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Congressional Bill Seeks to Protect Undocumented African American Burial Grounds
A national database for long lost graves is also in the worksAlmost 50 years ago, a Joni Mitchell lyric protested against decisions to “pave paradise to put up a parking lot” in the name of progress. Replacing a natural habitat with new construction becomes even more problematic when it is discovered that the upheaval occurs on sacred ground. In the midst of new development and archaeological…
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“Deeper into the Soul”
The authors challenge us to rethink our attitudes about dementia“Deeper into the Soul: Beyond Dementia and Alzheimer’s Toward Forgetfulness Care,” is a guidebook for people and caregivers who live and work with loved ones or patients who have symptoms of dementia. The authors implore us to re-brand dementia and Alzheimer’s as “forgetfulness.” Nader Shabahangi and Bogna Szymkiewicz purport that the term “dementia” stigmatizes people with symptoms…
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Technology and Mourning: Changes in How We Mourn, How We Remember, and How We Memorialize Our Dead
For better or worse, technology is transforming our processes of griefTechnology is not a new thing. The world was forever changed when the printing press was invented, when electricity was discovered, and when the computer chip was produced. Technology continually changes every aspect of the world. In the world of grief, technology has affected three areas: how we mourn, how we remember, and how we…
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March 10-16 is Patient Safety Awareness Week
This year’s focus is improving patient safety in outpatient care and choosing your advocateSunday, March 10th marks the beginning of Patient Safety Awareness Week (PSAW), an annual event intended to raise awareness of the issues affecting patient safety in our health care system and spur conversation and innovation to deal with the problem. And it is a problem. One recent study found that medical errors may be responsible for…
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What Is Songs for Life? (Interview)
An interview with Morgan Bolender, board member of You’re Going to Die and the head of Songs for LifeMorgan Bolender sits on the board of You’re Going To Die, a Bay Area, California-based nonprofit dedicated to bringing diverse communities into the conversation of death and dying. She is also the head of Songs For Life, a program run by You’re Going To Die that brings musicians to the bedsides of hospice patients, to…
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The Generosity of Alan Naiman
How one man’s frugal life and generous spirit led to one of the largest charitable donations in historyAlan Naiman was a rare bird. After a career in banking, Naiman spent the last 20 years of his life working for the Washington Department of Social and Health Services, where he earned an annual salary of just over $67,000 — a fairly modest salary for someone living in the Seattle area Naiman called home.…
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“How To Die: An Ancient Guide to the End of Life”
A compilation of writings on death and dying by the Roman Stoic SenecaIn his 60s, Seneca wrote his “Moral Epistles,” a collection of letters he wrote to Lucilius, also in his 60s at the time. Romm’s collection opens with excerpts from these letters, where Seneca reveals his belief that “Those who have learned how to die have unlearned how to be slaves.” He writes at great length about preparing for…
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“Secret O’ Life”
Psssst …it may be simpler than you think — or not!James Taylor composed “Secret O’ Life” way back when he had a full head of hair. Since that time, the unassuming song has been on just about every one of his concert playlists even though it was never released as a single. (Back in the musician’s fully tressed days, not every song on an album…
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