EP301: Finn Mott: Grit & Determination Personified

What happens when the experience that changes your life happens before you've even really had a chance to figure out who you are? Eagle County native Finn Mott was still a kid when headaches and other unexplained symptoms eventually led to a diagnosis of brain and spinal cancer. Chemotherapy and radiation followed, along with a childhood and high-school experience that looked very different from the one he expected. The day after his diagnosis, Finn's mother gave him a notebook. He started writing. What began as a private place to put things that were difficult to say out loud eventually became something much larger: poetry, performance, creative work and a way of helping other people navigate illness, trauma, grief and other life-altering experiences. In this conversation, Finn and Alex talk about the complicated idea of being "cured," losing and rebuilding identity after serious illness, expressive writing, creativity, PTSD, alternative approaches to healing and why simply putting an experience into words can sometimes change our relationship with it. Finn also shares how his writing grew into performances around the world and ultimately into work designed to help other people move through difficult experiences. It's a conversation about cancer—but even more, it's about what happens afterward. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 — Introduction 06:03 — Meet Finn Mott 08:44 — Childhood cancer: Finn's diagnosis and treatment 10:26 — A notebook, writing and finding a way to process the experience 12:37 — Turning creativity into a way to help others 17:15 — Trauma writing, PTSD and alternative approaches to healing 20:35 — Final thoughts and where to find Finn VAIL DAILY: "Laughter as Medicine event coming to Vail" VAIL DAILY: "Eagle County native Finn Mott's new project, 'Glint', is an effort to help 'overcome calamity' TEDxYouth-Vail: "Chemo & Coffee" www.Glintworks.com INSTA: Finn.Mott   Feel Invisible? Asking for help isn't a weakness—it makes you one of us. Got a case of the Fuckits? Text or call 988 or if the Fecal is Hitting the Fan, call 911. Strength in numbers. We need you. Host: [email protected]