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Designer Cremation Urns by Alessi: A Turning Point for High-End Memorial Design
Exploring how Alessi’s entry into cremation urn models signals a major shift in luxury memorial objects and contemporary designDiscussing death is often uncomfortable, but a movement toward death positivity is encouraging honest conversations. This has steered discourse about cremation urns into the mainstream. In 2010, a dinner party at Alessi’s home with the Austrian design trio EOOS led to a discussion about the evolution from the pot to the urn. That frank, death-positive…
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25 Jokey Quotes About Courage and Bravery in Facing Death
Laughing in the Face of the Inevitable, One Joke at a TimeTalking about death is rarely easy; joking about it takes a special kind of chutzpah. But humor has long been one of humanity’s favorite coping mechanisms, allowing us to stare down the inevitable with a bit of grace (and perhaps a smidge less panic.) In this collection of funny and surprisingly wise quotes about courage…
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“Grave of the Fireflies”
Beloved Japanese animation company Studio Ghibli delivers one of the saddest films of all time about grief and loss during war.Isao Takahata’s 1988 masterpiece “Grave of the Fireflies,” produced by Japanese animation company Studio Ghibli, is consistently praised as one of the best — the most emotionally devastating — animated films of all time. It’s an important watch, emotionally and morally, depicting the devastating effects of war on civilian populations, particularly children. It also features…
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“The Group: Seven Widowed Fathers Reimagine Life”
The stories of widowers with young children are shared alongside the latest bereavement research for a helpful, male-centered resourceAs clinicians working at the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of North Carolina, Donald Rosenstein and Justin Yopp were all too familiar with caring for patients as they neared the end of their lives. After a spate of dealing with terminally ill women who had young children at home, the doctors found themselves…
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A Walk Down the Dock
A 75-year-old man learns to find peace in the face of deathThis is Stephen’s story as told by Ellary Allis. 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, to aid them in their healing process. In this article, we tell the story of a…
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From Service Given to Service Returned, Student Pallbearers Ensure Dignity for Homeless Veterans
Through their ministry, Catholic high school students put their values into action by carrying out dignified funerals for homeless veteransStudents at several Catholic high schools throughout the United States put their school’s stated values in action through pallbearer ministries. The Saint Joseph of Arimathea Pallbearer Ministry began in 2002 at Saint Ignatius High School in Cleveland. The most prominent ministry in recent news, however, is the ministry under the same name at the University…
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Grieving the Loss of Health
Grappling with the complex emotions associated with terminal illnessMost of us think of grief in terms of death and bereavement, but grief is a product of any profound loss. As humans, we grieve for many things–the loss of love, the loss of a job, the loss of a marriage or a friendship, the loss of a beloved pet. We also grieve deeply when…
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“Carry Me: Stories of Pregnancy Loss”
The author compiles real stories of the emotional and physical challenges of miscarriage as she grieves her own lossPregnancy loss is incredibly common; in fact, about 10% to 20% of known pregnancies end in miscarriage. “But,” the Mayo Clinic stipulates, “the actual number is likely higher.” Despite how common it is, it can be an isolating experience. In many miscarriage cases, physicians offer minimal support after a patient is stable. Family members often…
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Stillbirth and Infant Loss Photography: Support for Families Through Remembrance (Interview)
Missy Thomas, executive director of Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep, shares the organization’s mission, and why it is so powerfulIn 2005, Cheryl Haggard co-founded Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep (NILMDTS) with photographer Sandy Puc’, embarking on a mission to provide black and white remembrance portraits for parents experiencing the death of a baby. Borne out of painful experience, Haggard knows the power these professional portraits have in helping parents and other family…
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