Discovering life after death

An intertwined tale of a boy’s world shattered by suicide and a man’s story rewritten by neuroscience.

Richard Brockman, MD, is a clinical professor in the department of psychiatry at Columbia University and a visiting professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Namibia. He has been honored with the Nancy C.A. Roeske Award for medical student education by the American Psychiatric Association and with the Victor J. Teichner Visiting Scholar Award from the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry for his teaching. Also a playwright, his shows have been produced both off-Broadway and on international stages.

When Brockman found his mother’s body, the simple narrative of his childhood ended. Life After Death tells the story of a boy who died and of a man who survived when the boy and the man are one and the same. It tells a very personal—yet tragically common—story of irredeemable loss. It tells the story of story itself. How story forms. How it grows. How it changes. How it can be broken. And finally, how sometimes it can be repaired.

Now an expert in genetics, epigenetics, and the biology of attachment, Brockman chronicles his evolution from a child overwhelmed by trauma to a man who has struggled to reclaim his past. He lays bare the core of one who is both victim and healer. By weaving together childhood despair and clinical knowledge, Brockman shows how the shattered pieces of the self—though never the same and not without scars—can sometimes be put back together again.

It has been my pleasure to have Richard join me, and I know, my listeners, that you will enjoy the episode.

Enjoy the episode, and a special thank you to my listeners for joining me on this journey.

If you wish to connect with Richard, check out his website and social media links below.

Website: https://www.cugmhp.org/faculty/richard-brockman-md//