Press Releases

Graceful Passages:
A Companion for Living and Dying

While death and dying remain, for the most part, taboo subjects in our society, a growing number of people are starting to allow themselves to confront their mortality, just like the Dalai Lama. Ironically, the result is an unexpected appreciation for the preciousness of life. Graceful Passages is a Book and CD set that helps listeners address their mortality and, in turn, live each day to the fullest. By combining original film-quality music with the spoken word recordings of humanitarian leaders such as Reverend Alan Jones, Ram Dass, Thich Nhat Hanh, Arun Gandhi, and Rabbi Zalman Shacter-Shelomi, Graceful Passages is not merely a book, or simply a CD, but a listening experience that touches the soul.

Used for daily meditations of appreciation, or as a tool for coping with life’s transitions, Graceful Passages provides a comforting audio sanctuary for the experience of peace and gratitude during anxiety-ridden times. While Graceful Passages’ initial success originated within healthcare environments, it did not end there. As an antidote for the overly busy lifestyle, the mass market, (especially the baby boomers, who are now hitting middle age, and whose parents are entering the ‘autumn’ of their lives) has discovered it to be an indispensable tool for dealing with any transition, managing anxiety and celebrating the remarkable gift of life itself. To date, Graceful Passages has sold over 40,000 copies and is helping people around the world view life with more gratitude, compassion and reverence.

Talking Points Include:

• How to help anyone undergoing loss at any phase of their lives to gain perspective and comfort
• Initiating conversations about life’s transitions (loss of career, relationship, loved one), enhancing the art of living.
• America’s perspective on how to face loss with emotional and spiritual intelligence
• The power of spoken messages and music to heal, comfort and inspire
• The New Spirituality: using trans-traditional, universal tools to find meaning in life
  

ABOUT THE PRODUCERS:
Gary Malkin is an award-winning composer/producer and performer dedicated to making a difference in the world by participating in projects that inspire the heart and catalyze social change. He has enjoyed a highly successful career for 25 years, having received seven Emmys and six ASCAP awards acknowledging his work in media music production. A speaker at conferences nationwide, he was asked to produce and musically direct the commemorative event on September 11th, 2002 at the Washington National Cathedral, entitled “Voices from 9-11: A Gathering of Faith, Hope and Love.” He resides in Northern California.

Michael Stillwater-Korns is a spiritual educator who uses music for healing. An award-winning songwriter and recording artist, his music consistently weaves insights of universal spiritual principles with the melodic and harmonic styles of contemporary culture. Born from this experience, the recording of Graceful Passages was developed to respond to the challenging questions of mortality from a multi-faith perspective. He resides in Northern California.

TO SCHEDULE AN INTERVIEW OR REQUEST A REVIEW COPY PLEASE CONTACT:

Erin Milgram
415-209-9408

Suggested Interview Questions
for Michael Stillwater and Gary Malkin,
producers of Graceful Passages

• Exactly what is Graceful Passages? What’s the concept?
  
  Can you explain why audio is so powerful?
• How did you determine who to invite to record these cuts?
• The full title of Graceful Passages is Graceful Passages: A Companion for Living and Dying. So what’s the value of Graceful Passages to listeners who are dealing with a personal loss and/or transition that isn’t related to death or dying? . . . Is there any value for listeners who are not facing any transitions?
  
  It’s often said that we are in denial of talking about dying. So why do you feel that Graceful Passages will help people enter a conversation about mortality?
• What are you hoping to achieve with this project?
• What has been the greatest challenge in getting people to listen to Graceful Passages?
• Graceful Passages has sold over 40,000 copies. Primarily, who is buying?
• What kinds of feedback are you getting from people who have listened to Graceful Passages?
• Graceful Passages is the first release from Wisdom of the World, Inc. a company you founded as Graceful Passages came into being. What exactly does Wisdom of the World do? What’s the company’s mission?
• If Wisdom of the World is producing a series of CD/book sets that help people cultivate emotional intelligence, why or how, was it determined that “loss” would be the initial subject of the company’s first release?
• What subjects are you planning to address in subsequent releases?
• What moved you to do this project? And what is motivating you to continue your mission to “create media for a meaningful life”?

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