Amy Bloom tells the story of her husband, Brian, getting Alzheimer’s and wanting assisted suicide. Her search to find a way to do that led her to Dignitas, in Switzerland. Hear this intimate and frank account of the experience they go through, excerpted from her book, IN LOVE. (39 minutes) Audio excerpted courtesy of The Penguin … Read moreExit Strategy
Gaiman has written of his Death character that: The mythology of “Sandman” (…) includes in it seven entities who are not gods, who are not worshiped, but are essentially more powerful than gods, because gods die when they are forgotten, but the Endless are always there, and one of those seven is Death. (…) I … Read moreDeath of the Endless (“The Sandman”, 2022)
Tricia Romano’s new article for Alta offers an overview of the natural burial movement, including commentary from Morbid Anatomy founder/creative director Joanna Ebenstein and Return Home founder Micah Truman: “A lot of (people) are focusing on trying to change attitudes about death so that we can live, so we can have better deaths. And that … Read more“Ashes to Ashes”
For the people of Varanasi – the holiest of India’s seven sacred cities – death is a blessing. Stretching along the banks of the river Ganges, Varanasi is a place where devout Hindus go to die in the hope of achieving moksha: freedom from the endless cycle of death and rebirth (samsara). ‘Death hotels’ provide a … Read more“By the River”: the Death Hotels of Varanasi
Recommended viewing for those interested in end-of-life issues, especially the right to die on one’s own terms, the work of death doulas and the practice of “living funerals” (or FUN-erals, in this story). Moon Manor is a true-ish comedy-drama based on the life and philosophies of Jimmy Carozzo, who also stars in the movie as … Read moreMoon Manor
Dale McGowan writes for OnlySky, the new secular/Humanist multimedia platform, on the vexing question of “what is it like to die?”: There are ways to diminish the fear of death and dying. Epicurus may have been the first to formally note that our existence is bounded by symmetrical eternities. We fear the eternity of nonexistence … Read more“Will I Go Gentle?”
Max Tobin reports for the BBC on recent scientific research into the state between clinical death and brain death, suggesting that the mind’s final minutes may be more active, interesting and even fun than might have been assumed.
Ruth Graham writes for the New York Times on Dr. Philip Incao’s cremation at Crestone, Colorado, which is currently the site of the only outdoor funeral pyre in the USA: Dr. Incao’s ceremony began with family members and friends laying juniper branches and flowers on the body. Incense burned in a terra cotta pot tended … Read more‘Being the Smoke’: One Man’s Choice to Be Cremated Under the Open Sky
Hospice worker James Jarrett writes for the Spiritual Naturalist Society: For Spiritual Naturalists, spirit is not something apart from Nature. In fact, the origins of the English word “spirit” have to do with breath. We see this connection in the word “inspiration”. When a new baby is born their first task is in fact a … Read more“Befriending Death, Embracing Life”