About Sean Jeung and Where The Veil Grows Thin
When this all began to take shape and someone would ask me who my target audience was, I would answer, “Everyone”. Anyone old enough to navigate the web and find it. Anyone who has ever lost a loved one. Anyone who has ever contemplated how their own death might come or what it might be like.
In 23 years of work as a hospital, hospice and palliative care chaplain I would often debrief about the day’s experiences through writing. I spent 23 years in the presence of sorrow, loss, suffering and joyful love. And I wrote about it. I still write about it even though I am no longer out in it on a daily basis.
Being with those doing the work of dying; being with those navigating grief when someone they love has died, has given me the rare privilege of an insider’s view to some of life’s most poignant and tender moments. Writing about it was, initially, simply my therapy; how I cared for myself.
My hope is that individuals and families in crisis over life-limiting illnesses, people wanting to better prepare for their own eventual death, and those experiencing grief will all find something in these stories that speaks directly to their heart.
Medical professionals might learn something about how their words fall, or fall short.
We can all do a better job of preparing ourselves and preparing those we love for the undeniable fact that we will all, one day, die. And in doing a better job of it, we will leave the world, and those who love us, a little less shattered
Some Very Necessary Special Thank Yous....
In addition to the above-mentioned individuals, the people who believed in my vision in other, more practical ways, deserve to be applauded as well.
Jadyne and David Buchholz were the first to say, “Hey, we don’t quite get what it is you’re up to but we believe in you and we want to help.” Thank you both. Always and in all ways.
Gary and Sandie Gardner did the same thing. They handed me a fistful of bills and said, “Go write that book!”
Cheryl Cain gave, even though she wasn’t entirely sure what she was supporting. She said if I was doing it, it was good. Bless you, Cheryl.
Mark and Jeanie Clark, once they heard about the project, jumped in with a contribution because they want to hear the stories. (And because they want the stories to continue.)
Kat Sing, dearly beloved soul sister and her partner Toni Grenko, also a dearly beloved soul sister, delivered on a promise to have my art scanned professionally so I could create blank note cards to market as a way to help offset further expenses of maintaining a website. They have helped me in ways they are unaware of; through their love and their faith in what I have to say as being important.
Allison and Art Daily furthered the mission of Pathfinders to ensure people in our Colorado valley have affordable access to grief support. Pathfinders has been instrumental in my life in recent years as a way for me to continue my work and has generously supported this project. A portion of any money raised through the sale of my art will go to reciprocating that support.
Emma Danciger, a friend in the valley for 30 years, came to my aid in two ways. She gave me the honor of recording her, for one of these podcasts, and also made a generous financial contribution to keep it going.
I have been encouraged over the years by many people to follow my dream but one person in particular has taken up residence beneath my wings to lift me up, always offering a strong hand to push me forward and loving arms to hold me when I crash. He stands in my shadow and whispers his love. He never once complained when I would leave in the middle of dinner or in the middle of the night to attend a death or respond to a call from the hospital. Those days, thankfully are behind us. Those torches have been passed. And now that this project has been born, he can have his wife back. I love you, my dear Gregory, completely and forever.
And finally, to my daughter Shelby, perhaps the only thing of true beauty I have ever had a hand in, I make dedication of this body of work to you.
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