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“How to Die in Oregon”
HBO’s Documentary How to Die in Oregon is a Heart-Wrenching ExperiencePeter Richardson’s documentary How to Die in Oregon, which premiered last night on HBO, is not easy viewing. Throughout its 108 minutes people die, discuss their death beforehand, say last goodbyes to their children, and slog through the last stages of terminal illnesses waiting for the “right time.” For them, the “right time” is that…
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Do Animals Experience Grief?
Behavior in some animals after the death of a companion suggests animals grieve, too.We can easily look at this picture of Gana the mother Gorilla carrying her dead baby and see the loss in her face. But, are we simply projecting human emotions onto her, imagining her grief as the only explanation for behavior we can’t understand? Individual animals and packs are often spotted displaying such behavior, and…
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What are your End-of-life Options?
The eight most common misconceptions about death and dyingMany years ago, I was at the New York City Gift Show and I happened to mention my knowledge of the end-of-life industry to a woman at a booth. Her eyes widened and a look of grave concern overtook her face as she inquired about the average volume of cremation ashes produced by cremating a…
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What is a Good Death?
Elizabeth Edwards’ Death by Metastatic Cancer and Our Conception of a Good DeathEvery person might have a different idea of what constitutes a “good death.” Perhaps a good death would center on emersion in the love of family or reconciling conflicts with those who were once important to us. Our culture’s discomfort in frankly discussing death is a theme we return to often at SevenPonds, as we…
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Glee Funeral Episode – Who Dies on Glee?
Rumors of Glee character death are confirmed in second-to-last episodeSPOILER ALERT! In this week’s episode of the TV show Glee, amidst the drama of preparing for show choir Nationals, the students of the glee club decide to take on an unusual task: planning a funeral. Rumors of a death in the series have been swirling around for some time, and that was confirmed recently…
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Funeral Urns: Art to Honor Life
Funeria urns and art exhibit stand as memorial to individuals we’ve lostFuneria is an international arts agency that enlists top artists to create unique art you might not expect: funeral urns. Each piece is a fascinating memorial to the individual it was created to honor, a beautiful work of art that oftentimes is not even distinguishable as a funeral urn upon first glance. With the country’s…
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What are Home Funerals? (Interview)
The inspiring woman behind “Seasons of Change” home funeral servicesAnn-Ellice Parker is the wonderfully insightful “death midwife” who runs Seasons of Change home funeral and end-of-life practice in Berkeley, CA. Join SevenPonds for an extra in-depth interview about death and dying, home funerals, aid in dying, and more… Aurora: Why do you do this work? Ann-Ellice: I started as a death midwife and home…
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The State of Organ Donation Today
The Waitlist is Growing for an Organ Donation Many May Never ReceiveOrgan donation remains one of the most pressing and complex subjects in medical care. The recipient waitlist continues to grow: currently over 110,000 people in the U.S. are waiting for some form of major organ donation, and many of them will never get one — an average of 18 waitlist patients die every day for…
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Death and Dying
It came to haunt me on Facebook todayDeath and dying can come any time — even at the most benign moment, while casually surfing Facebook. When I logged on yesterday, up popped the beautiful faces of long gone P. Scott Makela’s children. Fresh, grown-up yet innocent faces. While devoid of any suggestion of death and dying to the Facebook public at large,…
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