Producing a piece about brain aneurysms and dying mothers can make for some pretty bummer radio. Thankfully, this piece avoids all those pitfalls without getting sappy.

This is an unusual story with lots of unexpected little twists, often producing a lot of unanticipated (yet very human) moments of humor. Listen, and you to may believe that heaven is being a vegetable farmer in Vietnam (you have to listen to get that joke).

The piece is a bit too long, but some fantastic interview clips with her mother (who did survive) keep things moving. The only distractions are some occasional sounds effects (ambulance noise, hospital monitor beeps). These are so unnecessary. Since these are not authentic sounds recorded at the time of the events, they are superfluous. The story is so strong that they aren’t needed.

For stations, the piece would make a nice drop-in for a variety of magazine-style programs. A possible connection would be Mother's Day. The piece has an intro and outro that are better read by the local host.