Grief, Friendship, Remembrance

John Harwood in for Tom Ashbook

Brendan Ogg was just 20 when he died of cancer. His friends share a remarkable story of friendship and remembrance.

Losing loved ones is a universal human experience; millions of Baby Boomers are sharing it now as their parents pass away.

But it’s far different for young adults of Generation Y to lose one of their own.

How do teens and twenty-somethings cope with their grief -– and keep alive memories of those taken so early?

We’ll talk to a mother who lost her son –- and two friends who found comfort and meaning in art.

This hour On Point: Grief, remembrance, and perseverance in the face of heartbreaking loss.
-John Harwood
Guests:

Jackie Ogg, Brendan’s mother.

Rachel Kopilow, Brendan’s friend

Tommy Hester, Brendan’s friend

Dr. Stuart Goldman, psychiatrist at Children’s Hospital Boston.

More:

You can find out more about Chase,  a film based on the life of Brendan Ogg, here.

Words as Legacy: Words as Legacy honors the life and work of Diane Granat Yalowitz and Brendan Ogg. Both were gifted writers. Both lost their lives to brain cancer. And both lived in the same community of friends.

Click here to view a trailer from the movie Chase
http://vimeo.com/26874953

From The Reading List:

• The Williams Record: "On Sunday afternoon, Tommy Hester ’11 sat in front of a Currier ballroom filled with folding chairs, smiling and joking with his friends as they filed in to hear him read the poetry of Brendan Ogg, one of Hester’s best childhood friends. Ogg, who passed away on Feb. 24 after being diagnosed with a brain tumor in December 2008, had his poetry published posthumously in a collection titled Summer Becomes Absurd."