Tag Archives: end-of-life

The Pitfalls of Choosing Hospice Care

Why a nonprofit hospice may be a more sensible option when choosing end-of-life palliative care

What if you’ve cared for terminally ill loved ones until your resources have been exhausted? You are exhausted too, having taken on a role of a nurse while grieving over the impending loss. Finally a decision is reached to find … Continue reading

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The Shift From Burials To Cremation In Western Culture

How journalist Jessica Mitford helped spark a cultural shift in our end-of-life practices

A popular joke goes a little something like this: one fish swims up to another fish and asks, “How’s the water?” The other fish responds, “What the hell is water?” David Foster Wallace and Derek Sivers have used this joke … Continue reading

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Smoke Gets In Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty

A young woman's funny, heartfelt memoir of working as a mortician and revolutionizing how we think of death

From her opening line “A girl always remembers the first corpse she shaves,” I could tell this isn’t your run-of-the-mill memoir. Caitlin Doughty’s Smoke Gets In Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory is at once laugh-out-loud funny and … Continue reading

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What is a Soul Midwife? An Interview with Felicity Warner: Part Two

In a two-part interview, Felicity Warner of Soul Midwives explains what it means to help someone explore and experience — even enjoy — their dying process

This is the second half of SevenPonds’ interview with Felicity Warner (read part one here). Felicity is the mind behind Soul Midwives, a service that has helped pioneer the movement towards holistic and spiritual palliative care. As the founder of … Continue reading

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Easing into the End of Life

Where does the US stand on the subject of death, dying and comprehensive end of life care?

People like to know what’s ahead. Yet, life is unpredictable. Perhaps one of the reasons death, something natural and something we all share, is still tainted with fear. How do you plan and prepare for an experience filled with uncertainty? … Continue reading

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Goodbye, Black: The Color-Coordinated Memorial Service Attire

Personalize an end-of-life or memorial ceremony by wearing your loved one's favorite color

3 Tips for a Colorful Celebration of Life Ceremony: The Victorian Era has been over for some time. Its tradition of wearing somber, formal black funeral attire to memorial and funeral services, however, is still the norm yet is starting … Continue reading

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