THE COUCH OF TRUTH: Episode Three “Grief: And It’s Going To Hurt” {official Thing}
It’s that time again…community weekly therapy on The Couch Of Truth!!
TL;DR Episode Three of The Couch of Truth, titled “Grief: And It’s Going To Hurt” is up now on YouTube and Vimeo. As with the last couple, I’ll be posting these to social media next week, but feel free to share if they resonate. I AM THE OPPOSITE OF A GOOD MARKETING PERSON, I KNOW. Help me out.
The episode is embedded at the top of this post, or you can see the full three-episode playlist so far here on YouTube or here on Vimeo.
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First of all…I want to thank all the people who have been posting loving and positive and grateful feedback about videos #1 (which deals with suicide & mental health) and #2 (which covers miscarriage).
I made these for US. For the community. I did not make them to go “viral on youtube”. I made them during the There Will Be No Intermission tour because I was starting to feel that everything was so one-sided….I was pouring my stage out every night to YOU, but I wanted you to be able to pour your hearts back. At least some of you. And some of you did. That’s what this is. So seeing the comments on youtube (and here) that these videos are making you think, and feel, and especially feel less alone…that’s why I do any of this shit. I love you all so much. Keep it coming. If something connects, write about it, tell us, tell me, make a private thread on the shadowbox. We’re a family. Connect.
That’s why we’re here.
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The full backstory on how this project came about is in the post for the first episode (“Suicide & Mental Health: Three Stories”) so if this is new to you, or you’ve just joined the patreon…..I’d encourage you to go catch up:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/54178798
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A little deeper dive into this episode…..
(photo by Stephanie Zakas)
This topic is maybe the most universal we’ve covered on the couch.
Not everybody is going to struggle with reproduction issues….but WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE. And deal with people dying.
It’s the truth. Almost definitely: we are all going to experience the loss of people we love. The three brave couch guests bared their hearts open to talk about…what it’s like.
It’s a downer, sometimes. But also an upper. We talk about how how people live on and don’t TOTALLY die… and we talk about kittens.
Though these were filmed pre-covid, I can’t imagine – with all the mortality-grappling we’ve been doing this year – that these won’t resonate pretty deeply.
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Of course, a huge thank you to all three of these beautiful souls who shared their heart-stories with us…
These videos were filmed in March 2019, and I’m sure we can all imagine how much shit has happened in the 2.5 years since then.
Here are some words from Nicki to give y’all an update…
I’m a massage therapist with a home-based practice for women and genderqueer people in Toronto. Nothing can prepare you for being a healthcare provider during a global pandemic. I thought nobody would ever want to receive a massage again and that I would need to permanently close my practice. Instead, what I’ve learned is my services are needed now more than ever. With stress levels and loneliness at an all-time high, people are touch-starved and longing for connection. I’m honoured to live in a part of the world where what I do is considered essential and where I’m able to help people navigate these challenging times. Thank you, Amanda, for the comfort you may not even know you provide.
(photo by John Atacan)
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If you’re feeling contemplative and in the mood for some musical comfort after watching the couch clip, may I recommend “Death Thing” off the last record you all helped me make.
It’s over here on Bandcamp, or here on YouTube
It’s a nice pairing.
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And just as a reminder, the final two episodes of The Couch of Truth will be coming out over the next two weeks….
“ABORTION: THREE STORIES”
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“HAVING A KID… OR NOT: TWO STORIES ABOUT BEING OKAY”
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CREDITS:
Cast:
Amanda Palmer
Gabriel
Amanda
Nicki
Director / Producer:
Jenessa Joffe
Field Producer:
Lora Campbell
Director of Photography:
Nyssa Gluck
Camera Operators:
Chantal Garcia
Danielle Thorn
Location Sound:
Bridget Tang
Hair / Make-Up Artist:
Sahar Junejo
Production Assistants:
Lindsay Duncan
Sarah JM Kolberg
Editors:
Cindy Long
Caddie Hastings
Matt Marhefka
Penda Diakité
Re-Recording Mixer:
Greg Townley
Still Photography:
Allan Amato
Kyle Cassidy
Lindsay Duncan
Kahn & Selesnick
Stephanie Zakas
CONCERT FOOTAGE
Director: Jesse DeFlorio
Director of Photography: Seth Iliff
Production & Lighting Designer: Lauren Sego
Special Thanks:
Jordan Verzar
Hayley Rosenblum
Michael McComiskey
Alex Knight
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And a huge thanks to Alex for also helping me cobble this post together.
Love to all of you.
xxx
AFP
——THE NEVER-ENDING AS ALWAYS———
1. if you are a patron and new to my work, don’t forget your patronage allows you access to ALL of my patreon releases to date. HERE is the link to download my latest big solo record, “There Will Be No Intermission”, and HERE is a link to download the PDF of the art/essay book that goes with it.
2. if you’re a patron reading this post via an email notification, please click through to comment on this post. at the very least, if you’ve read it, indicate that by using the heart symbol. that’s always nice for me to see, so i know who’s reading.
3. see All the Things (over 150 of them) i’ve made so far on patreon:
http://amandapalmer.net/things
4. JOIN THE SHADOWBOX COMMUNITY FORUM, find your people, and discuss everything: https://forum.theshadowbox.net/
5. new to my music and TOTALLY OVERWHELMED? TAKE A WALK THROUGH AMANDALANDA….we made a basic list of my greatest hits n stuff (at least up until a few years ago, this desperately needs updating) on this lovely page: http://amandalanda.amandapalmer.net/
6. general AFP/patreon-related questions? ask away, someone will answer: patronhelp@amandapalmer.net