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“In the Parlor, The Final Goodbye”
A Game Changer Film That Alters The Way We Observe DeathI had the amazing good fortune to experience true magic recently when I drove from San Francisco to Sacramento. The storms actually parted as the sun streamed through. That evening an audience gathered for the debut of an unusual documentary film “In the Parlor, The Final Goodbye.” It explores a new movement many are not aware of…
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National Donate Life Month Reminds Us To Give
Organ donors can help provide a form of life after deathThere are deathbed confessions, but in the case of Brendan Costello Jr., it was a deathbed donation: In January, as his grieving family sat by him as he was dying, they learned for the first time that he had registered to be an organ donor. Costello’s tale, as reported in the New York Times, serves…
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Composting Bodies Is Now Legal in 14 States
An eco-friendly alternative to burial and cremation gains groundComposting bodies can enrich the soil. Credit: Photo by Gabriel Jimenez on Unsplash
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“Dying Young”
A tender yet heartbreaking film on love, loss, and the fragile beauty of time.I appropriately write this review as our blog writer Katie drives from San Francisco to Orange County today to be with her mom who starts chemotherapy treatments in the morning. This film “Dying Young“, directed by Joel Schumacher, is, as the title implies, the story of 28-year-old Victor as played by actor Campbell Scott, who is…
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Increase in Cremation Jewelry and Art Reflects Changing Practices
Small keepsakes allow family and friends to keep loved ones closeLaying a loved one to rest in a cemetery can carry a finality that some people find depressing — perhaps one reason more people today are moving away from interment or entombment, and toward creative ways to celebrate and honor cremated remains. That means demand has grown for keepsakes that incorporate cremains. Family members are…
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How Dare You Die Now!
Acknowledging the anger or pain of an earlier-than-expected deathSweethearts since high school, Amy and Don had been inseparable, and married at age 20. Now, the future they had been constructing was quickly crumbling. Diagnosed with lung cancer just two years prior, Don was now close to death at the age of 32. “He did this to us. I told him not to smoke and now he’s…
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Debating Medical Aid in Dying
The news that Daniel Kahneman, Israeli-American Nobel Prize winner, chose to end his life in Switzerland, has nenewed debate on medical aid in dying.Since 1994, when Oregon became the first U.S. state to legalize medical aid in dying to terminally ill people, the number of states where it is an option has grown to 10, plus the District of Columbia. But it remains a struggle of conscience for many: Only a year after his death has it become…
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What Happens to Metal in a Body After Cremation? (Interview)
The metal parts inside a body are recycled after cremation. Resable metals are kept out of landfills. Pacemakers are refurbished and donated.Kevin McKay is the manager of the cremation division of Cremation Recycling, a part of Mid-States Recycling & Refining that specializes in precious metal refinery services for funeral homes throughout the United States. Involved in the precious metals recycling industry since 2001, McKay has been with Mid-States, located just outside Chicago, since 2016. We spoke…
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“Help Me, Helen”
A woman recounts the final days of caring for her husband, who was dying from bladder cancer, and how that ordeal revealed the strength of their love.This is Helen’s story, as told to writer Aurora Wells. Our “Opening Our Hearts” stories are based on people’s real-life experiences with grief and loss. By sharing these experiences, we hope to help our readers feel less alone in their grief and ultimately aid them in their healing process. In this post, we tell the…
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