# 256: Courtney was able to say goodbye Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/what-was-that-like-true-stories-real-people-841594/256-courtney-was-able-to-say-goodbye Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/what-was-that-like-true-stories-real-people-841594/256-courtney-was-able-to-say-goodbye.md Podcast: [What Was That Like - True Stories. Real People.](https://stenobird.com/podcast/what-was-that-like-true-stories-real-people-841594) Published: 2026-05-22T07:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://WhatWasThatLike.com/256 Audio file: https://pscrb.fm/rss/p/tracking.swap.fm/track/6bpBPtHL977KJxLX2zPs/traffic.megaphone.fm/GLSS7630323003.mp3?updated=1776945336 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/what-was-that-like-true-stories-real-people-841594/episodes/256-courtney-was-able-to-say-goodbye Duration seconds: 5219 ## Resource Today’s episode deals with a controversial question: Should a person be legally allowed to get medical assistance to end their own life? And keep in mind, this usually pertains to someone who is terminally ill, and who is also mentally and emotionally stable enough to make that decision on their own. Here in the US, most states still do not allow it. But Medical Assistance in Dying is legal in all of Canada. That’s where Courtney lives. Courtney told this amazing story on the podcast about four years ago. It’s the story of her mother’s decision, and it’s both wonderful and heartbreaking. And stick around after, because I was able to record a chat with Courtney to get an update on what’s happened since we last spoke. If you’d like to contact Courtney: court.chalmers@gmail.com Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here: https://WhatWasThatLike.com/256 Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai. Want to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook (many of the podcast guests are there as well) Get every episode ad-free, AND get all the Raw Audio exclusive episodes to binge, by joining the other listeners at What Was That Like PLUS. Try What Was That Like PLUS free: iPhone: at the top of the What Was That Like podcast feed, click on “Try free” Android: on your phone, go to WhatWasThatLike.com/PLUS and click to try it free on any app Sponsor deals: Visit www.functionhealth.com/WHATWAS or use gift code WHATWAS25 for a $25 credit toward your membership. Visit AuraFrames.com and use promo code WHATWAS at checkout to get $45 off. If you’re 21 or older, get 25% OFF your first order + free shipping @IndaCloud with code [WHATWAS] at https://… ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/what-was-that-like-true-stories-real-people-841594/episodes/256-courtney-was-able-to-say-goodbye/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/what-was-that-like-true-stories-real-people-841594/256-courtney-was-able-to-say-goodbye.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.