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  • “Good Grief”A film marking Levy’s first departure from comedy, offering valuable insight into the messiness of grief

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    Caitlin Manner

    “Good Grief”
    A film marking Levy’s first departure from comedy, offering valuable insight into the messiness of grief

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    Science Strikes a Blow Against Deadly Strain of TB

    Kathleen Clohessy

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    Another Look at the Rainbow Bridge

    Laura B Hayden

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    “An archaeologist is the best husband any woman can have; the older she gets, the more interested he is in her.”

    Lucas Morgan

  • An Ancient Art: The Xolo Dog Sculptures
    How the first Chihuahuas became totems of a good death in Aztec and Mayan art

    When we look at the relationships humans create with their objects, we almost always uncover a sort of totemism—a deeper, worshiped meaning applied to something inanimate. And while the word totem may evoke the towering, carved pine poles of Alaska, they aren’t limited to Inuit culture. In ancient Mesoamerica, the Atzec and Mayan peoples believed that…

    Mary Frances Knapp

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  • What Forms of Support Exist for Children Facing End of Life? (Interview)
    Angie Carmignani of The Taylor Family Foundation helps children at the end of their lives and their families with various forms of support

    Today, SevenPonds speaks with Angie Carmignani, Executive Director of The Taylor Family Foundation, an organization striving to enhance the quality of life for children facing disabilities and life-threatening illnesses as well as providing support for those at the end of their lives, in Livermore, California. The Foundation is well-known for its Camp Arroyo program, a…

    Zoë Byrne

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  • Voltaire’s Famous Last Words After a Priest Asks Him to Renounce the Devil
    “Now is not the time for making new enemies.”

    More Laughter is Medicine posts: Oscar Wilde’s last words Oscar Wilde on parents Elbert Hubbard on death

    Christopher Hewitt

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  • “Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers”Discover the scientific approach to life after death in this book

    “Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers”
    Discover the scientific approach to life after death in this book

    Mary Roach’s “Stiff” is by no means a book that was meant for the masses to enjoy. The incredible detail with which the author documents the important work that corpses have done in the name of science is intensely morbid. And coupled with Roach’s snarky humor, it can make the book a veritably bitter pill…

    Kimberly Lane

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  • Funeral Practices in Sweden
    Concerning death and funerals, the Swedish government caters to the needs of both its dominant Christian population, as well as those of every other religion

    Though it’s filled with almost every kind of prominent world religion, Sweden also has a strong identity as a secularized country. This duality has thus influenced the way the Swedish government approaches the numerous funeral and burial practices in their country: each religious group is given its own compound for its own unique purposes. In…

    Mary Frances Knapp

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  • Americans Lacking in Advance Directives for End of Life Planning
    Why do so few Americans have an advance directive when preparing for death?

    Making end of life preparations will not only provide you with a death as dignified and uncomplicated as possible: it will also give your family peace of mind. A part of planning for our shared, inevitable fate of death means looking at all potential scenarios surrounding it. We hope we will be able to direct…

    Mary Frances Knapp

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  • A New Year’s Compliment!
    Charles Cowling of the Good Funeral Guide kindly thanks our Sevenponds blog team

    Dear Readers, There could not be a lovelier way to kick off the new year than with a thank you from one of our favorite web site’s, The Good Funeral Guide, which also addresses the issues we are so passionate about. Charles Cowling has been at his mission much longer than we at SevenPonds, and we…

    Suzette Sherman

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  • “Casimir Pulaski Day” by Sufjan Stevens
    A folk memorial song about a loved one with cancer and the limits of faith

    Nothing can evoke the mystery of loss like a well-told story, or a ballad. One of my favorite songs by Sufjan Stevens, “Casimir Pulaski Day” from his album “Illinois” tells the story of a young girl who dies from cancer. The narrator, her lover, uses devastatingly plain language to relay the progression of the disease from…

    Christopher Hewitt

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  • “The Drowned Brother”Brendan Constantine looks at how bureaucracy helps us cope with loss in "The Drowned Brother"

    “The Drowned Brother”
    Brendan Constantine looks at how bureaucracy helps us cope with loss in “The Drowned Brother”

    “The Drowned Brother” is a eulogy-like poem that explores the revelation of the death of a brother in Brendan Constantine’s latest poetic novel “Calamity Joe”. In the poem, the narrator Calamity Joe relates the impersonal actions of the police and lawyers called in to investigate the death of his brother. Brutally simple language and imagery juxtapose…

    Kimberly Lane

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