An interview with Jim Miller
About the “Beautiful...” Presentation

You: I’d like to know more about the new presentation you created that affirms the work of people in hospice and palliative care.

Jim: And I’d love to tell you about it. Ask and I shall reply.

You: How did the project get started?

Jim: The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization signed me up to do a pre-conference workshop at their April 2005 conference in Atlanta. “While you’re here,” they asked, “how about doing a presentation that evening?” I said I would.

You: What parameters did they give you?

Jim: My directions were: “Be creative. Do something you’ve never done before. Be sure to use your photography. Make your presentation specifically for end-of-life workers. And have your audience feel they’ve been given a gift when you’re done.”

You: How did you go about planning a project like this?

Jim: I knew early on I could not rely exclusively on my customary nature photography. I needed to stretch. So I decided to do people photography, and lots of it. I started contacting hospices, explaining my vision, and asking if they would allow me to photograph their people interacting with and caring for their patients.

You: And?

Jim: And… I was a study in innocence as I began. I didn’t realize all that was involved. Those darned federal regulations. That HIPAA stuff. Then there was the reality of how busy these professionals already are, and I’d be adding another layer to their work. There was the need to get written permission of every patient, every family member, every staff person. There was the need to schedule visits in advance without knowing if it would be appropriate to photograph a particular hospice patient on a particular day. I quickly realized it was going to be more complicated, more detailed, and more labor-intensive than I expected.

You: Yet some hospices still allowed you in?

Jim: Yes, ten were willing and made it happen. I know this was a leap of faith for each of them. Most of them either didn’t know me or knew very little about me. They didn’t know if I’d be intrusive as a photographer. They didn’t know if my photography would be any good. To be honest, if the roles were reversed and I were a hospice administrator, I’m not sure I’d let a Jim Miller in the door with camera equipment and give him the freedom he requested. Fortunately for you and for me, I’m not an administrator. And fortunately for this project, ten administrators and a lot of hospice professionals said, “We trust you to help tell our story.”

You: How did you select the sites?

Jim: I wanted some conveniently close, so I could respond quickly to certain photo opportunities. I also wanted to see all sorts of staff members interacting with all sorts of patients and family members, so that meant visiting hospices in other parts of the country, in cities of various sizes. Access to residential facilities was also helpful. While I very much enjoyed photographing in people’s homes, and did so at almost every location, logistically this was much more time-consuming than walking down a hallway with rooms on both sides.

You: Please don’t get technical here, but describe your photographic process.

Jim: Sure. I made only still images, not moving video, using a Nikon digital camera. I used available light whenever possible. If natural light level was too low, I added a single soft light on a stand. I tried to be inobtrusive: no tripod, no bright flashes, no special setups. I just hung out quietly and photographed what I saw.

You: How long did the project take?

Jim: I spent a week thinking, researching, and planning. Then I spent the better part of nine weeks photographing on-site and interviewing people. After that I was about six weeks putting everything together. Long work weeks these were—50, 60, 70 hours. But very fulfilling weeks too.

You: Where did you get the funding to spend four months doing this work?

Jim: This project could easily qualify as one of the dumber business decisions I’ve made, and I’ve made my share. No one paid me for any of this work. I just knew I had to do this. I had to use whatever gifts I had been given to say something of substance about the work end-of-life professionals do day after day. I felt compelled to follow through. So I did. Over the past decade or two, I’ve met a lot of people in hospice for whom I’ve gained great respect, and I kept remembering them as I worked. So I did this for them and all their colleagues.

You: What about all your expenses?

Jim: At the very beginning, as I signed up Fort Wayne’s Parkview Hospice, the director, Kay Felts, asked if I needed any money for this project. Truth was I had no idea how I would pay for everything. She said someone had just given her hospice a monetary gift in appreciation for the care that had been provided a family member, designated for any educational purpose that supported the work of hospice. “It’s yours if you want it,” she said. While it didn’t cover all my expenses, it certainly took the pressure off and I was able to stay in hotels and eat in restaurants without needing to hightail it to Guadalajara when my credit card bill came due.

You: Did anyone help you with this project?

Jim: You’ve heard the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child.” I say, “It takes a village to raise a presenter, too.” People responded to surveys I created, answered loads of questions as I took notes, responded to my emails, wrote their thoughts in journals I provided, and gave me feedback every step of the way. This presentation is not mine alone. Dozens and dozens of people had their fingers in it. I’m fortunate so many people were so generous with their ideas.

You: So let’s move on to the part about the song.

Jim: Would you like me to sing it for you?

You: Thank you, but we’ve been forewarned about your severe deficit as a crooner. Just tell us the story please.

Jim(trying not to be offended): Okay. The song. As the presentation came together, I felt it needed a touch of music. I looked and looked for just the right song and couldn’t find it. Finally I put on some faded jeans just like real live songwriters wear, scribbled some words on paper, and said, “Now I are a songwriter too.” I hired a local composer and even though he wore faded jeans too, he couldn’t get the music just right. So on a whim, I called Gary Malkin. Gary is one of the creators of the popular CD that many hospices use: Graceful Passages. He’s won seven Emmys for his work through the years. He’s good. Real good. He barely knew me but he generously agreed to take a look at the lyrics. That was on a Monday. The next afternoon he telephoned and said “I’d like you to hear a little something.” He put the phone down on the piano where he was seated way out in California, and the next thing I knew, he was singing my song to me! Tears ran down my face as I heard how he had captured so perfectly in music what my words were attempting to convey. It was an amazing experience. So he and I now have a song together. It’s called “The Light of Day” and it’s a part of this presentation we’re talking about. You’ll find the lyrics in another section of my web site.

You: How did your presentation get its title? What does it mean?

Jim: Because end-of-life care inevitably has a spiritual dimension to it, and because that was one theme of the NHPCO conference, I wanted there to be a spiritual feel, if only subtly, to this presentation. But how to do that with meaning and integrity while still honoring everyone’s faith traditions? I chose to use the work of Rabindranath Tagore, the Indian writer, educator, and mystic who lived from 1861 to 1941. While he was a Hindu whose first language was Bengali, his work crossed many cultural barriers and he was received with enthusiasm in the West as well as the East. He was the first non-Westerner to be awarded the Nobel prize for literature. I formed the title from a favorite quotation of his: “Let life be beautiful like summer flowers, and death like autumn leaves.” His concept of life’s beauty and death’s beauty spoke to me deeply. I also thought it would speak in a similar way to end-of-life caregivers.

You: Is there anything you’d like to say in conclusion?

Jim: Yes, I’d like to underline my feeling that it was a real privilege to be able to do this project. I witnessed many intimate moments between end-of-life workers and those who were nearing the end of their lives. I met some amazing people, some of whom have since died and others of whom are still performing daily the same wonderful work I saw performed earlier this year. I feel a sense of wonder and deep appreciation when I realize that what I saw for a few short weeks in ten locales in going on month after month, year after year, in thousands upon thousands of locations all around us. It’s such a quiet drama that’s being played out, literally almost out of sight. But I know who the protagonists are. In addition to those who choose to live their dying while in hospice care, the end-of-life workers themselves are the ones who help the dying and their loved ones live so comfortably, relate so meaningfully, and die so gracefully. I count it an honor to be able to say a thank-you to all of them on behalf of everyone who knows and values this work.

The lyrics to the song "The Light of Day"
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