Raising awareness about death

Faces of palliative care

Words like “hospice” and “palliative care” are sometimes used interchangeably, but they don’t refer to the same things. Hospice is a type of care that focuses on providing physical, spiritual and emotional comfort at end of life. Palliative care is a multidisciplinary approach that focuses on providing medical care to people navigating serious illness, no … Read more

The audio feature Death: A Five-Part Series by the Nour Foundation

The Nour Foundation, which operates on special consultative status to the United Nations Economic and Social Council as a public charitable and nongovernmental organization, has produced the audio feature Death: A Five-Part Series, featuring reportage and in depth discussion with experts. To get started, we recommend two brief episodes (9 and 12 minutes, respectively) called … Read more

Unforgettable: A Son, A Mother, and the Lessons of a Lifetime

While NPR’s Scott Simon sat with his 84-year-old mother who was dying in the intensive care unit of a Chicago hospital, he sent out a tweet. The considerable following that emerged suggested that others were keen to hear more. What resulted was a series of Twitter messages written by Simon about his mother and his … Read more

Death Makes Life Possible

“Being OK with dying is a weird place to be. People think that I’ve given in,” says one man at the centre of the documentary Death Makes Life Possible. Exploring the idea that “consciousness is more than just our physical being,” this film features those preparing for death, those who have had near-death experiences, and … Read more

Modern Loss

“One of the best things someone said to me soon after my partner died,” says therapist and writer Megan Devine, “was: With something this big, ‘just happened’ can mean 80 years ago as much as it means this morning.” Devine offers an online “Writing Your Grief” course that’s designed for anyone who is navigating loss (not just those … Read more

Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?

Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant

Roz Chast’s 2014 book, Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? starts with this statement: “It was against my parents’ principles to talk about death.” With her poignant and funny style, Chast pays tribute to her parents’ lives, chronicles her own observations of their declining health and her experience of their deaths. http://rozchast.com/books.shtml

Death’s Door: Modern Dying and the Way We Grieve

Death's Door

Prominent critic, poet and memoirist Sandra M. Gilbert explores death and dying after the untimely loss of her husband. She weaves cultural history, her personal experience, literature and current events to examine our relationship with death in the 21st century. http://www.sandramgilbert.com/works.htm

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