up on me alot,it scares me.Her claws hurt expecially when she gets me and the eye and when she bits my ear,but i have to play tuff.My first outfit my owners brought me was camo.I hate wearing that thing im glad im getting biger so they have to buy me somemore.Oh and when I get in troble larry uses this deap voice and sends me to my spot to lay down.The cat likes to tease me she will walk back in forth knowing it will pester me.I think it goes both ways she gets sprayed when shes being bad.I love watching movie nights I get all curled up in my little spot on the couch and relax with santana.Then they cook this thing called popcorn it smells so good.I just dont understand why they wont let me have any.I tell santana to try after I do.She gets into troble to.Yesterdy she ran out she was having one of them crazy hyper days and there she goese when I come inside from doing my stuff.Zoom she runs past me!Maria dont care to let her in.I guess santana has been inside for long enough.I get to play with her when I go outside.Yes now I get all the attion!Today samantha comes back home.Shes always nice to me shes my favroit!I have to go take my nap.So ill talk to you later.Bye