Why are we here?
Amy Holtgreive Storey
I am here Talking to Death because two areas of my life that keep demanding my attention. As a writer, a reader and an extrovert, I am fascinated by how we use language to connect to ideas and one another. The experience of the losing family and friends highlights to me how inadequate our language seems to be when we’re talking about grief, tragedy, pain and suffering一especially someone else’s.
I’m the youngest of six children--four sisters and a brother. The sister closest to me in age, Nancy, was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor at 43 and died nearly two years later, in 2008. She left behind three teenage children and a heartbroken community of friends and family.
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Nancy was the first death I experienced, but not the last. I've lost friends to cancer, covid, and rare diseases. I watched my dad’s life come to a natural end at age 90. The youngest of my three children has had suicidal ideation. I have thoughts. And I’m grateful to be Talking to Death with my cousin Andy; he has a big heart and a thirst for learning and connection that delights and challenges me. And Ryan, who keeps us on track.
Few things made me happier than cracking up my sister, Nancy (left). Her smiles were given freely and her laugh was infectious. This was taken about 6 months before she was diagnosed with the glioblastoma that would take her life.
As one of 50 grandchildren on the Holtgreive side, getting one-on-one time with Grandma (Theresa Holtgreive), was a rare and special treat. She lived life with a lot of joy and a taste for Old Fashioneds. I don't recall the wisdom she was imparting to me here, but I was happy to have her to myself for a minute.
Andy Holtgreive
I believe we are Talking to Death from the moment we’re born. And most of us are doing our best not to listen to it. In fact, we spend a lot of time, energy—and often money—trying to silence anything that might remind us of our mortality. We fight, we resist, we deny, we die. I believe that choice has a rippling effect long after we’re gone.
So, I’m here to help reshape the conversation. I bring more than 22 years of experience helping people navigate different aspects of the healthcare system—including hospice. A system primarily focused on delaying death but not so much on helping people prepare for it. I also come here as a singer-songwriter, a storyteller with a deep need to connect with people and find the universal truths that bring us together and help us feel less alone.
Like Amy, I’m the youngest of a Midwestern Catholic family. I was raised on funerals. Mom provided food for the parish luncheons through the Marian Guild, and I was quick to pick an altar-serving gig to get me out of class and possibly pick up a couple extra bucks. With the largest population in the history of the world approaching end of life, I am eager to use my perspective from the church altar, the barroom stage, the healthcare system, my big family and as a member of the human race to create a conversation with death that prepares us all to leave this world a little more at peace.
Ryan Brown
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If you’ve listened to any of the episodes of Talking to Death, you’ve realized that somebody has to be the traffic cop when my cousin Amy and my Uncle Andy start talking. As the producer of this podcast, that’s my job. Amy and Uncle Andy asked me to join them on this journey into the podcast world because I have worked on podcasts throughout my professional life at NBC News’ political show Meet the Press and at The Dispatch—a media company based out of Washington, D.C. (which is where I live).
In many ways, I am the opposite of the two co-hosts of this podcast. While Amy and my Uncle Andy are both the youngest of their siblings, I am the oldest of three. They both are seasoned parents and have raised amazing kids, whereas my wife and I just became parents for the first time in 2023. And, frankly, I don’t have a great deal of experience with death. My dad’s mom (Grandma Brown) passed away in April of 2021—and that was the first grandparent of mine who died. I am blessed to still have both of my mom’s parents and my dad’s dad in my life.
So, I’m here to learn. And to rein in the conversation when it’s time to wrap up an episode (we’re calling that part of the podcast “Sudden Death”... get it?). I think death is one of the most underappreciated parts of life. Rather than thinking about it as a taboo subject that doesn’t deserve any attention while we are alive, it should be discussed openly and honestly with those you love the most… and hopefully as many listeners as possible!
I believe we are all called to default to love in every interaction of every moment of every day. For most of us that can be difficult, but, for my Grandma Brown, it was just who she was. We lost her to cancer in April 2021—but I'm pretty sure I'll see her again someday.