What happens to a mother when her daughter dies? There are no easy answers to that question — and Danielle Crittenden doesn’t pretend there are. In this deeply personal episode of Exit Strategy, Danielle joins Stephanie Garry to talk about the death of her daughter and the complicated, unpredictable landscape of grief that followed. Drawing […]

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What if understanding where we come from can help us better understand who we are? In this episode of Exit Strategy, Stephanie Garry speaks with Rabbi Andrew Mandel, a passionate genealogist, about the power of uncovering our family stories—and the deeper connections those stories can reveal. Together, they explore what happens when we look beyond […]

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What if preparing for death could also be an act of love? In this deeply moving episode of Exit Strategy, Stephanie Garry speaks with filmmaker Ilana Trachtman and fiber artist Rachel Kantor, whose story is at the heart of the documentary Shroud. Rachel is making her mother’s burial shroud. For Rachel, a fiber artist accustomed […]

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What matters most when we are faced with illness, aging, loss, and the end of life? In this episode of Exit Strategy, Stephanie Garry speaks with Diane Button, author of What Matters Most, about the questions that often become clearer as we confront mortality — and why having these conversations before a crisis can make […]

The post What Matters Most: Diane Button on Living, Dying, and the Conversations We Need to Have appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.

On August 5, New York begins implementing one of the most significant changes to end-of-life care in its history. As the 13th state to authorize Medical Aid in Dying, New York now offers eligible terminally ill adults another option at the end of life—one rooted in personal autonomy, compassion, and carefully defined legal safeguards. In […]

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An Exit Strategy Conversation with Dr. Charlotte Grinberg What if thinking about death could help us live more fully? In this thought-provoking episode of Exit Strategy, Stephanie Garry welcomes Dr. Charlotte Grinberg, physician, writer, and advocate for bringing conversations about mortality into everyday life. Inspired by her widely shared essay in The Free Press, Dr. […]

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As more people seek environmentally conscious choices throughout their lives, many are also considering how those values can shape their final arrangements. In this episode of Exit Strategy, host Stephanie Garry sits down with Lily Sage Weinrieb, Funeral Director at Plaza Jewish Community Chapel and Green Burial Specialist, to explore the growing interest in green […]

The post Returning to the Earth: A Conversation on Green Burial with Lily Sage Weinrieb appeared first on Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.

Talking about death isn’t easy. Planning for it can feel even harder. Yet one of the most meaningful gifts we can leave our loved ones is clarity. In this episode of Exit Strategy, Stephanie Garry sits down with Plaza Jewish Community Chapel’s Certified Preplanning Consultant and Funeral Director, Anthony Caratozzolo, to discuss what funeral pre-planning […]

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