On Death and DyingWELCOME TO OUR BLOG
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: March 2012
What’s the role of spirituality in healing? An Interview with Karen M. Wyatt, M.D.
Discussing the role of spirituality in medicine and its relation to hospice care
Dr. Karen Wyatt is a physician who focuses on spirituality and applying Integral Medicine concepts to the care of her patients. She is also the author of A Matter of Life and Death: Stories to Heal Loss & Grief, and … Continue reading
Album Review: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (1998)
As frontman Jeff Mangum makes his return, we take a look back at Neutral Milk Hotel's musical masterpiece about death
Jeff Mangum – singer, songwriter, auteur, recluse, and enigmatic frontman of late ‘90s indie outfit Neutral Milk Hotel – was inspired to write his magnum opus because of Anne Frank. At least, that’s the theory espoused by the (many) fans … Continue reading
Exploring the Traditions of Greece
How a funeral rite has outlasted the centuries
One of the most seldom discussed funeral rites in our culture happens to be one of the most ancient. What started in 1100 B.C. Greece is still largely practiced today. In archaic times, Greeks either buried or cremated their loved … Continue reading
Let’s Have a Discussion About End-of-Life Care
A story about the financial cost of dying reminds us of the physical and emotional price.
A recent article in the San Jose Mercury News not only let writer Lisa Krieger share the story of her father’s final days with intrigued readers, but also taught the author some valuable lessons about what she considers “a good … Continue reading
“People living deeply have no fear of death.”
-Anais Nin
Posted in A Right of Passage
Tagged Anais Nin, Death, Inspirational Quotes about Death, Life
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The Movie “The Bridge” Analyzes Why Suicide Happens
This exploration of Golden Gate Bridge suicides tackles a difficult subject
When we hear news of a recent suicide, whether near or remote to our own lives, everything in us stops still. We naturally think: “why suicide?” Understanding and examining suicidal tendencies is unquestionably one of the most mysterious, difficult topics … Continue reading
Conquering Death
Robert Browning's poem views dying as a victory
Back in February I wrote about a love sonnet by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Today, I’m analyzing a poem by her husband, Robert Browning, who was also a famous poet. The poem is called “Prospice,” which is a Latin term meaning … Continue reading
Posted in The Next Chapter
Tagged Death, Death Poetry, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Prospice, Robert Browning, Robert Browning Poetry
5 Comments
[A]Dressing the Dead: Garments for the Grave
Pia Interlandi Designs Burial Clothing for Stages of Transformation
Pia Interlandi is a fashion designer, artist, funeral celebrant, and teacher based in Melbourne, Australia. She often incorporates ideas of death, ritual, and transformation into her unique designs, and has even designed clothing for burial, informed by a fascination with human … Continue reading
Posted in Soulful Expressions
Tagged Burial, Death, Design, Fashion, Fashion design, Pia Interlandi
2 Comments
What is mind-body Medicine? Interview with Lora Matz, MS., LICSW
Talking About Integrative Medicine and the Importance of Understanding Your Own End-of-Life Journey
Lora Matz has been a leader in the field of Integrative Medicine for many years. She is a psychotherapist, lecturer, and writer who works extensively throughout the country in the area of Mind-Body Medicine and Transpersonal Development. She works in … Continue reading
Posted in Professional Advice
Tagged Death, End-of-life care, Integrative Medicine, Lora Matz, Mind-Body Medicine, Palliative Care
3 Comments
Book Review: “A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius” by Dave Eggers
A Memoir of a Strange and Unique Life After the Loss of a Loved One
Through his popular memoir, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, San Francisco author Dave Eggers chronicles his experience raising his younger brother Toph after the family loses each of their parents to cancer. The book is, indeed, at times heartbreaking … Continue reading
Lost but Not Forgotten
Developing a spiritual approach to death
This is the story of Adrienne, as told by Kelly Larsen I was married for 29 years; I got married when I was 23. And my husband and I sort of grew up together. We had the perfect marriage, everything … Continue reading
Posted in Opening our Hearts
Tagged Death, Grief, Remembrance, Shine on Brightly, Spirituality
3 Comments
Art Guides Children and Parents Through Grief
"Dancing with Midwives" Expresses One Woman's Grieving Process After the Loss of a Child
Author Ann Faison‘s understanding of grief began with her own grieving process after giving birth to her still-born child. She is trained as a visual artist, a musician, and a healer, so her healing process naturally leads to a focus … Continue reading
Posted in Something Special
Tagged Art, Books, Children, Grief, Grief Loss and Bereavement, Healing, Loss of a Child
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“The fear of death is the most unjustified of all fears, for there’s no risk of accident for someone who’s dead.”
-Albert Einstein
On the Death of a Brother
Seamus Heaney's "Mid-Term Break" is raw, real
Seamus Heaney was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995 for his poetry, and it is no wonder why; his works have their own beauty and rhythm that gives them a kind of musical quality. One of his poems, … Continue reading
Posted in The Next Chapter
Tagged Death, Death of a Naturalist, Grief, Literature, Mid-Term Break, Seamus Heaney
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Kourageous Kids Storybooks Make Children the Heroes of Their Own Stories
Custom Storybooks Offer Strength, Love, Compassion, and Courage to Children with Life-Threatening Illnesses
Kourageous Kids Storybooks was created to bring hope, joy, and laughter to children fighting cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. The organization creates custom picture books that depict the children as heroes and heroines in a story of their choice. The … Continue reading
Posted in Soulful Expressions
Tagged Art, Books, Children, Kourageous Kids Storybooks, Picture book, terminal illness
1 Comment
An Interview with Marilyn Reiss-Carradero, Pt. 2
The continuation of our conversation on palliative care in the hospital and end-of-life planning
Liz: As a nurse, what kind of special perspective do you have on end-of-life in the hospital? Marilyn: Once you’re in the hospital, the nurse is going to become your best friend. Because we are so much more intimately involved … Continue reading
Love, Loss, and Laughter: Seeing Alzheimer’s Differently
Photographs by Cathy Greenblat Challenge the Common Stereotypes of Alzheimer's and Dementia
An exhibition of 84 poignant photographs demonstrating a new global approach to caring for people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias — and sharply disputing common stereotypes of dementia patients — opens today and continues through April 28 at the Michael … Continue reading
Posted in Something Special
Tagged Alzheimer's disease, Art, Cathy Greenblat, end-of-life, News, Pace University, photography
3 Comments