Art, Grief, and the Power to Heal with Meg Flather

The Edge of Everyday with Sandra Bargman

How do we confront our grief when it feels particularly overwhelming during the
holidays? How do we stay present to our grief when we’ve lost a loved one? How do we
meet with our grief over the recent election here in the US or the collective grief we feel
over the atrocities happening around the world?
What is the role of art, creativity and the artist in our healing process?
Today we are #LIVEintheHIVE with multi-award-winning cabaret singer and
songwriter, Meg Flather. This episode was recorded in December of 2022, just
before Christmas, and it is a tender, poignant and passionate conversation I had
with my friend and colleague, Meg Flather about her one-woman show, Hold on
Tight… a Love Story, and how her creative life has been instrumental in her
healing process.
Hold on Tight partners her original songs and stories from her book of the
same name about caring for a parent with dementia. The piece premiered
at The United Solo Theatre Festival in 2022 at NYC’s Theatre Row where it
won the festival’s award for Best Storytelling Show.
In this episode we touch on…
 Grief as a wintering and isolating emotion.
 Our collective fear of grief (and it’s well known mask, anger) and the
need to move in and through it.
 Meg and I met through our political connection through The Blue
Wave shows in the NYC cabaret scene, and navigating our political
landscape through our music and art.
 The power of ART to heal through connection + community.
 The powerful reason that called Meg into the Cabaret community in
the 80’s.
 Meg shares the whole process of how she cared for her mother,
decided to write a book, crafted songs and created a one-woman
show – the power of storytelling as an act of service.
 The Role of the Artist – the creative artist as melancholic – a
willingness to stay present to the pain of grief, and to the
beauty of it to fuel a creation.
 Creating and DOING the show changed Meg.
 All this and SO much more…
Meg Flather is a two-time Bistro Award winner and a four-time Manhattan
Association of Cabaret and Clubs (MAC) Award winner who recently won
the 2021 BroadwayWorld.com Cabaret Award for Best Song.
Meg has released eight CDs of her original music (all of which are available
on Apple music). Meg has also authored two books that are now available
on Amazon: Home Shopping Diva. . . Lessons, Lyrics and Lipstick - and
Hold On Tight . . . a love story. Her new one-woman musical, Hold On
Tight, partners her original songs and stories from her book of the same
name about caring for a parent with dementia. The piece premiered at The
United Solo Theatre Festival this year at NYC’s Theatre Row where it won
the festival’s award for Best Storytelling Show.
In addition, she has written and recorded songs for independent films, Off-
Broadway, and on behalf of HIV/AIDS, 9/11, Alzheimer’s, Autism, suicide
awareness, political activism, and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Find Meg:
www.MegFlather.com
@megflather
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l3ir-
jrFaI&list=PL3Gsp8wtJJExTMb8FSp-_bwujvEIJBnoe
Find Sandra:
SandraBargman.com
@SandraBargman
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnC1yfR_eDt9t8vMi7oOHog

Connect with your host Sandra Bargman:

• Website
• YouTube
• Instagram
• LinkedIn