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Interview with Teri Rose from George Mark Children’s House
George Mark Children’s House is a non-profit organization based in San Leandro, California, and the first freestanding pediatric palliative care center to open in the United Statesl. The facility has been a leader in the pediatric palliative care movement since its inception in 2004. George Mark Children’s House exists to serve families with children who have a…
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Estates, Spouses and The Limits of “Tax Free”
A few things to consider about leaving a portion of your estate — tax-free — to a spouseOur Tip of the Week: Everything you leave to a spouse after you die is tax-free – which, naturally, means a big tax break. But your children may end up paying the price, what with your foregoing the ability to use you estate tax exemption – thereby “increasing your surviving spouse’s taxable estate” (CNN). Also,…
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Twelve Breaths a Minute: End-of-Life Essays
A book of end-of-life essays sponsored by the Jewish Healthcare Foundation strives to open up a community conversation among medical providers and laypeople about their personal experiences with death and dyingMuch like our Opening Our Hearts series here on the SevenPonds blog, Twelve Breaths a Minute: End-of-Life Essays is a book filled with essays about people’s personal experiences with the end of life. As the editor Lee Gutkind notes, Twelve Breaths a Minute: End-of-Life Essays is a project of the Creative Nonfiction literary magazine and…
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Zuckerkuchen: The German Funeral Cake
Reflecting on the traditional German funeral cake, ZuckerkuchenThe mention of German food may entice images of bratwurst, beer and sauerkraut galore – but there’s one specialty from Deutschland that holds a special place amongst its inhabitants because it represents the inextricable bond between life and death. Sound like a lot of pressure for a bit of food? Well, the delicacy in question,…
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The AIDS Memorial Quilt
An ongoing project that began in San Francisco continues to remember those lost to AIDSWith World AIDS Day being this week, we thought it would be an appropriate time to reflect on the efforts of an important, ongoing project: the AIDS memorial quilt. The quilt, which is known as the largest collaborative project of its kind, began in the 1980s with a group of people who hoped to bring…
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“Everything I Own”
This heart-wrenching ballad captures what it feels like to lose a parentMusic has the uncanny quality of reaching inside of us and yanking out the emotions no human being could ever touch. As a teenager, I remember sitting in the passenger’s seat of a car with my mother. We had watched my grandmother die from lung cancer only a few days earlier. We sat in stoic…
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Fighting Dementia with Music
There’s mounting evidence that music can help combat aspects of dementia in the elderlyIt’s no secret that music and memory seem to be inextricably bound – how many times does a song come on the radio and you feel instantly transported to a moment you thought you’d forgotten? This remarkable aspect of music to jog our memory is also proving to be something that could help elderly people…
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Monday Hearts for Madalene
Page Hodel creates the most beautiful hearts in an ongoing celebration of loveA Hole in the Fabric of My Life It’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…
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