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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
Category Archives: Lending Insight
Is This Really the End?
A look at the movie This Is the End and its hilarious take on death
If you haven’t seen it by now, then go. This Is the End, with its star-studded cast and satirical bent, might be the funniest movie this year—possibly this decade. Those who enjoy films featuring James Franco, Seth Rogan, Jonah Hill … Continue reading
Book Review: “When Someone Dies” by Scott Taylor Smith
A practical guide to settling a person's affairs after death
“When Someone Dies” by author Scott Taylor Smith is described as a “step-by-step guide to all the practical things you must do after someone dies to settle the person’s affairs as quickly and cost-effectively as possible.” As a lawyer who … Continue reading
Posted in Lending Insight
Tagged Books on death and dying, Coma Death, Coping with Death, Coping with Grief, death without will, End-of--Life Stages, End-of-life finances, Head injurt treatment, last will and testament sample, legal death, Making lists, Planning death, Planning for end-of-life, Scott Taylor Smith, What to Do When Someone Dies
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Actress Michelle Williams on Mourning and Her “Year of Magical Thinking”
A recent interview with actress Michelle Williams about the sudden death in 2008 of her partner, actor Heather Ledger, reveals interesting lessons about both the nature of mourning and how we can be sensitive to those who are going through it.
Michelle Williams and Heath Ledger fell in love on set while filming Ang Lee’s 2005 film Brokeback Mountain, a film in which they played husband and wife. Shortly after filming, they became engaged and Williams had a baby, Matilda. In 2008, after Williams and Ledger had separated, Ledger, just 28 years old, was found dead of what was later determined to be an accidental overdose of prescription medication.
A private person by nature, in spite of her profession, Williams agreed to give her first on-camera interview with ABC’s Nightline correspondent Cynthia McFadden and was surprisingly candid about her grief. Continue reading
Short Story: “Breaking the News,” by Vladimir Nabokov (1935)
Friends struggle with how to break very bad news in this story of the moment before grief
A prominent 20th-century author and one of the great masters of language, Vladimir Nabokov wrote his share of epic, seminal novel-length works, including Lolita, Pale Fire, and Ada, or Ardor. But in the short story “Breaking the News,” first published … Continue reading
Posted in Lending Insight
Tagged Breaking the News, Classic Literature, Death, Loss, Loss of a Child, Vladimir Nabokov
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Book Review: “A Year to Live” by Stephen Levine
Prepare to die by preparing to live.
“When a journey is in our future, it is never too soon to check out the travel guides and customs, and to learn the language of the world approaching.” – Stephen Levine As the author and his wife face serious … Continue reading
Book Review: Proof of Heaven by Eben Alexander, M.D.
Neurologist Eben Alexander describes his “visit to heaven” in a Near Death Experience
“It was like being struck by a freight train,” said neurosurgeon Eben Alexander in his book Proof of Heaven (2012) on the pain he felt at 4:30 A.M. on November 10th, 2008. As both a stubborn husband and a man … Continue reading
Posted in Lending Insight
Tagged Death, Dr. Eben Alexander, Dying, E-Coli, Eben Alexander, God, Heaven, NDE, Near Death Experience, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Proof of Heaven, Real of the Earthworm Eye, Religion, Sprituality
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Book Review: “Closer Than You Think” by Deborah Heneghan Discusses After-Death Communication
Revealing true stories and techniques for connecting with loved ones on the other side
Have you ever wondered if there was a way to connect with a loved one who passed away? Better yet, have you ever experienced communication with a deceased loved one? If so, then you’re not alone. In Closer Than You … Continue reading
Posted in Lending Insight
Tagged After Death Communication, After Death Communication Signs, Angel, Connecting with Loved Ones on the Other Side, Death, Deborah Heneghan, Faith, Grief, Grief Loss and Bereavement, Grief support, Grieving, Grieving Your Own Way, Health, Kübler-Ross model, Loved One, Mental health, Natalie, Spirituality
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Book Review: “Cremation or Burial? A Jewish View” by Doron Kornbluth
A case advocating burial over the increasingly popular practice of cremation
Modern society tends to prefer cremation: it is perceived as cheaper than a burial, more environmentally sound, and, well, just more hip. To the contemporary person, “the idea of scattering ashes seems a eco-friendly alternative” to burial. The idea of … Continue reading
Posted in Lending Insight
Tagged Abrahamic Religions, Ashes, Burial, Cremation, Death, Death Care, Doron Kornbluth, Dying, Eco-Friendly, environmental impact, Funeral, Funeral Services, Great Britain, Grieving, Japan, Jewish Culture, Jewish Tradition, Judaism, Natural burial, Sea Burial, Space Funeral, United States
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Book Review: The Art of Being a Healing Presence (2001)
How to help a loved one through a tough time
What does it mean to be a “healing presence”? Is being present a simple physical state — or is there something more to it? The Art of Being a Healing Presence, a slim 2001 book written by counselor and ordained … Continue reading
Posted in Lending Insight
Tagged Grief Counseling, Healing, Healing Process, helping loved ones grieve
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Book Review: “By the Time You Read This, I’ll Be Dead” by Julie Anne Peters
The sick lit novel at the center of controversy for its handling of teen suicide.
I wish I could tell my parents, “If you want to help me, help me die.” Have you ever felt less beautiful than your peers? Have you ever been bullied? Have you ever felt completely alone with your troubles? Have … Continue reading
Book Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
The young adult novel that takes on death, love and loss
The Fault in Our Stars is about as YA as it gets — the snarky attitudes, teen love dramas and arguments with parents all scream young adult fiction. The only thing differentiating this book from so many others is its … Continue reading
Film Review: That’s “Amour”
A couple’s love is tested in anticipation of death in Michael Haneke’s latest film.
Austrian director Michael Haneke’s Oscar winning film is not easy, nor pleasurable to watch. Because one can’t just watch Amour—they have to experience it, and become invested in its characters to a degree that is rare in the movies today. … Continue reading
Posted in Lending Insight
Tagged Amour, Austria, Caregiving, Death, Depression, Emmanuelle Riva, France, French Cinema, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Lending Insight, Loss of a Loved One, Love, Michael Heneke, Old age, oscars, Stroke
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Book Review: The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri
Sensitive, honest portrayal of loss in the story of the Ganguli family
The family saga is a tried-and-true literary genre, one that usually follows a central clan as they grow, marry, have children, age and eventually die. There’s a certain rhythm to these types of stories — unlike so many other novels, … Continue reading
Film Review: My Girl (1991)
"When your dad's an undertaker, your mom's in heaven, and your grandma's got a screw loose... it's good to have a friend who understands you."
After a more-than-twenty-year hiatus, I put on the movie My Girl this week, and I wasn’t prepared for how moved I would be by the end. My memories of the clips I’ve seen throughout my life promised a cheesy film about a … Continue reading
How Do You Use Words to Describe Classical Music?
It's a conundrum when reading (rather than listening to) "1,001 Classical Recordings You Must Hear Before You Die”
When asked to review “1,001 Classical Recordings You Must Hear Before You Die” (Gereral Editor Matthew Rye, Universe Publishing) I groaned after paging through the nine centuries of western music that laid before me. As someone who studied classical music … Continue reading
Coming Soon: The Afterlife of Billy Fingers by Annie Kagan
A sneak preview of the book and the afterlife
Years ago, I went to a past life regression therapy session with Dr. Peter Wright, an experienced hypnotherapist. I don’t tell many people this story for a couple of reasons. For one, most people I know aren’t entirely comfortable with … Continue reading
Book Review: “The Last Frontier: Exploring the Afterlife and Transforming Our Fear of Death,” (2012) by Julia Assante
Where we all must boldly go
For the uninitiated, Julia Assante’s The Last Frontier might be a bit of a stretch. The aim is certainly ambitious, certainly admirable, and she will surely win as many fans as she will accolades. Deservedly, in this reviewer’s humble opinion. … Continue reading
Posted in Lending Insight
Tagged Afterlife, Encounters, Julia Assante, Life After Death, Near Death Experience, New Age, the Last Frontier, Visitations
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Book Review: Famous Last Words
Pocket-sized book takes a lighter look at some notable final utterances
Are a person’s last words important? Do they leave some indelible mark on this world, having been the final vocalizations of a human being before he or she passes into the next one? I’ll leave that for you to decide. … Continue reading
Film Review: “Dying Wish” the Documentary
A dying doctor's decision to stop eating and drinking and die with grace.
In 2007, retired surgeon Michael Miller was dying of end-stage cancer and was determined to avoid the extended pain of the end-of-life process that awaited him. He had decided years earlier that if the effects of his cancer became too … Continue reading
Posted in Lending Insight
Tagged Death, Documentary film, Dying wish, End-of-life care
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A Look at the Funeral Industry Business
CNBC schedules a one-hour special "Death: It's a Living"
Tonight at 9pm ET/PT, CNBC is doing their first one-hour special documentary that takes an in-depth look at death as an industry. In our society, the funeral industry business remains largely a mystery, and we hope CNBC’s “Death: It’s a Living” will demystify … Continue reading
