In the latest episode of On the Marie Curie Couch, Emma Samms sits down with bereavement expert Jason Davidson.
This month, Jason is joined by Emma Samms MBE. Emma is an actress and television host, best known for her roles in General Hospital and Dynasty. She co-founded Starlight, a national charity supporting children to experience the power of play to boost their wellbeing and resilience during illness. Emma is also a patron of Long Covid SOS. In this episode of the podcast, Emma talks to Jason about the death of her eight-year-old brother, Jamie, and how it changed the way she lived her life.
Content note: discussion of death and grief with reference to themes/topics that might be triggering or upsetting.
Not afraid
"I had a very significant bereavement when I was nine, which was my brother, Jamie. That changed the rest of my life, because it inspired me to start Starlight. It also made me not afraid of dying because I had this strong feeling that Jamie was not in pain and somehow he was OK. Not in a religious way, but he was at peace, not in pain. So, it made me not afraid of dying, which has been a real blessing as I've got older."
Creative ideas
"I organised the funeral for my father, which was complicated because he was quite a creative person... He owned an enormous eagle owl called Esmeralda and he wanted her at his funeral. He also owned a narrowboat on a canal and he wanted to be taken to the crematorium on it. Trying to convince the chaps from the funeral home that we had to carry this very heavy coffin onto a boat... But we did it, and we had a glorious canal journey with people throwing flowers from the banks."
Listen now
Tap the link near the top of this page to listen to Emma's chat with Jason. Alternatively, listen to or download it via Acast, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you'd prefer, you can read a full transcript of the episode.
Be sure to like and subscribe so you know when we’ve uploaded a new episode – there are more conversations coming soon.
If you need support with bereavement or grief, call the Marie Curie Support Line on 0800 090 2309 or visit mariecurie.org.uk/information.