Letting Go: The Afternoon My Mother Said It Was Time

Have you ever wondered what you would say if someone you love told you they were ready to go? Most of us put that conversation off, and it waits for us anyway. Oliver spent about twenty years far from Switzerland, in Japan, the UK and Australia. He came home for one year, and stayed when his father's health began to decline. He and his mother grew closer than they had ever been. Then one afternoon, over a cup of tea, she told him it was time. He had known for years, and in that moment it felt real for the first time. He said yes, and he walked beside her through a chosen, conscious ending. This is a warm and honest conversation about love, letting go, and a mother and son finally getting to know each other. There are tears, gratitude, and a surprising amount of lightness. If death is something you are afraid to talk about, I hope this feels like a gentle place to begin. **What You'll Hear** - Why Oliver left Switzerland and what finally brought him home - Twenty years of keeping his mother at arm's length, and the hug that ended it - The afternoon over tea when she said it was time - What it means to complete a life rather than end it - The small layers of letting go, from skiing to her favorite soup - Why the conversations before the end can free everyone in the room **Guest Bio** Oliver Christen grew up in a small Swiss town. After graduating from business school and completing his service as an officer, he left Switzerland to expand his horizons and see the world. Over the next two decades, Oliver travelled extensively, experienced different cultures, built businesses across four continents, and immersed himself in meditative practice. For several years, he performed with a spiritual theatre company at renowned festivals across Asia and Europe. Eventually, he returned to Switzerland as a dual Swiss/Australian citizen to be closer to his parents, bringing with him his international family. With no prior experience in assisted dying, he relied on intuition, presence, and a handful of careful conversations and research to support and witness his mother's intentional end of life. Friends deeply moved by his mother's final journey encouraged Oliver to write As She Chose. Today, Oliver lives near Zürich. As She Chose is his first book, available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Goodreads. Website: www.choosingtogo.com Social: @oliverchristen Listen and follow: https://www.thelifeshiftpodcast.com/follow/?utm\source=podcast&utm\medium=shownotes&utm\_campaign=ep295 Subscribe to the newsletter: https://thelifeshiftpodcast.beehiiv.com/ **You Might Also Like:** - Grief: Making Something Beautiful From What Broke - The Complexity of Grief After Losing a Brother in Childhood supporting a dying parent, end of life conversations, letting go, grief and acceptance, mother and son, conscious dying, living will, peaceful death, fear of death, family caregiving Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices