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Fed by the Shadow of Death
Renaissance painters were masters of light, life, death and shadowThe cultural bloom of the Italian – and wider European – Renaissance was fed by the shadow of death. The bubonic plague was carried by fleas traveling on rodents, who then hitched rides along the expanding trade routes in the 1300s. The plague periodically wiped out large swaths of the European population for the next…
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What are Burial Shrouds? (Interview)
Kate Hoover of Vale Shrouds talks about what inspired her to start her shroud-making business and what the shroud-making process entailsToday SevenPonds speaks with Kate Hoover, the founder of Vale Shrouds. Based in Brooklyn, NY, Kate studied sociology at Barnard College and fashion design at Parsons School of Design. She has worked in the garment and publishing industries in various design capacities. After practicing yoga for over a decade, she received her yoga teacher training certification…
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“The Fall of Freddie the Leaf: A Story of Life for All Ages”
A story that helps children understand death as a dignified, even joyful passingWhen it comes to story time with your little one, death is maybe the last thing you want to read about (other than Eloise’s adventures at the Plaza for the hundredth time!). You know it’s an important topic to introduce, yet the thought of your children’s already-too-fleeting innocence being infringed upon by such heavy, adult…
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Rural China’s Erotic Funeral Dancers
How globalism and economics influenced Chinese funeral traditionsHiring professional mourners is a common practice in many parts of the world, especially in rural China. Yet one mourning practice has inspired a country-wide crackdown. In recent years, some families in China have hired exotic dancers to perform at their loved one’s funerals. If you have trouble picturing a striptease at a funeral, you’re…
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The Return of the Shrouding Women
Women are reclaiming jobs as funeral directors – a death-care profession dominated by men for over a centuryOnce death care was viewed as a woman’s job. The shrouding women washed the body of the deceased, anointed it with herbs, dressed and prepared it for a funeral or a wake. Women helped bring life into this world and also facilitated the departure from life by caring for the dead and the dying and…
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The Promise and Hope a New Blood Test Brings as an Alternative to Cancer Biopsies
Researchers across the U.S. are testing out a blood test that could potentially find pieces of cancer DNA in one’s bloodFor the most part, cancer biopsies tend to involve surgeons having to operate and remove pieces of wherever the suspicious cells and tissues that could be tumors might reside. According to a recent New York Times article, however, there is a new option called a “liquid biopsy,” a blood test that “is showing promise in…
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Monday Hearts for Madalene
Page Hodel creates the most beautiful hearts in an ongoing celebration of loveIt’s an honor for SevenPonds to share with our readers the story of the Monday Hearts for Madalene project, a true account of the power of love in the midst of death. The project’s origins take us to 2005: the moment Page Hodel encountered Madalene Rodriguez and fell “instantly, dizzyingly in love with her.” The couple’s first meeting was…
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