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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.
FEATURED
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Poetree: The Innovative Urn: Margaux Ruyant's urn honors the life of the deceased while cultivating the new life of a tree -
Putting It Back Together: Exploring Grief through a near-death experience: A 21-year-old woman's near-fatal accident alters her relationship with life. -
Buddhism and the Eastern Middle Ground: In Buddhist tradition, our death falls into a plane of existence that continues even after our final breath
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Categories
Monthly Archives: April 2012
The Portrayal of Loss in The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Junot Diaz's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel manages to put death in a beautiful light
***This post contains spoilers*** As its title suggests, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao tells the life story of a young individual, up until his death. In fact, Junot Diaz‘s 2007 novel contains many deaths, but I’m going to examine … Continue reading
Exploring Grief, Loss, Death and Dying
Bloggers exploring the end-of-life through poetry, art, and prose.
Exploring Death This anonymous blogger created the blog entitled SarSaparillameliSSa to explore her world through photography and the written word. “The Tree that Bleeds” is a poem dedicated to exploring death. Here’s an excerpt: Long sunset shadows chill his bones. … Continue reading
Posted in Soulful Expressions
Tagged Art, Blogging, Death, Grief, Healing, Loss, Poetry
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What is Digital death? An Interview with Andreas Jacob
"Digital death" and end-of-life planning in the 21st century
What happens to our email accounts, e-banking, Facebook pages when we die? Increasingly, information assets companies like DSwiss are providing an easy solution. Continue reading
Why Can’t You Kill Off a Great Character?
A look into the pretend death of Kenny Powers from Eastbound & Down
If you’re a fan of Eastbound & Down, then you know what happened two weeks ago: Kenny Powers died and then he didn’t. In the Season 3 and series finale, we watched as Kenny (played by Danny McBride) finally made … Continue reading
“Life’s journey is not to arrive at the grave safely, in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting ‘Holy shit, what a ride!’”
-Mavis Leyrer
Posted in Laughter is Medicine
Tagged Death, Life, Mavis Leyrer, Quotes about Death, Quotes about Life
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Funeral Potatoes: Origins and Recipe
My family recipe for the savory side dish.
For years, my Wisconsin family has enjoyed the hardy dish we call “hash brown casserole,” but I’ve recently learned something interesting about its true origin. The casserole typically consists of hash browns or cubed potatoes, cheddar or Parmesan cheese, onions, … Continue reading
Letter to Suzette from an MD at UCSF Hospital
Dr. Dawn Gross reached out to SevenPonds to help find someone to vigil at the bedside of a dying patient who had no family
Hello Suzette, I want to thank you again for all that you did so immediately on behalf of a total stranger! Though none of your attempted connections came through directly the world is small and intention powerful so my patient … Continue reading
H.I.V. Prevention Justice Alliance Joins Caring Across Generations Coalition
Changing the Way We Care in This Country
New York – The H.I.V. Prevention Justice Alliance announced April 17th that they will be joining the new movement, Caring Across Generations, a national coalition of organizations including women, disability rights, older adult, worker, community, youth, student and caregiver organizations. … Continue reading
“Life’s a voyage that’s homeward bound.”
-Herman Melville
Posted in A Right of Passage
Tagged Death, Herman Melville, Herman Melville Quotes, Life, Quotes about Life
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Seeing the Beauty in Both Life and Death
William Butler Yeats inspires readers with "The Lake Isle of Innisfree"
When I took my “Literature in the 20th Century” course at my university, the professor of the class called William Butler Yeats’s “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” one of the most beautiful poems she had ever read; an article I … Continue reading
8 Factors That Determine the Top 10 Hospitals in the U.S.
My experience with the 7th top rated hospital, UCSF
Let’s start by looking at the best hospitals from the vantage point of the U.S. News and World Report. The 8 factors for ranking hospital standards are… Continue reading
Three Buildings With One Singular Message
Inappropriate Holocaust and Nazi references in design of buildings, particularly crematoriums
Woodland Crematorium is a very popular Swedish tourist stop but also has a similar design to that of Zeppelin Field, the Nazi’s party rally grounds. A comparison of three buildings and the history behind them reveal the inappropriate design of a this famous crematorium – a crematorium no less. Continue reading
Posted in Soulful Expressions
Tagged Crematorium, Crematory, Holocaust, International Crematoriums, Jewish, Woodland Crematorium
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How do ceremonies aid in the grieving process? An Interview with Kristine Bentz of Sweetgrass Ceremonies
How rituals and ceremonies aid in the grieving process
Kristine Bentz is a Life Cycle Celebrant and Home Funeral Guide, certified by the Celebrant Foundation and Institute. She holds an M.S. in Public Service Management, with an emphasis in servant leadership. Kelly: First of all, could you tell us … Continue reading
Film Review: Garden State (2004)
Loss of mother leads to self-discovery in this quirky indie film
Garden State begins with protagonist Andrew Largeman (Zach Braff) being informed via phone message that his paraplegic mother has died after a tragic bathtub accident. The death serves as a sort of trigger to the rest of the action: when … Continue reading
Book Review: “Making Toast”
The beautiful, tragic story of a grandfather losing his daughter
In his 2010 memoir, Making Toast, Roger Rosenblatt paints a beautiful portrait of what it means to lose someone too soon. After his daughter, Amy, dies suddenly of a rare heart abnormality, Rosenblatt and his wife move in with their … Continue reading
Coachella Honoring the Dead
Coachella Announces "Hologram Lineup" Featuring Only Dead Musicians
The music festival, Coachella honors our dead in quite the interesting and creative way. Continue reading
Advance Directives Let You Take Control at the End-of-Life
National Healthcare Decisions Day Helps U.S. Make and Share Decisions About End-of-Life Care
Do you know what kind of medical care you would want if you were too ill or injured to express your wishes? How do you ensure that your wishes — or the wishes of your loved ones — will be … Continue reading
“There is no grief like the grief that does not speak.”
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Posted in A Right of Passage
Tagged Death, Grief Quotes, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Quotes about Grief
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The Significance of Reflection
Joy Harjo's poem shows how looking back can guide us through the future
Joy Harjo is unique in that, not only is she an excellent writer, but she is a musician and a performer as well. That’s probably why her poems, including “Remember,” are so lyrical and seem to trip off the tongue. … Continue reading
A Memorial You Can See From the Heavens
Rancher in Argentina Designs His Ranch to Fulfill his Late Wife's Dream
If you’re set to fly over General Levalle, Argentina any time soon, keep an eye out for this spectacular design surrounding this family’s ranch. The gigantic guitar made of trees was the dream of Graciela Yraizoz, the matron of the … Continue reading
Posted in Soulful Expressions
Tagged Argentina, Art, Death, Design, Family, Loss, Memorial
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