Podcast Summary: RISK! – “The Riverside, Revisited”

Host: Kevin Allison
Date: January 30, 2026

Episode Overview

This special episode of RISK! honors the memory of storyteller, animator, and trans pioneer Jan Scott Fraser, who was beloved within the RISK! community and recently passed away. To commemorate Jan, the episode revisits her powerful 2011 story “The Riverside,” followed by a previously unreleased, intimate conversation from 2021 between Jan and narrative therapist David Newman. The episode explores themes of grief, compassion, memory, connection, and the enduring significance of being witnessed and remembered.

Main Story: “The Riverside” by Jan Scott Fraser

Story begins – [04:11]

Summary of Jan’s Story (04:11–18:26)

• 1988: Alone in Japan

  • At 22, Jan moves to Japan to pursue animation, struggling through animation school and working in a restaurant with limited Japanese. Overwhelmed by stress and loneliness, she finds solace in nightly walks along the Tama River on the outskirts of Tokyo.

• Discovery of the Weeping Woman

  • Jan establishes a ritual visiting a serene riverside spot, experiencing relief from her tension. Mid-week, she finds her spot occupied by a young woman, crying alone at midnight. This repeats over several weeks; Jan observes the woman from a distance, empathetically wondering about her pain.

• Evolving Compassion

  • Jan’s reaction evolves from feeling territorial to developing deep compassion, describing a strong, unfamiliar non-romantic love. She wants to reach out, but is held back by language, size, and cultural differences. “If I did, here comes this giant tall white person... I would have probably said something like, ‘Hello, I come to destroy you,’ or something.” [12:07]

• Desire for Connection

  • Jan plots gentle ways to connect—drafting letters in Japanese, even buying a stuffed dog as a silent token of care. Yet the opportunity never arises; when she finally brings the gift on a rainy night, the woman does not appear.

• The Shocking Aftermath

  • Days later, at work, Jan recognizes the woman in a newspaper photo. With help, she learns the woman's name, Asuna Tsurukawa, and her tragic story: alone in Tokyo, alienated, friendless, she died by suicide on the very night Jan waited—coinciding with Jan's deepest desire to reach out.

• Haunting Legacy

  • Jan reflects on how no one but her seemed to remember or mourn Asuna. “In all that time, I don’t think I met one other person on the planet who really cared that Asuna had lived or died—and that nobody would remember her except me. And I do. And now maybe you will.” [18:23]

Memorable Quotes from the Story

• Jan on being an outsider:
  “I moved there because I was really intent on doing it... but you know what, you got to make the rent.” [04:24]

• On compassion:
  “It wasn’t like a romantic, ‘I want to make out with you’ kind of love. It was something else. It was compassion. This deep compassion.” [11:52]

• On witnessing Asuna’s pain:
  “I just felt worse and worse and I’m getting this stronger feeling. I just wanted to run up and hold her to say, you know, there is somebody else out here, there is somebody who cares.” [12:54]

• On the tragedy:
  “Her lifeblood was washing out into the tub... We went to sleep around the same time. Me, troubled, unhappy. Her, forever.” [17:10]

• On memory:
  “In all that time, I don’t think I met one other person on the planet who really cared that Asuna had lived or died—and that nobody would remember her except me. And I do. And now maybe you will.” [18:23]

Conversation: Jan Scott Fraser & David Newman

Conversation begins – [20:25]

Key Discussion Points and Insights

• Narrative Therapy & Continuing Bonds ([21:41–23:22])

  • David highlights how narrative therapy honors continuing relationships with the dead—“we don’t have to say goodbye… relationships can continue in our imaginations.” He finds Jan's plea for Asuna’s care and remembrance deeply moving.

• Outsiders and Shared Alienation ([23:48–24:40])

  • Jan acknowledges their mutual outsider status and resonates with the idea of “anomie,” longing to be "alone together" with Asuna.

• Compassion and Witnessing ([25:23–28:17])

  • David reflects on Jan’s instinct to share, not protect, her solace spot, and how Jan became a silent witness to Asuna’s sorrow—amplifying both their stories through caring observation.

• Non-Traditional Connections ([30:04–31:37])

  • Both discuss how their connection defies typical labels (not romance, not friendship), underscoring the human need for recognizing varied relationships.

• Remembering the Whole Life, Not Just the Ending ([33:01–36:43])

  • David and Jan discuss resisting the reduction of a person to the manner of their death, especially suicide. Jan emphasizes: “As long as people tell stories about me, as long as people remember me, I’m still alive.” [33:01]
  • David lauds Jan’s inversion: not “what might she have missed,” but “what did she have?”—recognizing a person’s actual lived joys and sorrows.

• Walking and Processing Grief ([39:10–41:02])

  • Jan describes how walking—especially alone, with music—remains a key coping tool, both for stress and reflection.

• The River as Change ([42:29–43:07])

  • The river becomes a symbol of life’s continual change (“You can’t step into the same river twice” – Heraclitus). The hosts and guests feel a global kinship through shared landscapes and forms of solace.

Notable Quotes – Conversation

• David on remembering:
  “When people’s stories are witnessed, those stories become larger. In the witnessing and retelling… they become amplified.” [26:10]

• Jan on a new kind of connection:
  “I don’t have a word for this kind of feeling or love or relationship… this is not really even a friendship.” [31:37]

• Jan on memorialization:
  “She’s part of the story of my life. So when I tell the stories of my life, she’s one of those stories, you know?” [33:12]

• Jan on shared compassion:
  “There’s more to everyone than we think… we honk at that guy on the road… but he’s more than just a pair of hands on a steering wheel.” [38:23]

Host Reflections & Personal Tribute

[Kevin Allison, 44:37–end]

• On Jan’s Legacy

  • Kevin shares Jan’s trailblazing career in anime/manga and her work as an activist and therapist, especially for marginalized communities.
  • Jan was the first trans storyteller on RISK!, though that part of her identity isn’t explicit in “The Riverside.”

• On Storytelling as Remembrance

  • Kevin connects the episode’s themes to the wider human need for sharing stories, especially in the wake of tragedy.

  • “Jan’s storytelling and David’s therapeutic work… is all a reminder that we keep us safe and we build new possibilities when we keep showing up for this kind of connection in listening and sharing.”

  • The episode closes with an invitation to listeners to revisit old stories and continue to remember those who have passed by sharing their stories.

Timestamps for Major Segments

• [02:43] – Kevin introduces Jan Scott Fraser and the special episode context
• [04:11] – “The Riverside” by Jan Scott Fraser
• [18:26] – End of story; brief pause
• [20:25] – Kevin introduces Jan and David’s conversation
• [21:41] – Narrative therapy and grief
• [23:48] – Shared outsider perspective
• [25:23] – On compassion and sharing space
• [26:10] – The importance of being witnessed
• [30:04] – Language and connection
• [33:01] – Memory, story, and the significance of a life
• [39:10] – Walking as therapy
• [42:29] – Rivers and change
• [44:37] – Kevin’s personal tribute and reflections

Episode Takeaways

• The Power of Bearing Witness: To witness another’s pain is a profound act of connection, even if unexpressed.
• Remembering the Whole Person: A life isn’t defined by its ending; stories ensure continued legacy.
• Compassion Beyond Words: Acts of witnessing and small gestures can bridge seemingly insurmountable divides.
• The Value of Unexpected Connections: Human bonds can form in spaces that defy simple definition.
• Storytelling as Resistance and Remembrance: Sharing and retelling stories is a way to resist erasure and build empathy.

Listener Invitation

Share your favorite RISK! stories, and remember to “take a risk”—by connecting, listening, and sharing, just as Jan did.