Author Archives: Liz Matsushita (Blog Writer, SevenPonds)

What Is Palliative Care? An Interview with Dawn Gross

Why palliative care physicians are fairy godmothers, not "Grim Reapers"

Dawn Gross, MD, PhD, is a hospice physician at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Her background is in hematology and immunology, and she now works for the hospital’s Palliative Care Service, specializing in treating patients facing life-altering illnesses and … Continue reading

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In Bruges (2008) by Martin McDonagh

Madcap hitman flick that treats with humor some of life's deeper questions

This hilarious, moody, very violent film by writer-director Martin McDonagh is incredibly difficult to characterize. Is it a comedy? An action/heist flick? A downer drama? Hard to say. Whatever it is, it blends elements of all these genres brilliantly, features … Continue reading

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What Is Elder Abuse? An Interview with Marti Riporetti-Brown

What is elder abuse, and how can we prevent it?

Marti Riparetti-Brown is a second year doctoral student at USC’s Davis School of Gerontology. She focuses on, among other things, the prevalence and risk factors of elder abuse and neglect in American caregiving. We spoke to Marti about the dangers … Continue reading

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“Videotape,” by Radiohead

"When I'm at the pearly gates, this will be on my videotape"

I’ve always been of the opinion that the last song on an album holds a special significance. An artist will usually leave the listener with a parting shot– a summation, perhaps, of the album’s themes, or some poignant words of … Continue reading

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The Land before Time (1988) by Don Bluth

Lovely animated tale of dinosaurs could help children to understand and deal with losing a parent

Here on the SevenPonds blog, we’ve reviewed many healing films and suggested many more (you can check out a full list of our suggestions on our Multimedia page). Many of our films, however, are aimed towards adults. What about children, … Continue reading

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What is Spiritual Healing? – An Interview with Dale Borglum

Considering conscious dying and spiritual healing as we plan for the end-of-life

Dale Borglum is the founder and Executive Director of the Living/Dying Project, a group that offers healing to those at the end-of-life and their caregivers. Dale has had a long and impressive career in healing, spirituality, and caring for dying … Continue reading

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