Welcome to Nobody Told Me.

I'm Jan Black.

And I'm Laura Owens.

As a mother-daughter duo, we've very much been looking forward to our interview with Marissa

Bardack Rammel. She's our guest on this episode. Marissa and her mother, Sally, wrote a book

together. It's an honest, heartfelt, touching glimpse into the relationship between a mother

and a daughter when the mother is diagnosed with terminal cancer. The book is called The Goodbye Diaries, and in it, Marissa and her mother write alternating chapters

voicing their individual fears, frustrations, and connection to each other.

The Goodbye Diaries offers an eye-opening look into both sides of a terminal diagnosis,

the one who will leave and the one who will be left behind.

Marissa, thank you so much for joining us.

Oh my gosh.

Thank you so much for having me.

When I heard about your podcast, I couldn't think of two people who would understand this book

more than a mother and daughter who are obviously so close and connected and working on this

creative project together like you guys.

So I'm just thrilled to be talking with you.

Tell us more about how the goodbye diaries came about originally.

So my mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer when I was a senior in high school.

And she was originally given two months to live and

thankfully she outlived that prognosis and in the fall of that year this was in 2000 I went

away to Syracuse University and my mom used to like to call me at midnight because she

...