How Death Informs How We Live with Julie McFadden

[upbeat music] Okay.

Welcome to Messy, Julie.

I just have to say before we begin, I think a lot of people hear the words hospice nurse and immediately think, "Oh, this is gonna be a really sad conversation." But everything that I've read about you and from you and everything that you talk about, it almost feels the opposite because you talk about death in a way, I don't know, that somehow makes people feel more alive, and it's really beautiful.

Thank you.

That's the greatest compliment.

That's what I hope for.

I hate telling people that I'm a hospice nurse 'cause every single time, no matter what, they always go, "Oh.

Oh."

Right.

Or like, "I'm so sorry," or, "You're such an angel," which is even more awkward.

[laughs]

But that's true.

I, I-

That's how...

That is true

...

I am far from an angel.

But yeah, I want to change the way we look at death and dying by helping people understand that, like, it c- can still be sad, but it doesn't have to be this, like, horrific, awful topic that has to be sad.

It can be sad and so many other things.

That's right.

Yeah.

So you spent years working in the ICU, where you saw a lot of death, and eventually you moved into hospice and palliative care.

So what happened to m- make you make that transition?

Being an ICU nurse was incredible.

I'm so grateful I did it because it really helped me see the other side of things, right? Us trying to keep people alive at all costs.