Tag Archives: Death

A Very Easy Death by Simone de Beauvoir

In writing on her mother's death, French writer Simone de Beauvoir touched on palliative and end-of-life care questions long before her time

The most remarkable thing about Simone de Beauvoir’s A Very Easy Death (1964) is its author’s deft choice to seek the ordinary. Beauvoir’s is not a story we haven’t heard before — mother is diagnosed with cancer; children struggle by … Continue reading

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Predicting Parkinson’s?

Oxford scientists say a new “resting state fMRI” scan can detect onset of Parkinson’s

An Oxford study in last week’s Neurology brings new hope to the prospect of detecting Parkinson’s disease in its earliest stages. Currently, the disorder has no cure, remaining one of the most painful chronic illnesses due to its gradually degenerative … Continue reading

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A Will For The Woods by Amy Browne, Jeremy Kaplan, Tony Hale, and Brian Wilson

Explores the growing natural or green burial movement

The film A Will For The Woods answers one of the most asked questions I get — just what is green burial? (For the answer, see links at the end of this post). Few are familiar with this age-old concept … Continue reading

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Kicking The Bucket: A Festival of Living and Dying

A two-week festival in Oxford contributes to the end-of-life conversation with a casual, refreshing celebration

At SevenPonds, we strive to open the conversation on death and dying—and we wholeheartedly support others who do the same. After all, we are just a part of a growing global community. This fall, Oxford-based Westmill Woodland Burial Ground is … Continue reading

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“At the Funeral” by Mark Twain

Mark Twain offers us some lighthearted guidance on how to act at a funeral in his 1881 essay “At The Funeral”

For some, death has a unique way of not only modifying your perspective of a person but also altering your understanding of your own relationship with him or her. You may find that suddenly, after passing, an acquaintance has become … Continue reading

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Transforming Loss (2013) by Judith R. Burdick

Director Judith R. Burdick shows how grief can help surviving family members strive to make the world a better place

The death of a loved one is never easy. Whether the loss is sudden and unexpected, or if it is a long time coming, the grief that we feel in the moments, days, or even years after losing someone who … Continue reading

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