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  • The Death Rattle — Not Music to Your Ears?The death rattle can be unnerving and scary for loved ones, but adding overriding noise can help.

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    Tani Bahti

    The Death Rattle — Not Music to Your Ears?
    The death rattle can be unnerving and scary for loved ones, but adding overriding noise can help.

  • Losing Touch — Struggling with Grief in the Era of Social DistancingThe world is grieving an astonishing amount of loss, and most of us are doing it alone

    Losing Touch — Struggling with Grief in the Era of Social Distancing
    The world is grieving an astonishing amount of loss, and most of us are doing it alone

    These days, the world is coping with an unprecedented amount of loss. Many of us have lost loved ones — some to the pandemic, some to causes unrelated to COVID-19. Others have lost their jobs and their livelihoods, forced to sit idly by as the future they strove to create through years of hard work…

    Kathleen Clohessy

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  • “Golden Embers”Song of mourning encourages finding connection through grief

    “Golden Embers”
    Song of mourning encourages finding connection through grief

    In “Golden Embers,” North Carolina folk duo Mandolin Orange blends haunting vocals with guitar and violin to celebrate the value of shared grief and solace. Andrew Marlin wrote the song — along with others on the album “Tides of a Teardrop” — in memory of his mother, who died when he was 18 from complications…

    Rachel Jones

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  • “Grief”Dickman imagines his grief as a purple gorilla paying him a visit

    “Grief”
    Dickman imagines his grief as a purple gorilla paying him a visit

    Matthew Dickman’s exquisite poem “Grief” imagines grief as a purple gorilla that one must befriend. The poem starts with these lines: When grief comes to you as a purple gorillayou must count yourself lucky.You must offer her what’s leftof your dinner, the book you were trying to finishyou must put asideand make her a place…

    Ellary Allis

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  • “Mobituaries: Great Lives Worth Reliving”A humorous book offering a look at what makes life worth appreciating through remarkable lives

    “Mobituaries: Great Lives Worth Reliving”
    A humorous book offering a look at what makes life worth appreciating through remarkable lives

    In “Mobituaries,” TV and radio personality Mo Rocca explores the unusual lives and oft-forgotten deaths of unappreciated changemakers — from artists, entertainers and political leaders to outdated scientific and cultural beliefs. Together with Jonathan Greenberg, a Montclair State University English professor, Rocca takes a lighthearted look at the transient nature of life, while eliciting an…

    Rachel Jones

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  • Anticipation and Accompaniment: Guiding Families Through the Loss of an Infant (Interview)An interview with neonatal palliative care specialist Dr. Brian Carter

    Anticipation and Accompaniment: Guiding Families Through the Loss of an Infant (Interview)
    An interview with neonatal palliative care specialist Dr. Brian Carter

    Dr. Brian Carter has always been interested in the ethics of medicine. Early on in his pediatric career, he became involved with bioethics committees that were seeking to improve the end-of-life experience for patients and their families. However, as a trained neonatologist, he realized there was a gap in this conversation. He asked himself, “If…

    Betsy Arant

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  • At-Home Death in the Midst of the Coronavirus PandemicThe National Home Funeral Alliance provides some helpful advice

    At-Home Death in the Midst of the Coronavirus Pandemic
    The National Home Funeral Alliance provides some helpful advice

    As the global pandemic of COVID-19 wears on into its third month, deaths from the virus continue to climb. On April 1, 2020, the novel coronavirus killed over 1,000 Americans in a single day, and those numbers are expected to rise over the next few weeks. The number of people testing positive for the virus…

    Kathleen Clohessy

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  • “Lean On Me”Bill Withers's classic hit from 1972 is a tribute to friendship, connection and mutual support

    “Lean On Me”
    Bill Withers’s classic hit from 1972 is a tribute to friendship, connection and mutual support

    Bill Withers, a soul singer and songwriter, three-time Grammy winner and inductee in both the Rock-and-Roll and Songwriters Hall of Fame, had an active music career from 1971–1985. In those 14 years, he released eight studio albums that left an indelible imprint on the music world, American culture and beyond. Hits such as “Ain’t No…

    Colleen Ferguson

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  • Scientists Are Testing Cures for COVID-19From HIV drugs to plasma therapy, researchers are leaving no stone unturned

    Scientists Are Testing Cures for COVID-19
    From HIV drugs to plasma therapy, researchers are leaving no stone unturned

    It’s impossible to turn on the TV or open your internet browser without facing an onslaught of information about the COVID-19 pandemic. It can be overwhelming to try to sift through what feels like an ever-changing stream of facts. There are millions of ways to look at this health crisis, but perhaps the most important…

    Betsy Arant

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  • What Can a Child Really Know of Death?It was only as an adult that I could grieve for a childhood loss

    What Can a Child Really Know of Death?
    It was only as an adult that I could grieve for a childhood loss

    This month, SevenPonds offers a story of lost love from our colleague Melissa Gouty. Our “Opening our Hearts” stories are based on people’s real-life experiences. By sharing these experiences publicly, we hope to help our readers feel less alone in their grief and ultimately aid them in their healing process. In this story, Melissa talks…

    Melissa Gouty

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