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Family Caregivers Left Out of Vaccines for Health Care Workers
Around 90% of home health care is provided by unpaid family members — but they’re still waiting for vaccinesHealth care workers were prioritized in the first COVID-19 vaccine rollout back in December, with thousands of doses administered to those who work in hospitals, nursing homes, and long-term care facilities. Meanwhile, many family caregivers — those who care for loved ones at home, typically without pay — are still wondering when they will be…
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Lack of Bereavement Leave and Other Policies Fail Bereaved Families (Interview)
Joyal Mulheron of Evermore describes lack of bereavement care in the U.S. as a public health crisisJoyal Mulheron has a long history in public policy. She’s advised the Obama White House and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, and has worked with Republicans and Democrats, corporations and advocates. In recent years, she’s brought this diverse experience to bear in a new field: bereavement care. Realizing that there was no other nonprofit looking…
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“In Your Dreams”
The music icon lost her best friend to leukemia — then married her widowerLove life is the stuff of rock-and-roll legend. The ethereal frontwoman of Fleetwood Mac was famously entangled with her bandmate Lindsay Buckingham, and their tumultuous relationship fueled the drama and intensity of their music. But there was also another, quieter love that shaped Nicks’ life: her best friend Robin Snyder, who died of leukemia in…
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I Lost My Father Twice — Once to Dementia and Once to a Flawed DNA Test
My father worried I wasn’t his biological son, and my siblings set out to prove it after he died. Their behavior broke my heart and destroyed my sense of who I was.This is Joseph’s story as told to Cara Olexa. Our “Opening Our Hearts” stories are based on people’s real-life experiences. By sharing these experiences publicly, we hope to help our readers feel less alone in their grief and, ultimately, to aid them in their healing process. In this story, Joseph talks about losing his father…
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“The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning”
In this book, a Swedish grandmother invites readers to reduce belongings at the end of lifeHaving passed the age of 80, Margareta Magnusson decided to engage in döstädning, a Swedish word that translates as “death cleaning” — and to write about it in “The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning.” In Sweden, death cleaning involves removing unnecessary items from your household as death approaches, allowing one to distribute family heirlooms,…
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Science Has Yet to Explain Near-Death Experiences
Near-death experiences have delivered plenty of answers, but even more questionsAt one point or another, most of us have seen a raccoon or a squirrel that tragically attempted to cross the highway at the wrong moment. Those little, furry beings lying on the side of the road are heartbreaking to see, but at least you know they’re not suffering. They’re not in any pain. They’re…
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Vietnam’s Peaceful Huong An Vien Visiting Center
Architects use bamboo to create a calm, light-filled setting for cemetery visitorsMany cemeteries have a heavy, oppressive atmosphere — and the architects of Huong An Vien Visiting Center wanted to build something different. To design a more tranquil space, they created structures of bamboo and other natural materials, set against the cemetery’s nature-filled grounds near Vietnam’s central city of Hue. Vietnam is home to many large-scale…
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Hospice Groups Are Calling for a National Grief Strategy
With the end of COVID-19 in sight, experts anticipate a greater need for mental health support — during and after the pandemicWith vaccinations rolling out swiftly across the country, a post-pandemic world is finally starting to look possible. However, many experts warn that the end of COVID-19 won’t necessarily spell a return to normalcy. In fact, some organizations in the U.S. and Canada have called for a national grief strategy to begin addressing the widespread trauma…
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Microsoft’s Chatbots Could Let Us Speak to the Dead
The company just received a patent to create chatbots based on anyone, including those who have diedWhen my stepdad died, the first thing I missed was our conversations. I missed hearing his voice. I missed texting him and getting his signature replies. When you love someone for a long time, you recognize their words almost as well as you recognize your own. It’s in the small things; how they use too…
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