Lessons from Dead Friends

Lessons from Dead Friends

February 20, 2026 · 29 min · Season 5 · Episode 13

About this episode

Shawn Boonstra discusses coping with the heartbreak of losing young friends and the high mortality rates in the U.S.

Losing someone to death can be heartbreaking, especially if that person was young. And it's far from rare: studies show young Americans are TWICE as likely to die as their counterparts in other developed nations, like Germany, France, and Japan. The mortality rate for U.S. babies is scarily high, too. How do we cope? AUTHENTIC host Shawn Boonstra says there is something we can do to help make these painful moments less difficult.

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