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Nelson hosts award-winning speaker with life-limiting illness

SickBoy podcast host speaks at The Civic Theatre Oct. 19
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Jeremie Saunders. Photo submitted

Submitted by the Kalein Centre

When the Kalein Centre’s Mike Stolte heard Jeremie Saunders at a conference a year ago, he was blown away.

“His no holds barred, ‘grab life by the balls and don’t let go’ attitude in the face of his own mortality seemed to put everything in my life into a new perspective,” said Stolte.

Saunders is an award-winning actor, producer, and host of popular Canadian media, including film, television, and podcasts based out of Halifax. When his parents told a young Saunders about his cystic fibrosis, a life-limiting disease, he embraced it as the greatest gift ever.

Today, he hosts the Sickboy podcast, unflinchingly, humorously, yet tenderly, braving to go into conversations most people seek to avoid, interviewing people about illness and their personal journeys. His podcast has spawned a CBC documentary about Saunders and a popular Tedx Talk entitled Embracing Your Own Expiry Date. He has even parlayed his success into a podcast with his partner, Bryde, on unconventional relationships.

Saunders’ talk at 5 p.m. at The Civic Theatre in Nelson on Saturday, Oct. 19 is entitled Opportunities for Growth in Dark Times: The Power of Storytelling. It will be followed by a Q&A. Tickets are available at CivicTheatre.ca.

Saunders will also be in Nelson to address doctors and community leaders in a forum about compassionate community, a concept where neighbours help neighbours, and the community seeks to ensure the elderly, frail and those approaching end of life are supported.

The Kalein Centre is hosting both events with financial support from the Kootenay Boundary Division of Family Practice.