Death

It’s one of the sad rights of passage as you get older to experience loss. Whether it’s your parents, a spouse, another loved one, or a friend, few of us reach our later years without experiencing loss several times over. And just because you are exposed to loss doesn’t mean…

None of us leaves this world alive, and as Dame Cicely Saunders once said, “How people die remains in the memory of those who live on.” We are therefore fortunate to live in an era when the option of having a “death doula” has become more commonplace in helping individuals…

One year ago, President Jimmy Carter made the important decision to transfer to hospice care, rather than continue the cycle of intermittent acute-care hospitalizations that kept him away from home and apart from his dear wife Rosalynn. Not only was this a highly personal decision for him and his family,…

For such a universal experience, it’s somewhat shocking that so many of us know so little about what actually happens as death approaches. Most of us have been raised in an era and environment where death happens in a facility or setting apart from everyday life, and frequently those in…

After a week of celebrating Halloween and The Day Of The Dead, you may be having thoughts about “the afterlife.” From our earliest recorded history, interest in and connection with an afterlife has been an ongoing part of celebrations and rituals around dying and death. Around the world, cultures acknowledge…

While death is universal, how one’s life draws to a close and is commemorated is often very individualistic. Some refuse to plan or consider what should happen while others hope to script their funeral down to the music played, the images shown and the speakers selected to give eulogies. And…