A Year to Live
Apprenticeship of the Unknown

Ep 1: Darkness, Surrender, and the Poet Within with Sarah McCash

In this first episode of A Year to Live, David Morin and Sarah McCash dive deep into David's life-changing experience of a darkness retreat four years ago. What began as a casual phone call between friends turned into a moving, unfiltered conversation that helped shape the very structure of this podcast.

As Sarah prepares for her own darkness retreat, she reached out to David to reflect on his experience. Together, they rehash his transformative journey of surrendering to darkness, embracing the unknown, and discovering the poet within.

This is not a polished studio interview. It's a real, spontaneous phone call full of raw, honest, and unexpected magic.

*A Note on the Title*
A Year to Live is inspired by the book of the same name by meditation teacher and author Stephen Levine. While this podcast is an independent project, the heart of this idea—that reuniting with your mortality can radically transform the way you live—finds its roots in his work. May this serve as a living continuation of that invitation.

Meet Sarah McCash
Sarah McCash is a Manhattan-based storyteller and death doula, obsessed with all things death, mortality, and soulful transitions. Her presence is equal parts deep feeler and curious seeker. As someone called to care for the dying, Sarah brings a refreshing enthusiasm to conversations about grief, fear, intuition, and awakening. She’s a member of David’s first A Year to Live cohort and has agreed to document parts of her journey through recorded conversations like this one.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The Power of Surrender: Why facing the darkness and confronting our deepest fears can lead to profound personal transformation.
• Darkness Retreat Experience: What it's like to spend days alone in pitch-black darkness, and how it can awaken new parts of ourselves.
• Uncovering the Poet Within: How David realized he was a poet during the darkness retreat and the poetic journey that followed.
• Intuition and Spiritual Growth: The importance of listening to your intuition and how it leads us to the places and experiences we need most, even if we're not "ready" for them.
• The Sacredness of Darkness: How the darkness serves as an ancient teacher and a place of deep self-discovery.

Resources:
Join David's Cohort. If you're ready to explore your own mortality with a small group of other seekers like you, book a call with David here or send him a message on IG. https://calendly.com/morindavid9113/60min

David on Instagram: @mor.intune

More from David Morin:

• Listen to his previous podcast: Art 2 Heart
• Explore the mini-series on Spotify: Meet You There (co-created with a public media journalist)

Thank you for listening! If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and review.