Piece Comment

Review of This I Believe - Kathy Dahlen


Part of the eclectic ongoing series of ruminations on the nature of faith in all its forms, Kathy Dahlen?s first person essay finds proof of the soul by considering what?s left behind. As an English major she looked for something tangible to balance the world of ideas and philosophies, a search that led to her witnessing an autopsy. It takes a particular courage to spend time with death; we figure we?ll learn all we need to know about it soon enough. But Ms. Dahlen finds unexpected confirmation of something intrinsic and immeasurable in the presence of a young suicide?s body as it?s examined and quantified. Accessible and thought provoking this essay would be a stimulating addition to discussions of mortality and immortality. Although not overwhelmingly graphic in describing the autopsy, programmers should listen and judge for themselves how their audiences will take to the material.