Episode 196

full
Published on:

9th Dec 2025

We Were Briefly Crossing Guards with Eden Robins

Eden Robins wrote a novel comprised of obituaries, Remember You Will Die, and even more importantly, she wrote an essay about becoming a school crossing guard that inspired me to do the same. We start our talk there.

We talk about: death as subject matter, best practices for talking and writing about suicide, weirdo heroes, obituary writing, the curse of ANY success, making narratives amidst uncertainty.

Support the show and get the TIYA After Dark feed on Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/thisisyourafterlife

Follow Eden:

https://www.monkeythumbs.com/

https://www.instagram.com/edenrobins/

The crossing guard essay:

https://slate.com/technology/2024/01/corporate-job-quit-now-crossing-guard.html

Remember You Will Die:

https://bookshop.org/p/books/remember-you-will-die-eden-robins/570ce692d432bd63

Eden's next book is under the pseudonym Birdie Horne, Don't Cross Mo Ellery, a mystery featuring a crossing guard. Pre-order it now:

https://bookshop.org/p/books/don-t-cross-mo-ellery-a-novel-birdie-horne/21c789c4932d4548

Follow/contact This Is Your Afterlife:

https://thisisyourafterlife.com/

https://www.instagram.com/thisisyourafterlife/

thisisyourafterlifepodcast@gmail.com

All music by This Is Your Afterlife house band Lake Mary:

https://lakemary.bandcamp.com/

https://www.instagram.com/chaz.prymek/

Artwork by Matt Sage:

https://www.instagram.com/matthewjsage/

Show artwork for This Is Your Afterlife

About the Podcast

This Is Your Afterlife
Comedian Dave Maher interviews artists and activists about death, their lives, and the afterlife.
What do you hope happens when you die? If you could relive one memory, what would it be? What's your coma? Comedian and coma survivor Dave Maher ("This American Life") asks artists and organizers these questions in conversations about death, politics, and art.
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