The Ariadne Project

When a long term relationship disintegrates, the former partners lose not just a lifelong friend, a home, or the kids. The sense of loss can erode your sense of identity and make your shared history too hard to bear. Grief packs a powerful punch. This program is the outcome of the Ariadne project—where you, the listener, contributed your short stories and anecdotes about divorce and separation. Heart rending and very moving, but also subtly nuanced and optimistic writing came in from all over the country. Through your fragments and memories—and using the 4,000-year-old mythic relationship of the Greek princess Ariadne and her lover Theseus as our guide—we explores the cycle of love and heartbreak human beings endure...and find it was ever thus. But also, it is possible to recover and return to the land of the living. Credits: Harmless - Cheryl Howard; The Weaver -Charles D’anastasi; To the Farthest Shores of Silence and Antigen - Doug Baird; Night after Night - Kali; The Dog -Masonik; Dirge - Abigail Lewis; No Sunny Greek Isle for Us - Teadear; Liberation - Sue Gillet; Ordovician Option - Keryn Kefous. Written and composed by Gretchen Miller. Guests Judith Maitland, Senior Honorary Research Fellow, Classics and Ancient History, University of Western Australia, Gaye Stockell Psychologist, Frances Quirk Associate Professor, School of Medicine and Dentistry and Department of Psychology, James Cook University, Matthew Bambling Senior lecturer, School of Medicine, University of Queensland, Marguerite Johnson Senior Lecturer (Classics), School of Humanities and Social Sciences, The University of Newcastle. Producer Gretchen Miller Sound Engineer Russell Stapleton.