We said goodbye to Jane Goodall recently, but she also said goodbye to us. We followed her partnership with the great chimpanzees of Tanzania over the decades, we learned from her scientific quests, and we were moved by her devotion to nature. And then we were touched by her message to us, after her death, through a sensitive and clever interview that was aired posthumously.
During the interview, Jane Goodall shares an uncanny experience of talking comfortably about her own death. She takes us along very private thoughts about her life and her end of life in a typical understated manner that she is known for. I believe strongly in the quest to increase our comfort level with open dialogue about all the elements around death and dying, and her honesty affected me.
She nurtures us with a gentle insight into her personal expectations of death in an unsentimental manner. Ever the scientist, she took this unique opportunity to reflect on her influential life because, no shock, she wants us to continue her life’s work to protect Mother Nature and all the critters she held so dear.
Jane Goodall had a fantasy of working in Africa since she was a young girl, she stumbled upon her dream career as a young woman and the rest is history. She is credited with, among other successes, the groundbreaking discovery that chimpanzees make and use tools. She dedicated her life to protecting nature and inspired international crowds to do the same. She took to the spotlight to gain followers for her life’s cause, but her lifestyle was the opposite. Hers was a solitary life spent in harmony with nature, and what a life it was!
The interview and her final words are ‘streaming now’. It involves a minimalist setting and a reverential approach by the interviewer, which would have been a challenging role. They set the stage with a gentle explanation – that it was Jane Goodall’s final interview that wouldn’t be shown until after her death. With that said, he escorted a little old lady onto the gently lit stage and she proceeded to chat with an ease and passion, without sentimentality but with a drop or two of whiskey. There was no hesitation or sorrow in their conversation.
Whether you have followed her long career and been previously impacted by her devotion or not, Jane Goodall’s final interview strikes at the heart for its unusual twist – we are hearing from the dead. They acknowledged several times she would be dead when it aired. Viewers will be left with a renewed respect and renewed hope. Thank you, Jane.