• “Helen’s Birds”A wordless graphic novel about an intergenerational friendship and a young girl’s experience with loss and grief

    |

    “Helen’s Birds”
    A wordless graphic novel about an intergenerational friendship and a young girl’s experience with loss and grief



  • Our Monthly Tip: DIY Crocheted Memory StonesCreate these uniquely wrapped memory stones for funeral guests to treasure

    Our Monthly Tip: DIY Crocheted Memory Stones
    Create these uniquely wrapped memory stones for funeral guests to treasure

    Credit: flickr.com

    /

  • “Things I’ve learned About Loss”Finding comfort and clarity in Dana Shields’ book, Things I’ve Learned About Loss

    “Things I’ve learned About Loss”
    Finding comfort and clarity in Dana Shields’ book, Things I’ve Learned About Loss

    After the loss of her younger brother in a plane crash, Dana Shields faced a challenging grieving process. With time, support from family and friends and guidance from a therapist, Shields gradually healed and gained valuable insights into the nature of grief. When a close family friend experienced a similar loss during 9/11, Shields decided…

    /

  • 12 Quotes to Remember a Loved One Who’s DiedFrom Kahlil Gibran to Rita Mae Brown, explore how our loved ones live on in memory

    12 Quotes to Remember a Loved One Who’s Died
    From Kahlil Gibran to Rita Mae Brown, explore how our loved ones live on in memory

    When a loved one dies, those who remain feel bereft. Yet one way to move forward is to carry our loved ones with us – as memories. Doing so can be alternately comforting, sorrowful, impossible, hopeful or everything between. Many writers, thinkers and others have pondered the phenomenon of what lives on in our memories…

    /

  • Burial Pods Might Not Be as “Green” As You ThinkThe issues with this "ecologically friendly" alternative to traditional burials

    Burial Pods Might Not Be as “Green” As You Think
    The issues with this “ecologically friendly” alternative to traditional burials

    The death care industry struggles with some problematic ecological issues. Traditional burial methods waste tons of valuable nonrenewable resources, deposit millions of tons of chemical and material pollution into the ecosystem, and graveyards problematically occupy arable tracts of land. One proposed method, which has gained immense popularity over the last few years, is to memorialize…

    /

  • Funding from Billionaires is Seeding Promising Research on LongevityWhat some see as the indulgence of elites may benefit us all

    Funding from Billionaires is Seeding Promising Research on Longevity
    What some see as the indulgence of elites may benefit us all

    Billionaires who’ve been spending millions on longevity research to significantly extend lifespans – even “solve aging” – have been criticized as selfish and potentially foolhardy by some. But their efforts may end up producing just-in-time breakthroughs as humanity draws closer to one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century – an aging worldwide population.

    /

  • “Time in a Bottle”Singer captures love, memory and impermanence in a still-resonant song from the '70s

    “Time in a Bottle”
    Singer captures love, memory and impermanence in a still-resonant song from the ’70s

    From its minor-key opening chords, the song “Time in a Bottle” tugs at melancholy. Blended with lyrics embodying true love, the Jim Croce classic is a marriage of seemingly disparate elements. It’s made ever more poignant by the singer’s own untimely death, which propelled the single to a rare posthumous number one on Billboard’s Top…

    /

  • “Mortality”Abraham Lincoln's favorite poem expresses how death is the great equalizer

    “Mortality”
    Abraham Lincoln’s favorite poem expresses how death is the great equalizer

    In his book “Brief History of Gilead, and Prose and Poetic Writings,” George W. Chapman related a story as told to him by the American painter F. B. Carpenter. The artist had been commissioned to paint a portrait of Abraham Lincoln during his tenure in the White House, and they spent many evenings together passing…

    /

  • Massive Biomolecular Shifts Affect Humans During 40s and 60sA new study has found that our molecules and microorganisms experience significant changes at two key points in the aging process

    Massive Biomolecular Shifts Affect Humans During 40s and 60s
    A new study has found that our molecules and microorganisms experience significant changes at two key points in the aging process

    Have you ever suddenly felt “old?” Scientists have discovered that there may be a reason for this, particularly if it occurs in one’s 40s or 60s – a massive biomolecular shift.

    /

  • A Life Lesson in Shedding Guilt Over My Father’s DeathIt took me a long time to recover from my regrets at not having been there for him

    A Life Lesson in Shedding Guilt Over My Father’s Death
    It took me a long time to recover from my regrets at not having been there for him

    This is the story of Cassandra as told by Elizabeth. 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 post, Cassandra tells the story of…

    /