Dr Lesel Dawson

12/25/23 • 44 min

This week my guest is Dr Lesel Dawson, an academic at the University of Bristol. Lesel is an Associate Professor in the English Department at the University of Bristol, her academic research explores grief, literature and the history of the emotions. She is currently writing a book on grief and creativity.

Her work includes co-producing two short films on children, grief and creativity; partnering with charities on an article on mandatory grief education; collaborating on an illustrated booklet on grief and baby loss; writing the screenplay for a fiction film about disenfranchised grief; and working with theatre company Crowded Room on an audio story. Lesel is also the Arts and Culture Lead of the Good Grief Festival.

In this episode we discuss what initially drew Lesel into exploring society's relationship between grief and creativity and what insights she's gained regarding the benefits of pursuing creative endeavours in the wake of loss.

Feels Like Healing is a show where I talk to individuals about how they've used creativity as a way of helping them heal.

These conversations are here to show how we find comfort and solace through the act of being creative and how creativity can help us all reach a place of healing.

You can connect with Feels Like Healing on Instagram / Twitter / Facebook @flhpodcast

Produced / Edited by Al Lewis

Theme music by Al Lewis

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feels Like Healing is a show where I talk to individuals about how they've used creativity as a way of helping them heal.

These conversations are here to show how we find comfort and solace through the act of being creative and how creativity can help us all reach a place of healing.

You can connect with Feels Like Healing on Instagram / Twitter / Facebook @flhpodcast

Produced / Edited by Al Lewis

Theme music by Al Lewis

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

Si Martin - Live at Heads Above the Waves

This week my guest is Si Martin, founder and managing director of Heads Above the Waves, a non-profit organisation whose mission is to help young people deal with the root causes of self-harm. Having experienced self-harm himself as a young person, Si wanted to share his experiences and let others know that they weren't alone. As well as spending his time creating what HATW does, Si Martin is also a drummer for his band Junior and renowned Welsh act Novo Amor.

In this special live episode we discuss how Si turned to drumming as his healthy coping mechanism and how music helped him overcome his desire to self harm. We discuss how this led him to want to help others find their creative outlet and healthy coping mechanisms.

During this conversation Si offers advice to those seeking ways to alleviate their stress, anxiety and harmful behaviour.

If you're affected by the issues covered in this episode; you can find more information about Heads Above the Waves on their website: https://hatw.co.uk

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Feels Like Healing is a show where I talk to individuals about how they've used creativity as a way of helping them heal.

These conversations are here to show how we find comfort and solace through the act of being creative and how creativity can help us all reach a place of healing.

You can connect with Feels Like Healing on Instagram / Twitter / Facebook @flhpodcast

Produced / Edited by Al Lewis

Theme music by Al Lewis

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

Jo Ritchie & Laura McDonagh (Projecting Grief)

This week my guests are Jo Ritchie and Laura McDonagh, the team behind 'Projecting Grief'. Projecting Grief tells the stories of people finding comfort, distraction or hope in a creative pursuit after losing someone they love. After losing her brother Jack in 2017, the last thing photographer Jo Ritchie wanted to do was pick up her camera. But as she started to search for others who had been through a similar experience, she was intrigued to meet many whose grief had been the catalyst for a creation. Fascinated and uplifted by this discovery, Jo began actively searching for people using a creative practice for distraction, relief or an expression and asked to take their portraits.

In 2019, she enlisted the help of writer Faye Dawson to interview sitters and write up their stories. Faye worked on the project for three years before deciding to take a step back from Projecting Grief in 2022.

Laura McDonagh’s mum Anne died suddenly in 2019. Afterwards, Laura felt compelled to write about family, identity and home; to get things down before anything else could be lost. Laura was featured on Projecting Grief in 2020, before joining the team as an interviewer and writer.

You can see more of Jo’s photography at www.joritchiephoto.com

You can find Laura at www.heylauramc.com

Feels Like Healing is a show where I talk to individuals about how they've used creativity as a way of helping them heal.

These conversations are here to show how we find comfort and solace through the act of being creative and how creativity can help us all reach a place of healing.

You can connect with Feels Like Healing on Instagram / Twitter / Facebook @flhpodcast

Produced / Edited by Al Lewis

Theme music by Al Lewis

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.