Re:sound #79: The What Remains Show

This hour: a man transformed by illness, a house full of paintings left behind by an old friend, and a surprisingly complex story of old people in love.

A Year to Live, A Year to Die
by Mary Beth Kirchner (All Things Considered, 2006)
Forty-eight year old Stuart Selman was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in 2004. After his diagnosis, he agreed to keep an audio diary during his last months of life to leave a record for his wife Rebecca Peterson and their two children. After sifting through 50 hours of these diary entries, producer Mary Beth Kirchner interviewed Selman's wife who was startlingly candid about her husband's decline and its unpredictable effect on their family.

Documenter and Documentee (excerpt)
by Mary Beth Kirchner and Rebecca Peterson with Joe Richman
Despite three years of collaborating on this deeply personal project, producer Mary Beth Kirchner and collaborator Rebecca Peterson had never really talked about how the project came together or the considerable difficulties they had to overcome during the process. At the 2007 Third Coast Festival conference in Chicago, the two sat down with moderator Joe Richman and discussed what was going on behind the scenes.

What Remains
by Sue Mell (Studio 360, 2007)
Producer Sue Mell first met painter Mary Yntema in 1975 in college. When Mary died in 2002, she left behind a body of work, cloistered away in her mother's house in New Jersey. Unearthing the paintings unearthed the memories of the artist, her work, and her untimely death.

Lost and Found Love
by Dan Gorenstein (New Hampshire Public Radio, 2007)
A family caught up in the aftermath of Alzheimer's disease pays homage to the past while still investing in the future, in this surprisingly complicated love story.

This episode of Re:sound was produced by Roman Mars.