A chronic illness can bring with it many devastating lows, but also moments of hope and relief. Anyone who has spent periods of time caring for someone who was ill, will know these range of emotions  far too well. This week on Grief Encounters, Sasha and Venetia catch up with fellow podcast and founder of The Shift Andy Gaffney, who is here to speak about his brother Raymond who had to face all of this while battling a rare form of Leukaemia, that sadly took his life in the summer of 2014.  Raymond and Andy have hugely different personalities. As any listener to this week's episode will quickly realise, Andy is an extremely open and conversational guy. Raymond on the other hand was very introverted. By Andy’s admission Raymond always felt quite lost living in Ireland, and it wasn’t until he moved to Japan that he began to flourish in his own personality. In this week’s episode ,Andy brings Sasha and Venetia through the various highs and extreme lows of the last number of years of  Raymonds life, battling Leukemia but also having to give up his newly forged life in Asia. He also speaks about his own difficulties with alcohol and coping with the painful grief in the years after Raymonds passing, in what was an extremely compelling and honest interview.  The Shift is an Irish Podcast Network that is aiming to be a sandbox for  Irish talent. Well, that or quicksand. Even with serious topics, The Shift aims to stand in the back of the room giggling to itself, a bit  like that annoying cousin at a funeral. Check out the www.theshift.ie to find out all about when shows are dropping.  If you're looking for a safe haven to express how you feel,  Share articles, photos ,memories and more, Join the Grief Encounters Facebook Group, A place for support, compassion and empathy for those grieving https://www.facebook.com/groups/GriefEncounters/ Music by: Nctrnm For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy