Gila Pfeffer - The Jewish Way To Grieve

<p>Gila Pfeffer lost her mother at 20 and her grandmother before that — both to cancers she carried the genetic blueprint for. So she did something very atypical at the time: a preventative double mastectomy in 2008, years before Angelina Jolie made the choice a norm. Unfortunately, Gila got breast cancer anyway. Both a previvor AND survivor, Gila is one of the funniest people you&#39;ll ever hear talk about all of it.</p><p><br></p><p>An award-winning author and humorist, Gila wrote her memoir *Nearly Departed* through the lens of her Orthodox Jewish life — Shiva, mikveh, wigs during chemo, the whole thing. This conversation lands during a week built for grief, and Gila makes the case that laughter isn&#39;t a betrayal of grief. It&#39;s the way through.</p><p><br></p><p>Follow Gila on Instagram @gilapfeffer and check out her novel, <em>Nearly Departed</em>, anywhere you get your books!</p><p><br></p><p>Support our work: buymeacoffee.com/peoplejewwannaknow</p><p><br></p><p>**What We Discuss:**</p><p>00:00 Intro &amp; Episode Agenda</p><p>06:00 Writing Nearly Departed through an Orthodox lens</p><p>12:00 Same chemo as her mother, thirty years later</p><p>17:00 Phil, and the birthday that felt like a sign</p><p>21:00 Grief you don&#39;t expect — and its sixth stage</p><p>28:00 Emuna, agency, and choosing the mastectomy</p><p>35:00 Why teenage Gila would be shocked</p><p>40:00 How Margarita and Gila actually met (a Carnegie Hall heist)</p><p>45:00 Find a way to laugh</p><p>47:00 Closing Remarks &amp; Guest Nomination</p>