Episodes

Forgiveness is a powerful tool to preserve our emotional and physical selves, and also to redefine our relationships not only with the living … but also the dead. Gayle Kirschenbaum is a creative whose journey through a treacherous relationship with her mother brought her to an intentional place of forgiveness and peace. As a filmmaker, book author, photographer, social media influencer — and forgiveness coach — she reveals her own path, inspiring others to embrace forgiveness as an act of self...

Grief often leads us into unmarked emotional territory. Navigating it mindfully can ensure a journey of perspective, growth and healing. After the death of her mother, Barri Leiner Grant committed herself to learning about the grief process and to educating others about it. She is a certified grief coach, and the Founder and Chief Grief Officer of The Memory Circle, elevating this realm of conversation and support. Along with Exit Strategy Host Stephanie Garry, Barri discusses her own path and...

In her recently published book — Breath Taking: A Memoir of Family, Dreams, and Broken Genes — author Jessica Fein writes with eloquence, passion and universality about grief and joy … and the search for balance through the illness of her daughter, Dalia, and the everlasting aftermath of her loss, and life. In conversation with Exit Strategy Host Stephanie Garry, Jessica discusses this continuing, shifting balance within the context of love, resilience, and self-discovery. In partnership with ...

When his son Nadav died at the age of five, James G. Robinson was propelled into a journey of grief and a search for meaning that over time deepened his identity as a parent, his relationship to Jewish thought and tradition, and his view of the world he walks through every day. In conversation with Exit Strategy Host Stephanie Garry, James talks about this continuing and shifting process, and his 2023 book — More Than We Expected: Five Years with a Remarkable Child. In partnership with the Jew...

A grounded perspective on mortality and loss can be powerfully life affirming — among the themes in Sprinkle Glitter on My Grave, a 2016 book by popular author, actor, humorist and consummate New Yorker, Jill Kargman. Exit Strategy Host Stephanie Garry speaks with Jill about how the realities of end-of life shape her lens on the world … and how she walks through it with intention, curiosity, and humor. More about Jill Kargman: www.jillkargman.com Sprinkle Glitter on My Grave (book): www.amazo...

Obituary writing is an art, capturing not only the facts of a life, but also an individual’s singular essence and legacy. So how do we ensure an obituary is well informed and properly nuanced? Should we consider writing our own … even as a form of self-reflection and examination? Andrew Silow-Carroll — editor-at-large at New York Jewish Week and managing editor for ideas at the Jewish Telegraphic Agency — is an avid reader and writer of obituaries. He shares his observations of this form of rem...

When Plaza Jewish Community Chapel opened in 2001, it immediately began to elevate conversations on end-of-life issues and practices, and to create partnerships strengthening the fabric of Jewish life and observance in New York City and beyond. In this special anniversary episode, Exit Strategy Host Stephanie Garry speaks with B’nai Jeshurun Senior Rabbi and Rosh Kehillah Roly Matalon — a founding and current Plaza board member — about the path to 25 … and Plaza’s unique, growing and dynamic im...

As a young boy during WWII, Sami Steigmann spent three years in a Nazi labor camp at Mogilev-Podolsky, in the Transnistria region of Ukraine. Now living in New York, he devotes himself to telling his story and sharing his practice of resilience — and embrace of life. Marking Yom HaShoah — Holocaust Remembrance Day — Exit Strategy Host Stephanie Garry speaks with Sami about his gripping life journey not only as piercing history, but also as a remarkable model of perspective and legacy. This epi...

For those raised outside of the Jewish faith, learning about Jewish traditions — including those surrounding end-of-life — is key to nourishing interfaith relationships, and also to advancing the conversion process. Fifteen years ago, Rabbi Lisa Rubin joined Central Synagogue in New York City and established the Center for Exploring Judaism, a structured space for such journeys. The Center partners with Plaza Jewish Community Chapel to deepen end-of-life conversations for participants. Rabbi R...

Plaza Jewish Community Chapel opened in 2021 with a nonprofit model elevating dignity, affordability, and education on end-of-life issues, and over a quarter century has become rooted in New York City and beyond as a dynamic mainstay of Jewish communal life and service. In this special episode — as Plaza moves towards its 25th anniversary — Exit Strategy Host Stephanie Garry speaks with Plaza’s Founding Board Chair Alfred Engelberg, an instrumental force bringing the vision of Plaza to reality ...

Telling our stories — and listening to those of others — connects us through common journeys, often difficult ones, grief included. In a new, bestselling anthology about the Jewish experience post-October 7 — On Being Jewish Now: Reflections from Authors and Advocates — Zibby Owens, a prominent author, publisher and podcaster, brings together diverse voices from the arts sharing perspectives and finding grounding. Zibby speaks with Exit Strategy Host Stephanie Garry about the genesis for the b...

In Pacific Palisades, in the midst of the overwhelming destruction and grief wrought by the January infernos, Kehillat Israel (KI) stands and endures as a symbol and beacon of hope and renewal. Rabbi Daniel Sher — who lost his home along with hundreds of other KI congregants — speaks just weeks after the fires with Exit Strategy Host Stephanie Garry about individual and collective loss and grief … and the way toward personal and community healing and resilience inherent to Jewish faith and tradi...

Living through or witnessing devastation and loss — such as that caused by fires in Los Angeles, or war in Israel — generates levels of stress, trauma and grief. Embracing and practicing hope and resilience is critical for our emotional and physical health, says Dr. Eva Selhub — a prominent expert and writer on human resiliency and spirituality. She speaks with Exit Strategy Host Stephanie Garry on how we can face down and grow from such life events. More about Dr. Eva Selhub: www.drselhub.com...

End-of-life conversations and practices are increasingly emergent in the Jewish community, as communal entities bring attention to the value and beauty of deeply rooted Jewish thought and tradition surrounding death. Kavod v’Nichum (Hebrew for “Honor and Comfort”) is creating and empowering Chevra Kadisha — sacred communities that care for the deceased and comfort the living. Sarit Wishnevski — Executive Director of Kavod v’Nichum — speaks with Stephanie Garry — Exit Strategy Host and Executive...

In his new and widely acclaimed book — “For Such a Time as This: On Being Jewish Today” — Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove of Park Avenue Synagogue in NYC uses Jewish history and storytelling to frame the challenges facing the Jewish community post-Oct 7 … the individual and collective grief and sense of isolation … and also the imperative and opportunities to embrace and practice courage, resilience and hope. Rabbi Cosgrove, a leading voice in modern Judaism, speaks with Exit Strategy Host Stephanie Garr...

A year after October 7, we are individually and collectively seeking a marker to frame our grief and our trauma, but is that even possible? “The difficulty of commemorating October 7 is that we’re still in the middle of it … you can’t look back with a sense of completion,” says Rabbi Donald Goor, Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Judea in Tarzana, California. In this special episode, Rabbi Goor speaks from his home in Tel Aviv with Exit Strategy Host Stephanie Garry about the importance of hope and resi...

Monuments are the types of memorials — headstones, footstones, markers and more — we place at a loved one’s final resting place, and honor a life. So what are our choices? How creative can we be with design? When should we start to think about a monument, and what about maintaining it over time? Adam Sprung, President of Sprung Monuments … and Gregory Katz, LFD, Senior Funeral Director and Director of Communal Partnerships at Plaza Jewish Community Chapel … speak with Exit Strategy Host Stephan...

Can universal principles of spirituality join with classic psychotherapy and other modes of western medicine to help us navigate our journeys and their challenges? Anna Yusim, MD, a Stanford and Yale educated and board certified psychiatrist and executive coach, has moved the holistic approach forward in practice and in myriad writings, including her recent book, Fulfilled: How the Science of Spirituality Can Help You Live a Happier, More Meaningful Life. Dr. Yusim speaks with Exit Strategy Host...

Jewish not-for-profit funeral chapels are making impact not only as service providers, but also as educators, conveners and community builders in an evolving Jewish landscape. Plaza Jewish Community Chapel in New York City and Sinai Memorial Chapel in San Francisco are leaders of this unique and impactful model — here discussed by Stephanie Garry, Exit Strategy Host and Executive VP of Communal Partnerships at Plaza; Liz Orlin, Executive Director at Sinai; and Sam Salkin, Executive Director Emer...

Tony Award winning actor Miriam Silverman lost her mother, Anita, during a pre-Broadway run of the hit play The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window just last year. Her father’s insistence that she stay committed to the play — along with her love for her craft — propelled her forward in a role, on a stage, and with a creative community that quickly and reliably anchored her during her most personal journey through intense loss and grief. Miriam joins Exit Strategy Host Stephanie Garry to talk about ...

A current off-Broadway production, October 7: In Their Own Words, dramatizes the verbatim testimonies of Israelis from that and following days, revealing raw expressions and interpretations of trauma and grief … and also resilience. Director Geoffrey Cantor joins Exit Strategy Host Stephanie Garry to discuss this groundbreaking, original play … and how live theatre provides us a space to process loss, both individually and collectively. Production/Theatre/Ticket Info— October 7: In Their Own W...

Come Memorial Day, we will honor US military personnel who died while serving … and be mindful of our veterans and those among them we’ve lost. Edward Yarmus — a licensed funeral director at Plaza Jewish Community Chapel — is a US Air Force veteran himself. He speaks with Exit Strategy Host Stephanie Garry about his service and what vets and their families should know about making end-of-life arrangements. More about Edward Yarmus, LFD https://www.plazajewishcommunitychapel.org/professional-le...

She spends her professional life elevating conversations about death and loss — including as host of this podcast series. But when her own mother — Eileen — died in February, Stephanie Garry was thrust into the journey of mourning and grief herself, gaining new and greater perspective through the lens of her own family. In this special episode of Exit Strategy, Stephanie gives her host microphone to Rabbi Angela Buchdahl of Central Synagogue in New York. Together, they reveal the truisms of Jew...

In January, New England and national radio and podcast personality Jordan Rich went public with his recent diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease — modeling for us how uncertainty and grief surrounding a medical diagnosis can evolve into a purposeful, expansive and uplifting resilience. Jordan speaks about his journey with Exit Strategy Host Stephanie Garry as we mark Parkinson’s Awareness Month, and display a red tulip to support all affected and strive for improved treatments and a cure. Jordan hos...