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Final Messages of the Dying
Finding meaning in metaphors and symbolic languageJoin SevenPonds each month as Tani Bahti, RN, CT, CHPN, offers practical on-hand guidance to demystify the dying process. As an RN since 1976, Tani has been working to empower families and healthcare professionals to have the best end-of-life experience possible both through education and the development of helpful tools and resources. The current Director of Pathways, Tani is also the author of “Dying to Know,…
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Our Monthly Tip: Bring Love Into Your Celebration of Life With a Valentine-Inspired Theme
Use symbols of love to create the perfect celebration that honors your loved oneFor many people, February is closely associated with Valentine’s Day, a holiday devoted to love. Love takes many forms, changing and adapting over the course of our lives – and beyond life itself. You can incorporate Valentine’s Day themes into a celebration of life by honoring the different ways you loved your person. The following…
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Amy’s Choice
How My Family Honored My Sister’s Wish to Die at HomeThe following is an account of how my family coped with the death of my sister Amy in our own way by having a home funeral. My sister Amy battled breast cancer for many years. Wanting to aid her in her quest for recovery, I flew to Ireland to secure an alternative cancer treatment for…
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“Field of Dreams”
This classic sports movie is a surprisingly insightful look at life and death through the lens of the American pastime, baseballField of Dreams, the sports fantasy film directed by Phil Alden Robinson might not be explicitly about death, but it certainly presents an inspiring perspective on it. As the film opens we meet Ray, a struggling farmer played by another legend, Kevin Costner, who has plowed a small section of his cornfield in Iowa to…
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Will I Die in Pain?
For patients living with a terminal illness, the fear of pain is very real“Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. “ — Paulo Coelho One of the greatest fears expressed by people who live with terminal illness is the fear of physical pain. Pain is a real component of many pathological processes: Advanced cancer and many neurological conditions, for example, often…
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Our Tip of the Month: A Heartwarming Gift for a Grieving Friend – The Memory Jar
Start the year with intention: Give a grieving friend a year of meaningful memoriesOur Tip of the Month The beginning of a new year often brings promise and hope. But for someone you love who is grieving, it can also feel heavy. They might need a little extra support to face the months ahead. If a friend is entering the new year carrying a loss, this month’s tip…
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Revisiting The American Way of Death: Jessica Mitford’s Exposé of the Funeral Industry
Re-reading Mitford’s classic on death, dignity and profiteeringGleefully, Jessica Mitford exposes the funeral industry in The American Way of Death Revisited, a smart, biting work of book-length reportage. First published in 1963, she updated the text in 1996 shortly before her death, leaving readers with a final chapter on the growing movement to reclaim the care and burial of one’s own dead,…
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Is ‘Death Tech’ Going to Change How We Approach End of Life?
Death is a part of life. Will new technology help us to face that?In 2024, Crunchbase announced that investment in death-related startups increased remarkably over the past few years. As a relatively new sector to be disrupted, it’s understandable why startups want to enter this niche market, as the end-of-life industry is expected to generate upwards of $103 billionby 2027, but it’s maintained a reputation of resisting change…
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“7 Ways to Create an Amazing Celebration of Life”
