Main content

Coping with the death of a sibling

An Irish writer and an academic from Botswana tell Kim Chakanetsa about the impact the death of a brother and a sister had on their lives.

The loss of a sibling can be devastating. It means the severing of a shared history and common memories. But the grief can be overshadowed by that of children, parents and partners. Kim Chakanetsa talks to an Irish writer and an academic from Botswana about how the death of a brother and a sister changed their lives.

Dr Senzokuhle Doreen Setume is a professor at the University of Botswana. She researches the impact of ignoring traditional rites in grief counselling. Her twin sister died when they were 37. As well as losing the person she’d shared her whole life with Senzokuhle lost her identity as a twin. She says the cultural pressure to not show grief affected her deeply.

Carmel McMahon was living in New York when her 20 year old brother died in a car crash. Her grief triggered a long period of alcoholism and she turned to writing to help her recovery. Her book, In Ordinary Time, mines the ways trauma reverberates through time and through individual lives. She draws connections from tragically lost siblings to the broader social scars of Ireland’s long history.

Produced by Jane Thurlow

(Image: (L) Carmel McMahon, credit Lauren Carroll. (R) Senzokuhle Setume, courtesy Senzokuhle Setume.)

Available now

27 minutes

Last on

Sat 28 Jan 2023 08:32GMT

Broadcasts

  • Mon 23 Jan 2023 04:32GMT
  • Mon 23 Jan 2023 05:32GMT
  • Mon 23 Jan 2023 11:32GMT
  • Mon 23 Jan 2023 21:32GMT
  • Mon 23 Jan 2023 23:32GMT
  • Sat 28 Jan 2023 08:32GMT

The best of The Conversation

Enlightening, inspiring, revealing: Some of our favourite Conversations so far

100 Women

Global experience on image, work, relationships, equality, migration and working lives

Podcast