Kathy Ireland

Hi, everyone, it's David Kessler. So glad to be with you today. Hi, Kathy. Thank you for being here.

Hi, David. Thank you for inviting me.

So, everyone, I just want to say hello as you come on. So once you get here, if you're brand new today, just know we say hello to one another in our age of disconnection. It's a nice way to sort of stay connected with one another. So say hello when you come on. For those of you that are new, I started this group thinking there'd be 30 or 40 of us when COVID 19 happened. And we were all asked to shelter in place. And here we are, thousands of people later. And I'm so glad that in our disconnection we have found a community and a connection. So many of you have been through so many horrible losses, whether they're older, losses you're still struggling with, or people who have died and you weren't able to say goodbye to them, or COVID 19, someone died and you haven't been able to have a funeral. So we are really honored that you're here, and I'm sorry you're here, too. It's always that mixture of, I'm glad to see you and I'm sorry you're here. So I see Sandra from New York. This is my romper room moment. Like I said, before your time, but it's a little romper room. Hi, Sandra. Nice to see you from New York. Hi, Dolores. Hi, Steven. Hi. Ivy from New York. A lot of New Yorkers in the house. Shirley from Pittsburgh. Kimberly, Pittsburgh. Vivian, New York. Pat from Virginia. Mary from New York. Dolores. Wonderful to see you. Donna from Santa Barbara. Colleen from New York.

The Bronx.

Kenny from Puerto Rico. Elizabeth from Virginia. Dolores, Los Angeles. Fay from Utah. John, Massachusetts. Mary from Rhode Island. Hi, everyone. So glad you're joining us. Well, one of the things I do as a bit of a tradition here, is we're all here because someone we love has died. And so I like to just take a moment and honor that person with a moment of silence. I believe when someone dies, we don't stop loving them. And I don't even think they stop loving us. So if we could all just join in a moment of silence. Thank you for that.

Thank you so much, all. I appreciate doing that. Kathy, I'm so honored you're here.

Thank you, David. I'm so grateful for you. Thank you for the incredible work that you do. You touch so many lives everywhere.

Well, thank you. And, you know, I've been as I've been talking about you I've been saying you're all going to be surprised. I mean, I happen to know so much of what you do in the background. You are someone who, we think of you as swimsuit model, entrepreneur, Forbes Navy named you one of the most 50 influential women. And yet you are about service in so many ways. And I also know that because of a personal connection we have. And that connection is Elizabeth Taylor. And I did not know her as well as you did, but I got to know her years ago through Project Angel Food. And I gotta tell you, Elizabeth, first of all, I cleaned ovens with her husband Larry. Elizabeth funded us, gave us money and made her husband clean ovens with me. And the other thing that was so remarkable is, and you know this, but just for people who don't. And I'm sure you can talk a bit about her too, more than I can. But Elizabeth, years ago, when I was running a hospice, she would pay for people, she would bring people to her home to die. And no one knew about that, Elizabeth. And I was just so taken with that. So you knew her, you've had experience. I'd love for you to share about that and any losses you've dealt with in your life. And I know everyone's had some.

Oh, thank you, David. We have. And I think in our culture and our society, we don't know how to deal with it and talk about it. So really grateful for the great work that you do. And you talking about Elizabeth just fills my heart, overflowing. And I love that story about her, you know, having Larry cleaning the ovens. And Elizabeth is truly, I mean, as you know, she's just one of the most genuine down to earth people. And we miss her dearly. We miss her dearly. And I think something that many people don't know about her, they see Elizabeth as the larger than life movie star, the celebrity. There'll never be anyone as famous as Elizabeth again. I really don't think there ever will be. And she suffered much loss in her life. She suffered many deaths. The death of Mike Todd when she was a young bride.

So many difficult things in the public eye. And that kind of fame, I can't even wrap my mind around what that must have been like. And we're forever grateful to Elizabeth. It was, it was difficult when Elizabeth left us. I don't think you're ever prepared. I just, I don't know how you can ever fully get prepared when you love somebody. There's just never enough time. And our family, you know, different members were.

Processed. Elizabeth's Passing in different ways, just deep depression. One person gained 100 pounds. Someone else couldn't talk about it. Some stuff in grief because we had to protect others. And it was a really difficult time. And I really believe that even though Elizabeth left us, it was March 23, 2011, it's only really been this past year that as a family, we've been able to really move forward in a powerful way, to see each member really growing and moving forward powerfully.

And she has an incredible foundation, the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.

Been to many of their events and support it, and they still support Project Angel Food. And, you know, she is someone who. I wonder what it would be like if she was here seeing this.

Think of how feisty she is.

So feisty. You know, something that Elizabeth told me when my grandmother went to heaven, she said, my prayer for you is that the pain that you're feeling in your heart will be melted into memories, into treasures that you will have forever, that nobody will ever take from you.

And just such a wise woman. It's a privilege, it's an honor to serve as an ambassador for the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. And, you know, David, as we're in these times of COVID 19, my husband's an ER physician on the front lines, and we're so grateful to all of the brave workers on the front lines. And something that my husband shares, too, is that.

The isolation at the loneliness that people feel.

Not just people who were, you know, because we're being shut in, but the people who are suffering from COVID 19, and oftentimes sadly, shame that's associated with it. And he was likening it to his early days of being a doctor, when the AIDS epidemic was just coming on the scene, and that there was fear. You know, people were. And that's how people are, you know, treating one another. With COVID 19 as well, there's so many unknowns, but, you know, he had a very special patient in the early days of the AIDS epidemic. And just, you know, to have this close bond, this friendship, to give hugs. And that's something that Elizabeth did. I mean, Elizabeth was just fearless and courageous. And I remember Elizabeth sharing that when this epidemic first began, she was so frustrated that so little was being done. And she looked in the mirror and she said, wait a minute, I'm somebody and I can do something. And when Elizabeth called her friends, her colleagues for help, people hung up on her. She received death threats. People told her, just leave this alone. And what I love about Elizabeth is her courage. She didn't let any of that stop her. She just always do it. No fear. And Elizabeth so against bullying of any form. I mean, she would just fight for anybody who was being oppressed. And I love that. And she went on to become the Joan of Arc of aids. Just. And.

Before Elizabeth, people were dying of aids. Today, people are living with hiv and there's still so much work to be done. Elizabeth and her wisdom set up her foundation. It's all paid for by her trust. So the money that is donated, that is raised, that is given, it goes to help the people in need and including people in the remotest parts of the world and parts of Africa where it's difficult to get the treatments. Elizabeth made sure that people would be taken care of who need it.

Right. She. And she's so concerned about the money. I have two memories. I will never forget that. One, she said she was going to. We were really in need of a large donation. And she said, you know, we want to see your financials. And we sent them in, like on a Friday. And I thought, you know, of course it's rote that someone just asked for financials. I spent the weekend with her calling and her staff calling and going. Now you say on line 28, you spent this. Can you tell us? I mean, I'm like, wow, they're really.

Digging in the best steward. And that's something, David, I think many people don't know about Elizabeth that mind, what a business person. I also shared those experiences, just going through contracts and details, and she made sure she understood and knew everything that was communicated. And I love how deeply that's Elizabeth's thoroughness, and it's consistent with every element of her life, from making sure that nonprofits are being the good stewards they're meant to be, to the integrity of a diamond and a design from the inside out that every angle is beautiful and just that beautiful, wonderful integrity.

We were doing an event once together, and we had said that it was going to be catered, and she called me up, yelling at me. And of course, there's two parts of me. One, I want to explain what, you know, that it's being funded and paid for by a donor. And two, I'm like, oh, my God. Elizabeth Taylor Galligan.

Oh, it's kind of an honor.

It is an honor.

Her passion.

And you're so amazing with so much of the work that you do. I mean, even with small businesses who are hurting, you're helping them.

Well, it's, you know, we're very fortunate. We built our company. It's been over 27 years now, and I work with an extraordinary team who have become family, just amazing people. And we're. We're able to pivot quickly and be nimble. And one of our philosophies of our work, it's not reacting to change, but rather being so intuitive, having our eyes on the horizon, our ears to the ground, so that we can anticipate change before it happens and even more importantly, initiate change, initiate positive change, and being able to serve small businesses in a powerful way, that's critical. Small businesses are the heart and soul of this country. And what I find so often when people are fearful, they. They paralyze. They just freeze up and don't know what to do because it's frightening. And. And I understand that and also recognize that we've got to get up, we've got to face our fear and not let it paralyze us, but we've got to look it in the eye and face it and move forward. And so our Kathy Ireland Small Business Network, this is a way to work with small businesses and help them move forward, help them with marketing, with getting their messages out in a powerful way, growing their businesses, scaling their businesses, and that's just. It's a pure joy. I love working with business leaders.

So, speaking of change, I often say that change is grief. You know, it's change we didn't want. And there's a lot of people here who have had so much change. You mentioned a grandparent. Can you talk about some of the losses that you've had to deal with in your life?

Oh, my goodness.

My husband's parents, they've both, you know, recently left us. My dad, it's been two and a half years, and, oh, my goodness, there's not a day that goes by that I don't miss him. And it's hard, I think, you know, death is not. It's not natural. And I don't believe that it was the original intent. And so I believe that's why it doesn't feel natural. And. But, you know, I'm not here to impose my faith on anyone, but my faith in Jesus is what keeps me going and gives me hope. And that hope also comes from having an eternal perspective, a heavenly perspective. And I just, you know, that we're here for such a short time on earth and our time here is precious. And it's. It makes me all the more mindful, you know, as you were talking about, Elizabeth, being a good steward, wanting to be a good steward of our lives and being encouraging to others. We don't we never know what somebody is going through. We don't know how vulnerable they are. In fact, just two days ago, I got a phone call from someone, and she was sharing something with me that I had no idea. We had a brief encounter, exchange, and she told me that she was having a nervous breakdown at that moment. And we just never know. And it's so important that, you know, I just believe that we all need to be quick to think, slow to speak, slow to become angry.

I love that quote of yours, that whole slow. What is it? I remember I wrote it down once. It's quick to listen, listen, slow to.

Speak, and slow to become angry. And it's from my favorite book. It's. It's in the Bible. It's in James.

I love that. I love that. I've heard you say it so many times, and I can see why, because that's something, I think, in grief, so many people, we want to fix them and tell them.

Right?

Instead of listening.

Yes. Yeah. And, you know, and speaking about people who we just never know what someone else is going through at any given moment. And it could be a stranger sitting next to us on the bus. It could be, you know, anyone, someone walking down the street. We just don't know. And, you know, more lessons from Elizabeth, the kindness that she showed to everyone, that was powerful, and you could see the difference that it made in people's lives. And it was a privilege many years ago to participate in the Trevor Project. And what. What an honor to be able to share messages of hope that it does get better. Just when you think, you know, it's. What. What's the point of moving forward? What is it? Every. I believe in life. I believe in the value of life at every age. From Elizabeth. She was 79 years young. Sometimes people dismiss people at. I saw some who treated my grandmother with not as much urgency or care because she was full of years. And also those who were young, from the very youngest, the youngest of children. My husband and I had a miscarriage after our son was born, before our first daughter was born. And that's something that many women don't talk about. It's. It's painful. But I hear women talk about the pain of a life lost in miscarriage and abortion and the death of a child. And it's very difficult.

It's in the last book that I wrote. I went back and forth about putting a miscarriage chapter in there just because I had never experienced one myself. And as a father. And I realized at a certain point, I can't write a book on grief and not mention miscarriage. And I interviewed so many women who told me about how. Because it isn't talked about, there's so much blame. What. You know, and even friends will go, well, did you take your vitamins? Did you do this? And so many things that make women feel like, did they do something wrong? When it's just an unfortunate reality of our world.

Right, Right. Yeah. No, I think you're absolutely correct. I think so oftentimes we blame ourselves, whatever the circumstances. When we lose someone, like, could we have done something differently? And life is hard, life is short, and we're just not that powerful to be able to control it. We don't know how many days somebody's got, but it does remind us. Death reminds us to appreciate one another. And it's too short and too precious to hold a grudge. I mean, to, to let the sun go down on your anger. It's just, it just makes no sense. It's. It's just important that while we have our lives, that we use them well and use them to help encourage others. And David, you do that so well. My goodness. And I wish we had your book when our family was going through the grieving process with Elizabeth.

Yeah, it's, it's, it's so challenging. And I think we don't have a lot of models for griefs and we're a very grief illiterate society.

I think, you know, you speaking about the things, the way you do and being open about them really helps us change. It's interesting. In my own family, I have, we're half Jewish and half evangelical Christians, so it's an interesting mix.

Great. You got the Old and the New Testament altogether.

New Testament all together. And, you know, one of the things I think where it gets challenging for people is the whole piece about our loved one is in heaven, not be sad. And, you know, there's a duality that I talk to people. We have to honor this human experience. And in the human experience, if you miss them and you want to cry, you can do that. That's a feeling. You know, I talk about Jesus wept also, that we can have that sadness and at the same time we can know they're no longer suffering.

It is that mixture of sort of doing both honoring the human and the spiritual. And I think sometimes we go to one or the other.

Right? Yes. No. And I thank you for sharing that. It's powerful and it's an important reminder. It also makes me think, there's a book that someone gave me when My dad went to heaven. It's called have Heart by Steven Sarah Berger. And it's a biblical perspective of death. And it's questions that people ask. Well, does my loved one. Do they. Do they see me? Do they know what I'm doing? And just all the questions that we ask, and they're answered scripturally. So that was really comforting. And when my dad went to heaven, he had been ill for many years, but it's. It's so strange that oftentimes you're just not prepared. I mean, people. People would ask me, how's your dad? And I feel like he's great. Maybe I was having denial. I don't know. But, you know, to me, he was just. His identity wasn't in his illness. It was, you know, interest in being dad. That was it. And when he went.

It just. It seemed so sudden, even though he had been ill for. For so many years. I was working on a nonprofit in Dallas, and.

As I was getting ready to, you know, get a couple hours of sleep and catch my flight in the morning to come home, I got a call. He was in the hospital. He's in the hospital a lot. And he just. You know, he wasn't doing great, and. But they expected him to come home. But the last thing he said to me on the phone, we got to speak. He said, keep praying, and I love that. And it was powerful. And then flying home in the morning, we're going through the clouds. And it just had this beautiful vision of my dad. And he was no pain, like you said. I mean, just.

Just the way I believe he's intended to be, just in his perfection. You know, these. These bodies are temporary. So.

When I see a wrinkle or a New Age spot, it's like, all right, well, you know, one day closer to being with the Lord. So, you know, that's all good with me. But this vision of my dad was. He was so happy. And I just felt like he was just rooting for me, for my mom, for my sisters. And it brought me to the scripture in Hebrews 12, where it tells us, because now that we have this great cloud of witnesses, let us run with perseverance, the race marked out for us. And he was such a cheerleader for my mom and so proud of her. She has a cancer walk she does every year, and so many amazing things.

So.

So that. That was a gift. And remembering what Elizabeth told me when my grandmother went is just holding on to those precious memories. That really helps.

Yeah. I always say, don't give death any More power than it already has.

Yeah.

It's something that happens here. And it doesn't have the power to end our spirit. It doesn't have the power to end our love, to end our relationship.

Right.

I think about. You know, you mentioned prayer. One of the things that really struck me. I was really honored at a young age to spend time with Mother Teresa. And I often say I have a career because of her.

What? My goodness. The quote on your book that you've got. That's just amazing. I mean, incredible.

Well, it really was. And I, you know, it's interesting how things happen. When I got that, it really propelled my success. And I was still quite young when it happened. And I had a hard time because I didn't know that I deserved that, that there were so many people who had worked so hard for years before me. And I remember someone saying to me, if you don't feel like you deserve it, then you better earn it. So I try to earn that every day, try to earn that quote.

But the last time I saw her, she grabbed my hand and she said, pray for me. And I remember thinking, mother Teresa wants me to pray for her. I mean, she's got the Pope and she's got the world. And yet in her eyes, my prayers were just like everyone else's prayers. And I thought about the power of prayer from her doing that with me.

Wow, what a blessing.

I have a sweet sweet spot, as I always will for her.

You know, you also. Michael Jackson is someone that I know. Obviously, Janet Jackson had a tough time. You know, sibling loss is so challenging. And you were there for her, you know.

Yeah, that. That was, you know, Janet was.

Just close. And in our family, our team, our company. In fact, one of our family member team members, she called him, you know, he's her godfather. And they were so close that when Michael passed, it was difficult for him to connect with Janet. And I think that happens a lot. It's just too. It's too difficult to even fathom. And.

It'S a reminder, too. I mean, I think Elizabeth and Michael, it's a reminder that pain and grief, they're really great equalizers. I mean, they treat everyone with the same sadness, anxiety, confusion, grief, hurts. You know, it's. It's emotional and in many instances, it's. It's physical.

And amazing how one of the things over the years just happens in LA when you live here, you know, celebrities and work with celebrities. And I remember I used to get the question a lot about how, what's it like when a Celebrity dies. And I would go, it's just like anyone else. I mean, I worked with Arman Hammer, a billionaire, when he was dying, and he would talk about. It's kind of the same for everyone. We all go through this. It is the equalizer. Grief is an equalizer, right?

Yes, exactly.

It's the same for anyone. Wealth, fame, no matter. I do remember Elizabeth sharing when she was driving to the cemetery for Mike Todd's service. She couldn't understand why at the cemetery there were all these people having picnics there, and it was so crowded. And as she got out of the car, she was mobbed and people were pulling at her, her hat, her clothes. And just how difficult for a young woman not to even be able to have that moment to grieve her husband because of that fame.

Yeah. You really forget, sort of, you know, how much was taken from her in a lot of ways, that when you're so young and so famous, she didn't have chances to really make a choice about her fame in a lot of ways. But she certainly took it and put it to amazing use, didn't she?

She sure did. My good. What a life. What she just. And we continue to get lessons from Elizabeth and I. I mean, so often. I mean, almost daily. There's something. Everything she said was so profound. She used words very carefully and intentionally. And it's like, ah, that's what Elizabeth meant. That's what she wanted me to do with this. And she was always encouraging me to be bolder and just with everything, with fashion, with design, with our work and. And I love that. And it's a treasure. And something else you said, David, that I love is that.

I do believe that that love continues once someone we love goes to heaven. I do believe that continues. In fact, my mom, you know, she continues to celebrate her wedding anniversaries. It's like we're just in different, you know, geographical locations. But it's, I think, having, you know, God at the center of the marriage. He's got my dad in one hand and her in the other and keeps them together.

I like that. We're just. What did she say? We're just in different locations.

Yeah, just different locations. But the love grows, right?

I've also heard we're broad. One's broadcasting on Channel 5, another one's broadcasting on Channel 8. It's hard to get. Would you be open to taking a few questions if anyone has them?

Sure, of course.

Well, people are sending you a lot of love and sending Elizabeth a lot of love.

Oh, that's Wonderful. Thank you.

Beth says, I'm still not very accepting of my soulmate being gone. It's been two months and I still talk about him to anyone who will listen.

Oh, I'm so sorry. Isn't it two months is a. Is a minute. It's just. It's one breath at a time. And. Yeah, I mean, I know you've shared, David. We don't get over it. We get through it, though. But just to be gentle with yourself and moment by moment, it's different. Life is different and it always will be. And I do believe that.

You will get through it. But just please be gentle with yourself and take time, Just one breath at a time.

That's really tough. It's fascinating to me. One of the things I often try to practice myself and I ask people here to do is I will say. Someone will say, you know, they've had a loss. And I will say, maybe your dad who died. I would say, what's the kindest thought or action your dad ever had for you? And they'll name it. And I'll go, what if you were to still give that to yourself? Because so many times we're so hard on ourselves.

Right.

Julie says, I love this. In the end, we're all just walking each other home.

Love that, Julie.

Beth says, hey, David and Kathy, so great you're here. I've not experienced the kind of loss you have, but I feel loss is loss. We had something taken away from us that we'll never get back. There's many different kinds of loss, isn't there?

There certainly is, absolutely. And the loss of a pet is, oh, my goodness, tremendous. I mean, it's their family members. So it's.

Loss is loss and it's all painful.

People are loving the different geographical locations.

So let's see. Someone here says, let me find.

Was a very sweet one about. Oh, Michelle says, it's warming to listen to you, Kathy. Interestingly enough, and coincidentally, Elizabeth and I sat together at the same table at a fundraiser for the AIDS crisis. Her violet eyes were hypnotic. She was an amazing woman. Down to earth. And you could see her big heart right away. What a privilege and a forever memory. I love your stories. Thank you.

Oh, thank you. That's so kind, so sweet.

Kathleen says, it's so challenging what people are dealing with here. Kathleen says, I realize it's been a month today since. Since my son died, and it feels like yesterday.

Oh, so sorry, Kathleen.

But Kathleen, in grief time. It literally was a moment ago. It literally was a moment ago. And.

Sending you much love. And as someone who's had a son die, I can tell you it takes time. You're going to learn to live with it. You're going to find a way to honor your son. Your pain will be different. You'll, in time, find ways to make meaning. But you don't have to do it right away.

Yes.

Let it be organic. Right.

The other thing I say about this is I often say to people, we come from a long line of dead people. This isn't a new thing that's just happening to us. You know, the reality is our soul and psyche were built to handle loss. We're more than these bodies. So. And I know you are right there with that.

Yes, no, absolutely. I mean, these bodies are. It's our shell and they're temporary and they're not meant to last forever. It just seems so shocking to us when they fail. But it's just. It's a real part of life. And I think in our country, too, we're. We were a little sanitized from it. We don't experience it in the same way. We have more advanced medical technology available to us and services available to us. But, you know, it's. It is such a. A part of everyday life, reality all over the world.

So. Kelly says, my husband was a huge fan of Kathy's since he was a teen. His favorite blanket is from her line, and I still keep it on my bed to think of him.

Oh, that's so kind.

Think about that. Her husband died. Loved you had your blanket, and now she keeps it on her bed to re. I mean, that's. There's a sweetness to that.

That's extremely sweet. And I'm. I'm so sorry for the loss and I'm happy for the. The love and just the closeness. And thank you for sharing that. It's beautiful.

Jennifer says God gave us a gift of memories.

Barbara says, thank you for your beautiful, encouraging words. Definitely needed. Loss of my husband. My world has been so painful. He was a Vietnam veteran and this weekend was his favorite. A rough weekend for me.

I'm so sorry. Who was that? David.

That's Barbara.

Barbara. Barbara. Our hearts are with you and I'm so sorry. And thank you never feels adequate. But when a member of the family serves, the entire family serves. So thank you so much. And your husband is a hero and so are you.

Sue says, what a beautiful heart you have. Kathy. Kathy, you are as beautiful on the inside and out. And you look like you're 25 years old.

You are so kind. Thank You. Thank you, Kathy.

I just love the idea that you have come here. You know, I talk about people like you who are volunteering their time to show up so that people out there who are in some ways these days a bit of the forgotten grievers with us being optimistic and opening up, which is so important that life continues. And we don't want to forget about these people in the midst of COVID that have been forgotten. Their loved ones have died and they're sitting at home isolated. So it's such a gift that you would take time to come out as so many people are doing this in the evenings to let people know they matter.

Well, David, thank you. I'm so grateful for you, for how you have such a positive impact in individual lives and in this world. And life is hard.

And still it's not something to be feared. There's so much even in the midst of the most difficult days, there's always hope and, and there's always joy. And no matter the pain or the circumstances, we can have that hope and joy and nobody can take it away from us. And as we move through the grief, I think sometimes there's a tendency to hold onto it because we don't want to forget the person. What if I stop grieving and then I'll forget them, but rather to turn that grief into those beautiful memories and hold on to those.

And I often talk about the goal of grief is to remember with more love than pain and because grief is love and you are, you are love and you are inspiring to so many people. Also, let me just. You've had a couple of books recently that have been out. I would just love you to mention those so people can know since we're home with time to read.

Oh, thank you, David. Well, the, the most recent one, it's Fashion Jungle and it's with my co author Rachel Van Dyken, who is a New York best selling author. It's fiction. Never thought I would write fiction or these stories. It's fiction, but it's based on true stories that happened to me and to roommates when way back, decades ago when I worked as a model in the fashion industry. And it's a cautionary tale. So often, you know, what we see is the retouched, glamorous, glossy image, but the reality, what goes on behind the scenes. I think it's really good to face that with our eyes wide open and to be alert because there, there are some gnarly things in that industry. We need to be alert to them.

And I mean, you've been pretty open about, you know, you were 17 when you were approached, and things could have gone very, very wrong. And, you know, bad things do happen out there.

They do, unfortunately. It's a tough industry. I also think no matter what sector you work in, there's always. There are predators there and anytime. And the stories from this book were, you know, happened, and the book was. The book was written before the MeToo movement came out. Yet every time there is an allegation, an accusation, what we do know is there is a predator and there is a victim. We don't know who is who until all the truth and all the facts come out. And it's, it's a tragedy, but we've got to be alert to it and, and speak up and, you know, speak, speak truthfully, speak our truth and love. And something I've always shared with our kids is you be polite, you treat others with respect, but if you or someone else is in danger, all those rules go out the window. You let your instincts kick in and you do what you have to do to protect yourself or someone else.

One of the things I heard about the book, I think you may have said it, that I loved, is it's about values and boundaries.

Yes. And too often I see people, young people, people of every age, not having boundaries, not having made the time to think about what do they really value, what's important to them. For me, my values are my faith, my family, and then being of service through our work. And when those are not honored, when they're not in the proper order, my coping skills are out the window and I'm not effective at anything. And it's important to put boundaries in place to protect your values because they will be challenged and to, you know, imagine yourself in the worst case scenario. I believe you hope for the best, but you plan for the worst and always have your escape route. And your. Be wise. Be. Be smart and be wise.

I think that's so important because we think if we just put up a boundary, the work is done.

Right.

The test begins there.

Right. Absolutely. We know what our boundary is. It doesn't mean somebody's not going to try to bust it down. So.

Right. So I'm just so impressed. For anyone out there, if you go to kathy ireland.com the service you do, Kathy, and the help, I would think it's service. But is helping healing for you?

Oh, it absolutely is. And I would encourage your viewers, if anyone wants to get involved in a wonderful organization, the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation. I have the privilege of serving as Their international youth chair. Right now we're doing the Do43 campaign. This is powerful. Every day, 43 children are diagnosed with cancer. The vast majority of the funds raised to fight cancer go to adults. A very small percentage go to children. Just like with the AIDS epidemic, children, women bodies are different and so that testing and research, it's important that we address every age. And so the Do43, what we're asking people is to please give what you can. Increments of 43, 43 cents, $4.30, $43, $430, whatever. Nothing is too small or too big. And we're also encouraging people on social media because children are fun and creative. Come up with 43 things that you can do and you can join our team. You can follow me on many of the social media platforms. You can go to the national pediatric cancer.org and learn more about them and sign up.

Just amazing. But encouraging people to do 43 whatever it might be, make 43 cookies and give them to first responders. Brooke Shields joined the team and 43 times she told her kids in different ways to get off their cell phones. And she did it in, you know, different outfits. And maybe she was great. Marcus Lemonis, Vanessa Williams, amazing people are joining this and we'd love for everyone to participate. It's. It's fun and it's a great cause. It's needed. And then you get 10 more friends. You keep asking 10 people to join. And we protect these kids. Particularly during this time of COVID 19 children are particularly vulnerable. So I encourage everyone to please help.

Thank you so much for all you do. We've even gone long because I could just speak to you forever. Thank you so much for your work for the time here and any last words. I mean, you're just. There's nothing more to say. But if you have. For all those who are suffering that are watching us.

Oh, my goodness. Well, first of all, David, thank you. Thank you for being such a hero too so many of us. And to all your. All your listeners, all your viewers, I just. My heart is with you and I encourage you.

I mean, for me, it's. It's the wisdom that I find in my favorite book. And it's there and it's unchanging. And there's a scripture that I love. It's in the book of Isaiah and it says, the grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of God stands forever. And you know, he who made you created you like nobody else. There will never be another person just like you. And There never has been. And he doesn't make mistakes. And you are valuable and you are valued and you're here and there's a reason for it. And.

A woman who is. She went to heaven recently, but one of the most productive people I've ever known. I didn't get to meet her personally. Her name is Trudy, the mother of a friend of mine. But she was bedridden and very ill. Couldn't get out of bed. The most productive person. She spent her day in meetings with God, in prayer for people. And she was so busy. And to get on Trudy's prayer list was something. And I encourage people who are suffering to.

Prayer is powerful. And God promises he'll never leave us and he'll never forsake us. And he doesn't sleep. So if you wake up in the night, can pray anytime and he hears our thoughts. So that's what I would leave with, with your audience to really just know that love, know that unconditional love.

And you know one thing, I mean, it's hard to add anything to that, but I know so many people here have had loved ones who have died, and it's easy to want to give up. And I remind people that even though your loved one's story here on earth is over, it doesn't mean your story is over. And if their life was precious, so was yours. And for us to continue on. And I know it's a struggle, but you're an inspiration to help us. So thank you for being here.

Kathy, thank you so much. David, thank you.

All right, everyone, I will see you all tomorrow night. Thank you, Kathy. Thanks everyone. And take care of yourselves. Be sending you lots of love. All right, Bye bye now.

Bye bye.