I have often remarked that I didn’t go into medicine to simply bear witness, but the work has a way of forcing you to do just that. Even with foresight and the most careful attention, you cannot plan on grace, or force closure; you cannot practice someone’s last words in advance. People die as they … Read more“What My Grandmother Knew About Dying”
Rick Snedeker’s article for OpenSky – a newly-launched media platform for secular folk – offers words of wisdom for confirmed atheists in mourning: For us, life is what it finitely is; we’re convinced there’s zero chance for a potentially better sequel in a great beyond. So, carpe diem (“seize the day,” in Latin) is an appropriate motto … Read more“How do I grieve if there’s no afterlife?”
Neuroscientist David J. Linden writes in his new piece for The Atlantic: And because our brains are organized to predict the near future, it presupposes that there will, in fact, be a near future. In this way, our brains are hardwired to prevent us from imagining the totality of death. If I am allowed to speculate—and I hold … Read more“A Neuroscientist Prepares for Death”
The leaves were falling from the great oak at the meadow’s edge. They were falling from all the trees. One branch of the oak reached high above the others and stretched far out over the meadow. Two leaves clung to its tip. “It isn’t the way it used to be,” said one leaf to the … Read moreBambi, Chapter Eight (1923)
Shiva Honey speaks to Sacred Tension host Stephen Bradford Long on her forthcoming book The Devil’s Death: Your Satanic Companion for Grief and Dying. Scheduled for release in early 2022, the book will cover: How to approach death and find comfort through a non-theistic Satanic lens Creating your own concept of ‘A Good Death’ Creating … Read moreThe Satanic Temple’s Shiva Honey Speaks on Rituals for Death and Dying
Thanatodiva Caitlin Doughty and human composting maven Katrina Spade present a short documentary on the Recompose facility in Seattle, and on the process and philosophy of recomposition.
In the Death Issue of The Nib Magazine, two dozen artists from around the world offer their perspectives on mortality, from a heartfelt and poignant memoir of infant loss to an exploration of the cultural relationship between Halloween and Dia de los Muertos. Here’s a generous assortment of excerpts and below are some sample panels … Read moreThe Death Issue
Click here to read Queena Yi’s 2013 Master of Architecture thesis, proposing a design for a non-sectarian public memorial site in Seattle: This thesis proposes a reinsertion of memorial spaces into the Seattle city core to re-establish the connection between the dead and living, replacing the rarely visited cemetery landscape with spaces woven into the … Read moreA Design for a Non-Sectarian Memorial Site in Seattle