It is one of the most vexing chapters of old age: how to navigate not just the inevitable ending,...
Category: Death & Dying
My 92-Year-Old Father Didn’t Need More Medical Care
My 92-year-old father fell one Saturday night a few months ago. My mother could not pick him up....
There is beauty and joy at the end of life, too
What people don’t understand is the beauty and joy to be found at the end of life. When I tell...
Tough conversations are the best conversations
Earlier this year, my grandmother was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer and was told she...
How to talk about death
There are a lot of articles out there telling you how to talk to your family about death as if...
The morning my mother died
Guilt, I’ve decided, is the worst emotion. It plagues you, consumes you, eats you up inside until...
The girl I didn’t save
No one ever uses the word dying, even if it’s the correct word to use. We think this denial of the...
For Older Patients, an ‘Afterworld’ of Hospital Care
The facility is called an L.T.C.H., a long-term care hospital (also known as a long-term acute...
Going gentle
We are all going to die — and most of us will be able to see death coming, months or even years...
Is Dying at Home Overrated?
As a palliative care physician, I regularly ask my patients, or their family members, where they...
Preparing for End-of-Life Care
No one wants to think about end-of-life care, but it remains an unavoidable inevitability for all...
Preparing My Family for Life Without Me
I wanted to create a sense of stability while my children, then 8 and 11, were still innocent...
Where Should a Child Die? Hospice Homes Help Families With the Unimaginable
The Grafs had reluctantly started Parker on hospice at 7 months. “When it comes to the word...
Everyone Deserves a Death Buddy: The Value of Death Positive Friendships
But it was upon her death that I realized, in addition to being my best friend, she was my Death...
A Grief Casserole: How to help your friends & family through loss
Schutt spent four years as her mom’s primary caregiver, writing songs about the dark and the light...
Death on her own terms
Debra wanted her affairs to be in order. Her small home was quiet, save for the beeps and...
How Do You Think About Death?
what if we reframe things, so that we see life, instead of death, as the mind-bending part? Writes...
Becoming Starlight
Heaven. There are many different words for it in many different languages. And each day, it’s a...
What food do you serve at a funeral?
What we eat at funerals can be a symbol for the departed, a balm in hard times, or a reminder that...
Inheritance delayed
01 Do I Know You? R.L. Gibson 16” x 20” Xerography (mixed media) 2014 02 But Now I See R.L. Gibson...
A Hospital’s Human Touch: Why Taking Care In Discharging A Patient Matters
The kidney doctor sat next to Judy Garrett’s father, looking into his face, her hand on his arm....
A Place to Stay, Untouched by Death
When my mother grew quite ill and it became clear she would soon die, we brought her from the...
What to Expect When Your Parent Is Dying – The Beginner’s Guide to Losing Your Parent
Lindsey didn't know what to expect when her mom was dying. How is this so mysterious when millions...
When they’re dying
Sometimes when someone is dying, we're so worried about medications and trying to keep them...