09/05/2026
I learned this morning that my friend James Strazza died on Monday. I'm not exaggerating when I say he was a true genius. James is my third podcast guest to have died and it's really hard to process. James and I recorded a profound conversation in September 2024. We talked about music, philosophy, poetry, intense suffering and pain and how we make meaning in life whilst living with severe ME. It's probably one of the best episodes of PEMpod that I recorded, yet James was such an introspective and self effacing person that he felt embarrassed and requested that I didn't release the episode. James's mum Galen has given permission for me to share excerpts from the episode. He has such an important perspective that we felt it was time his voice was heard. I cried a lot this morning as I watched our recording back. I'll be releasing parts of it this week.
I feel deep sadness but you know what else I feel? Deep anger. Deep righteous anger. James didn't have to die. ME has been ignored and minimised for far too long. Research has been blocked and underfunded for decades to prevent insurance pay outs. This isn't a conspiracy theory. We know exactly who's responsible. People have built their egos, empires and livelihoods on our suffering.
Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a pretty gentle guy but I went into the back yard this morning and smashed up an old chair. I've never done anything like that in my life before. Not really a great idea for my heart rate and potentially inducing PEM but I just had to get it out of me.
James released some wonderful music and I'll link his song 'All my pain has gone' in the comments. It deserves to be heard.
If this all feels too much and you need to talk, please reach out to someone. It's important.
"People say the best art comes from pain but the truth is the best art comes from honesty and pain just happens to make you very honest. The more pain you're in, the more honest you are". - James Strazza
