Tag Archives: end-of-life

Life & Death Silhouetted: Designboom’s “Portrait Urn”

How Dutch designer Nadia Gonegaï fuses art and end of life

There’s an unforgettable message in the cremation urn of Dutch designer Nadia Gonegaï. Art can bring vitality to everything, including end of life. The designer’s “Portrait Urn” was featured by Designboom’s Design for Death competition (of which SevenPonds has been … Continue reading

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Dying is Not Always a Sad Process, My Grandmother’s Glorious Last Hurrah

I answer the most asked question, what prompted me to create SevenPonds

We think of dying as something tragic–a path paved in despair. But my Swiss grandmother Ida taught me otherwise. At seventy-eight, she awoke one morning struggling to swallow. My mother took her to the doctor, who slid a scope down … Continue reading

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End of Life Care Scare: Passages Hospice Charged with Fraud

Illinois’ Seth Gillman over-extended his patients’ care, costing the government a lot of money

Seth Gillman of Lincolnwood, Illinois has been charged with health care fraud for manipulating the end of life care needs of his patients. The owner of hospice and end of life care center Passages, Gillman told his nurses to exaggerate … Continue reading

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Tikker: For Those Wondering, “When Will I Die?”

How Swedish inventor Fredrik Colting’s “death watch” affects our psyche

When will you die? The question is usually sparked by a powerful film or dream – and even then it doesn’t resonate for long. Sometimes it takes the passing of a loved one, or a brush with Death at an … Continue reading

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“Christmas Tree” by James Merrill

James Merrill writes on his own end of life through the perspective of a Christmas tree

Wound in lights, heavy with ornaments and heirlooms, photos of children now grown up or parents no longer here, the Christmas tree brightens the living room. It fills the floor with needles and scents the air with pine. Becomes a … Continue reading

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Funeral Practices in Sweden

Concerning death and funerals, the Swedish government caters to the needs of both its dominant Christian population, as well as those of every other religion

Though it’s filled with almost every kind of prominent world religion, Sweden also has a strong identity as a secularized country. This duality has thus influenced the way the Swedish government approaches the numerous funeral and burial practices in their … Continue reading

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