• What is a Celebrant? (Interview)A professional "celebrant" names the key ingredients for a successful memorial

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    What is a Celebrant? (Interview)
    A professional “celebrant” names the key ingredients for a successful memorial



  • “Ordinary People”Movie gives us an intimate look at a grieving family as they try to cope with loss.

    “Ordinary People”
    Movie gives us an intimate look at a grieving family as they try to cope with loss.

    In Robert Redford’s 1980 directorial debut, a wealthy family deals with coping with loss as they struggle with the death of the oldest son, Buck Jarrett. “Ordinary People” explores how […]

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  • Death: The “Great Equalizer”? African American Deathways and Inequality (Interview)Death scholar and associate professor Dr. Kami Fletcher gives an interview on the history of death in the Black community.

    Death: The “Great Equalizer”? African American Deathways and Inequality (Interview)
    Death scholar and associate professor Dr. Kami Fletcher gives an interview on the history of death in the Black community.

    Dr. Kami Fletcher is a death scholar and associate professor of U.S. and African American history at Albright College. Her work focuses on African American deathways and deathwork, examining African […]

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  • “Wind Phone” Provides Grievers a Chance To Call Their Loved OnesA man set up a special phone to call his recently deceased cousin – and the idea has caught on.

    “Wind Phone” Provides Grievers a Chance To Call Their Loved Ones
    A man set up a special phone to call his recently deceased cousin – and the idea has caught on.

    Little did Itaru Sasaki know that a phone he set up to use to call his deceased cousin would end up resonating with so many people.  Sasaki in 2010 built […]

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  • Research on Lithium Shows Potential To Treat Alzheimer’s DiseaseA new Harvard study on mice revealed that small doses of the metal reversed symptoms.

    Research on Lithium Shows Potential To Treat Alzheimer’s Disease
    A new Harvard study on mice revealed that small doses of the metal reversed symptoms.

    At Harvard Medical School, research scientists may have found a key ingredient that could have a major impact on ways to detect and treat Alzheimer’s disease. As a bonus, it’s […]

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  • “Death Canoe” Poetry Review: Grief Is a Vessel Carried Away by a CurrentThe innovative and deeply vulnerable Maggie Nelson explores the transformational nature of inescapable grief

    “Death Canoe” Poetry Review: Grief Is a Vessel Carried Away by a Current
    The innovative and deeply vulnerable Maggie Nelson explores the transformational nature of inescapable grief

    Grief flows from Maggie Nelson in sensuous prose meshed up with time passing in blood. Take the first lines of “Death Canoe”:  “Surprised by blood passing, a large clot for […]

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  • Our Monthly Tip: Add a Personal Touch to a Cremation CeremonyMake a cremation viewing more meaningful by bringing sentimental items to place in the casket with your loved one

    Our Monthly Tip: Add a Personal Touch to a Cremation Ceremony
    Make a cremation viewing more meaningful by bringing sentimental items to place in the casket with your loved one

    Our Tip of the Month: Bring a Meaningful Object To Be Included in the Casket During the Cremation Ceremony Saying goodbye during a cremation ceremony, or cremation viewing, can feel […]

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  • 14 Quotes About Time, Life and DeathLive for the now, but appreciate the passage of time as well

    14 Quotes About Time, Life and Death
    Live for the now, but appreciate the passage of time as well

    We should live in the here and now, say many. As a former president of Uruguay put it, life only gets shorter. An actress called time “priceless.  Your time is […]

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  • Family-Directed Home Funerals Are Having a Resurgence (Interview)Heidi Boucher discusses how an age-old practice has been revived for our modern world

    Family-Directed Home Funerals Are Having a Resurgence (Interview)
    Heidi Boucher discusses how an age-old practice has been revived for our modern world

    Heidi Boucher is a home funeral guide who has helped more than 100 families say goodbye to their loved ones, in their homes. It’s a practice that emphasizes a hands-on […]

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  • Increased Demand for Organ Transplants Leads to Frightening Deathbed ScenesInvestigation finds instances of premature attempts to harvest organs from potential donors.

    Increased Demand for Organ Transplants Leads to Frightening Deathbed Scenes
    Investigation finds instances of premature attempts to harvest organs from potential donors.

    The New York Times in July reported a rise in disturbing cases of organ donation after circulatory death, in which would-be organ donors were prepared for organ harvesting under questionable […]

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