Lessons from Hospice
What Comes Next and How to Like It is a memoir by Abigail Thomas that’s not particularly about death or dying. But it is, without a doubt, about the inscrutable and unpredictable things that life delivers up to us, including plenty of change and not an insignificant amount of loss—something Thomas knows a thing or two about.
How Learning About Death Changed My Life
Tracy Picha, When You Die’s associate producer in 2015 and ’16, has had a few changes in her life since learning, considering, wondering about mortality. Far from a macabre pursuit, it’s rekindled friendships and fine-tuned notions of what a good life means.
A Record in Photographs
“We are scared of death and I think that is in large part because we hide it away, out of sight and avoid it until we have to,” says Nancy
In the Aftermath of Tragedy
Death frequently comes without warning. But when tragedy strikes, there is a certain suddenness and violence that can have overwhelming effects on us, our families, and our society.
Do We Need “Closure”?
In Nancy Berns’s presentation, “Beyond Closure: The Space Between Joy and Grief,” she asks the question, “When bad things happen, do we need closure?” Berns says no.
Breast Implants: You Can’t Take ‘Em With You
Caitlin Doughty, founder of the organization The Order of the Good Death lets us in on just what happens to pacemakers, titanium hips and other implants after we die.
A Matter of Death and Life
The Harley School in Rochester, N.Y., wanted students to excel in their academics — but also in life. That’s why the private school offered a class called “hospice.”
Inviting Death Back into Polite Society
In the average North American home, what we now call the living room was once referred to as the “parlour”—a place where, before the 1930s, it was not uncommon to place the dead body of a family member for viewing and mourning.
A Child Shows Us How to Mourn
Kate Braestrup shares the story of Nina, a five-year-old who insisted to her parents that she needed to visit her dead cousin and best friend Andy, a four-year-old, at a nearby funeral parlor.
End of Life Doula
“There is nothing on Earth – nothing inevitable, anyway – that we are prepared for less than death, and I just don’t understand why that is. Where is our guidance for this? This thing that every single one us will have to face?”
Conversations About Death
We put together a few links for you about death conversations we found helpful. Enjoy!
New Burial Grounds
Considering what happens to our bodies and the bodies of our loved ones after death is a new thing for many of us.
Casket or Crematorium?
Los Angeles-based mortician, Caitlin Doughty, self-described death-acceptance advocate, and creator of The Order of the Good Death walks us through the two main options available for dealing with dead bodies in North America.
8 Ways to Be There
Teacher, writer and coach, Heather Plett found herself in the role of student when her mom was dying and her family brought her home to do so.
Tell Him It’s OK to Go
When we’re facing the most challenging moments that life has to offer, when we’re feeling most broken, it’s amazing what shows up.
Fear Is Natural. Now, How to Cope.
One of the biggest challenges for any of us when it comes to issues around death is facing our own fears about it.
20-Somethings Think About Death, Too
Given her willingness to talk about any topic, it’s perhaps no surprise that writer and TV star Lena Dunham experiences more flashes of what she calls “mortality awareness” than the average 20-something. But thoughts of death are not reserved for the aged.
When Death Is Not Separate
The way of death in North America is not the way in other cultures. Anthropologist Kelli Swazey asks, “What would life be like if the dead literally lived alongside you?”
