A Message from Anderson

Anderson checks in with an update about the podcast and invites listeners to call the All There Is voicemail. Visit the All There Is online grief community at cnn.com/allthereisonline Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Speaker 00

  Every day, animals across the country face abuse and neglect. And every day, the ASPCA shows up to rescue animals in crisis. But they can't do it alone. Visit aspc.org/need. Become a donor today to provide the care and shelter these animals urgently need. And for a limited time, the ASPCA will send you a free gift as a special thank you. Visit aspc.org/need.

• 0:33Anderson Cooper?

  Welcome to All There Is. I'm Anderson Cooper. This time of year can be hard for so many of us. It certainly is for me. I plan to have an all-new episode of the podcast this week, but I'm taking some time off with my kids, and I couldn't finish editing and writing it in time. I'm sorry. We're going to be taking a break for the next couple of weeks, and we'll be back in January with the last three episodes of this season. Starting today, we've reopened our voicemail box. It'll be up for the next two weeks. So if there's something you've learned in your grief that you think might be helpful for others, please give us a call and leave a voicemail. I listen to all the voicemails, and some of them might be used in a future episode of the podcast.

• 1:15Anderson Cooper?

  The number to call and leave a voicemail is 404-692-0452. If you want to catch up on episodes from this season, you can visit our online grief community at cnn.com/otherisonline. You can also hear some voicemails from podcast listeners about their own experiences with loss and grief, and you can type in comments of your own. I'll be checking in there over the next few weeks and leaving comments when I can. The podcast is going to return on January 7th with my guests Amy and David Sedaris.

• 1:47Speaker 02

  I cannot believe I lived through my mother's death. I can't believe it. In what way? Because I just thought I wouldn't be able to live without her.

• 1:56Speaker 03

  Just without her love.

• 1:58Speaker 02

  Without her love, yeah.

• 2:00Speaker 03

  I just adored her, just adored her. And when my mother died, I was like.

• 2:04Speaker 02

  He was mama's boy.

• 2:05Speaker 03

  I'm alone. I don't have anybody in my corner that way. And it happened really fast. She called and said she had cancer. And then three months later, she was dead. And I remember there was her chemo medication and stuff. And we were so mad at it. Do you know what I mean? And just throwing it into a trash can. And my father's pulling it out because he wants to get a refund. He wants to take it to the drugstore and get a refund on it.

• 2:33Speaker 03

  Wow.

• 2:37Speaker 02

  Now, wait a minute.

• 2:39Speaker 03

  I remember the priest came to the house and my mother had a jigsaw table on them. And so we were just throwing, oh, I see. You're finishing that in honor of your mother. And it's like, get out of it. Who let him in here? It was just so dumb. Like, why do you have to even ruin it by saying crap? Like, then we're gonna frame it. And then we're gonna... And we laughed so hard, like.

• 3:01Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 3:02Speaker 03

  We just laughed so hard.

• 3:03Speaker 02

  Because that's how we dealt with it.

• 3:05Anderson Cooper?

  That episode will be available January 7. I look forward to hearing your voicemails. The number again is 404-692-0452. Thanks for listening.