Chinese Cooking Helps Me Connect With My Mother—And Helps Me Prepare to Lose Her

Chinese Cooking Helps Me Connect With My Mother—And Helps Me Prepare to Lose Her

The words that I could not bring myself to admit bubbled to the surface: I have been preparing for my mother’s death. I do not want her to leave me without preserving what I can. Even though I know it is an impossible task, I am trying to protect myself against...
When you have a serious hereditary disease, who has a right to know?

When you have a serious hereditary disease, who has a right to know?

Genetic diagnosis is getting ever more sophisticated. But as doctors uncover diseases that are hereditary, who needs to know? Shaun Raviv explores the rights – and duties – of doctors, patients and families. In 2007, a middle-aged British man shot and killed his wife....
We need to talk about death, say parents of kids with life-limiting illnesses

We need to talk about death, say parents of kids with life-limiting illnesses

Julie reached out to me to speak about those frantic final days and hours at Montreal’s Sainte-Justine Hospital where Kate’s doctors tried desperately to extend her life — an attitude that Julie now believes made it difficult for her, her partner Brian and...
Second guessing family ties

Second guessing family ties

When my boyfriend came out to his family, his father attacked him. That was nearly 20 years ago now. For a long time he’d make attempts to get in contact with his siblings or his mother every couple years. They never went well. They were only willing to welcome...
Our Sacred Little World of Dying

Four Months, One Yellow Form, and the Endless High Waves of Caregiving

Every time I am outwardly sarcastic, impatient, and/or frustrated with him, I think to myself “you are probably going to write a blog post after all of this is done reflecting on how you could have been less sarcastic, more patient, and less triggered by frustration...
Laughing Until You Die

Laughing Until You Die

Humor May Be Antidote For Pain Of Death For Patients, Survivors Just weeks before Christmas some years ago, Shirley Rapp and her family faced the devastating news that she had what appeared to be a terminal illness. But that didn’t stop Rapp from wanting to do one...
Breaking bad news

Breaking bad news

How do you tell someone that they’re seriously ill, or even dying? Chrissie Giles explores how doctors learn and how they deal with the stress and trauma, for both their patients and themselves. Listen to or download an audiobook of this story...

Lessons from a hospice nurse

Alia Indrawan is an integrative healing practitioner and intuitive guide based in Bali, Indonesia. She has previously worked as a Hospice Nurse, helping people with terminal illness to die gracefully and in peace. She has taken the lessons she’s learned from...