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Welcome to the SevenPonds.com blog – a community-driven extension of SevenPonds.com! I hope you find comfort and community in the resources and stories featured here. I’m always happy to hear from readers and can be reached at suzette@sevenponds.com.
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10 Facts About Hospice Care You May Not Know" />
10 Facts About Hospice Care You May Not Know: NHPCO stresses that hospice is about living fully, not preparing for death. -
Man of Many Faces" />
Man of Many Faces: A niece says goodbye to her favorite gay uncle, in whom she confided about her own sexuality -
Last Rites: A Catholic Send-Off" />
Last Rites: A Catholic Send-Off: A look at the religion's final prayer procession for the dying
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Monthly Archives: October 2011
Keeping a Sense of Humor
Lorrie Moore's short story is modern in its ideas, and comical in its approach
I’ve written a lot on older literature, poems and stories from centuries ago, and because of this, I’ve decided to write about a modern author this week. I was introduced to the stories of Lorrie Moore last year, and I … Continue reading
Posted in The Next Chapter
Tagged Death, Go Like This, Lorrie Moore, Rational Suicide, Self-Help
6 Comments
How to Make Your Own Sugar Skull
Celebrate Dia de Los Muertos with this delicious tradition!
One of the most popular traditions of Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is the Mexican sugar skull, one that dates back to the 17th century. These brightly-colored candy sculptures are loved by children and adults alike, and … Continue reading
Posted in Soulful Expressions
Tagged Art, Celebration of Life, Day of Dead, Dia de Los Muertos, Memorial, Remembrance, Sugar Skulls
1 Comment
Interview with Dr. Duncan, Part Two
Diving deeper into her work and the grief process
Read part one of my interview with Dr. Lael Conway Duncan, where we discuss her work at Good Medicine, integrative medicine, and the emerging practice of private medical advocacy and guidance. Katie Ryan: What are some specific situations you’ve had … Continue reading
Halloween’s Deathly History
Halloween Rites Reflect a Wide Range of Cultures’ Collective Struggles with the Concept of Death
It’s that time of year again. Jack O’Lanterns, false cobwebs, and paper or plastic skeletons are popping up all over the place. If you awakened from a coma, you could probably approximate the date. It’s time for Halloween, one of … Continue reading
Posted in Something Special
Tagged 9/11, Cultural Perspectives, Death, Dying, Halloween, Spirituality and Belief
4 Comments
Thinking Positively
How my husband's death at a young age helped me see things in a new light
This is the story of Loraine Lister, as told by Kelly Larsen I bought a flower shop in Tracy the April after Dick died. I sold it when I was 75 after 22 years. It was 1983 when he died, … Continue reading
Dragon Mothers: How to Parent a Dying Child
Emily Rapp’s “Notes from a Dragon Mom” distinguishes between directing the future and loving the present
Emily Rapp is a self-proclaimed Dragon Mom. Her baby son, Ronan, is almost certainly going to die before he turns three. He was born with Tay-Sachs, a genetic disease for which there is no cure. Such a horrible fact has … Continue reading
”I shift my pillow closer to the full moon.”
- Saiba, Died on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, 1858 at the age of fifty-one.
The Importance of Memories
Anne Bronte's poem teaches a lesson in remembering loved ones
You’re probably familiar with the works of Charlotte and Emily Bronte; but what you may not know is that they had a younger sister, Anne, who was also a writer. Unfortunately, the successes of her older siblings tended to leave … Continue reading
What to Do When Someone Dies
Ten Tips Above and Beyond Typical Funeral Arrangements
Everyday at SevenPonds we are working hard to research and expand our content to arm our readers with more information, guidance and choices on what to do when someone dies. Our daily deep dive allows a wide knowledge base of … Continue reading
Posted in Sharing Suzette
Tagged Celebrants, Celebrity Death, Consumer Funeral Alliance, Cremation, Cremation Retailer, Crematorium, Death and Dying, Death and Loss, Disposition, Disposition Services, Embalming, environmental impact, Funeral Arrangements, Funeral home, Funeral Homes, Healing Process, Life Celebrations, Memorial Service, Natural Death Care, Purchasing Cremation, Shopping Disposition, The Funeral Rule, What to Do When Someone Dies, When Someone Dies
3 Comments
A Night for All Souls
The Vancouver event reminds us of the importance of remembrance and memorials
Coinciding with traditional cultural events like Day of the Dead, the 7th annual A Night for All Souls at Vancouver’s Mountain View Cemetery brings together artists and community to create a family-oriented event for remembrance and reflection. The event allows … Continue reading
Posted in Soulful Expressions
Tagged A Night for All Souls, Arts, Death, Events, Memorial, Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver
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What is PsychoTherapy? Interview with Suzie Sherman
Learn how addressing grief, loss, and death through psychotherapy can help us live richer, more authentic lives
Dana Sitar: Is psychotherapy a common approach for dealing with grief and loss? Suzie Sherman: Yes, absolutely. If we’re talking about straight on grief and loss issues, this is a very common way to address them. Deep-seated feelings come up … Continue reading
“I am in a duel to death with this wallpaper. One of us has to go.”
Oscar Wilde
Posted in Laughter is Medicine
Tagged Death Poems, Death Poems for Loved Ones, Death Quotes, Death Saying, Death Saying Goodbye, Famous Death Poems, Famous Sayings About Death, Funny Death Sayings, Memorial Poems, Poem for a Funeral, Poems for Funeral, Poems on Death, Sayings About Death of a Friend
2 Comments
Classic Book Review: As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner
How the Bundren Family’s Journey to Bury Their Dying Matriarch Speaks to Life as Much as Death
Faulkner was a “Southern” writer, in the vein of Flannery O’Connor, but like O’Connor, his works tend to speak to larger themes. His third novel, As I Lay Dying, concerns a relatively simple set of events: the death of the … Continue reading
My Mother and Death
Strength in the face of grief
In my twenty-five years, I have hardly experienced death. Not the truly devastating kind, really. I haven’t seen violence or lost someone close to me by surprise or suffered through a long disease. In my life, in fact, I have … Continue reading
Posted in Opening our Hearts
Tagged Death, end-of-life, Family, Grief Loss and Bereavement, Mother
2 Comments
Message to Suzette From an Old Friend on Facebook
"I'm actually 34,000 feet up right now on my way to see my mom. She's in the last days of stage 4 cancer. She just went on in home hospice last night. I've been following sevenponds and it helps." Thanks M
Posted in Opening Letters
2 Comments
Dying Woman Paddles Until Death
With 6 months to live, Michele Baldwin embarks on a month-long voyage down the Ganges
Michele Baldwin, at 45 and a mother of three, has come up with a unique way to spend what may be her final days. “I”m going out with a bang.” Baldwin discovered early in the summer that she had cervical … Continue reading
Posted in Something Special
Tagged Cervical cancer, GIAHC, India, Living Memorial, Michele Baldwin, Stand-up Paddleboard
2 Comments
The Move Toward Genuine Life
William Wordsworth's beautiful translation conveys a bold message
For this week’s selection, I’ve chosen something slightly different from previous weeks: that is, a famous poet’s translation of another famous poet’s work. The poem in question is William Wordsworth’s translation of an epitaph by Gabriello Chiabrera. The poem has … Continue reading
Posted in The Next Chapter
Tagged Afterlife, Death, Dying, Gabriello Chiabrera, William Wordsworth
4 Comments