Special: An Overwhelmed Mom’s Deadly Mistake

The Oprah Winfrey Show: The Podcast

Oprah

Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 18 February 2025

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

From October 1, 2008: Oprah talks to Brenda Slaby, a mom and assistant principal who accidentally left her 2-year-old daughter, Cecilia, in the backseat of her car while she was at work. Cecilia died of a heatstroke after being in the car for 8 hours in temperatures rising above 90 degrees. Brenda discusses how she became perceived as what she calls “the most hated mom in America,” and other mothers also share their stories of feeling overwhelmed by the pressure to be perfect. Then, poet, author and Zen Buddhist teacher and priest Norman Fischer explains why there’s no such thing as multitasking, offering tips to refocus your attention and sharing why he believes it’s important to ask for help when you feel too busy.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Through 25 seasons, 4,561 episodes.
0:05.0	I believe the Oprah Winfrey show
0:08.0	was one of the greatest classrooms in the world.
0:10.0	I really never thought of it that way.
0:12.0	The aha moments, the breakthroughs, the connections,
0:16.0	the occasional ugly cry.
0:18.0	I'm missing so terribly, I miss it every single minute.
0:21.6	The LOLs.
0:22.6	The moments that mattered.
0:24.6	The eye-opening life lessons.
0:27.6	Never allow them to take you somewhere else.
0:30.6	I'm bringing them back.
0:32.6	It's time to open the vault.
0:34.6	I've personally chosen these classic episodes to share with you again.
0:40.2	Every single person you ever will meet shares that common desire.
0:44.8	They want to know, do you see me?
0:47.9	Do you hear me?
0:49.1	Does what I say mean anything to you?
0:52.6	You are listening to the Oprah Winfrey Show, the podcast.
0:58.5	So I have a confession to make, and that is that in spite of all the support I have,
1:03.8	and I have a lot of people helping me do what I do, this show in particular,
1:08.1	and all the help that I have at home, there are days when I feel
	...

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