Articles + Insights

I Asked My Mom if She Was Prepared to Die

New York Times

Preparing to die is complicated. Read writer/filmmaker Shaina Feinberg’s insights and admire Julia Rothman’s illustrations as they consider the emotional, spiritual and financial aspects of end-of-life preparation and how to make it slightly more manageable.

What is hospice care? 6 myths about this end-of-life option

NPR

Death is a part of life, but decisions surrounding death often can be difficult. Hospice, which is for patients who are in the last phases of their incurable disease, is one option. In this story, NPR explores the truth about myths around hospice care and how it works.

Talking About Dying

Journal of American Medical Association

In a poignant opinion piece, Dr. Yael Schenker, a palliative medicine physician writes, “I have watched how the words ‘you are dying’ can burst the tension in a room like a needle in a balloon, allowing space for new hopes and fears to take shape.”

Helping people share their wishes for care through the end of life

The Conversation Project

The public engagement initiative of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement aims to help everyone talk about their wishes for care through life’s end, so those wishes can be understood and respected. Check out the vast resource of conversation guides and more.

What are the best books to comfort a grieving friend?

Oprah Daily

It can be hard to know how to comfort a grieving friend—particularly when grief can be so uncomfortable. These 10 titles — ranging from memoirs to manifestos — offer thoughtful insights as well as some unexpected wisdom.

Where is the Best Place to Die?

Duke University

A study of end-of-life care across the globe finds few countries do well in providing for patients in their final days. “Society should also be judged on how well people die,” says Dr. Eric Finkelstein with Duke-NUS and the Duke Global Health Institute.

The End Well movement: making the end of life part of life

End Well

Dedicated to the belief that all people should experience the end of life in a way that matches their values and goals, End Well aims to create a cultural shift about serious illness, caregiving, grief and the end of life through design, technology, health and policy.

Sacred Dying: providing spiritual aid to the dying and loved ones

Sacred Dying

Death is inevitable, but dying alone or in fear does not have to be. Sacred Dying involves the body and soul in the greatest transition we are called upon to make and facilitates creating a setting where death is experienced with honor, respect and sacredness.

What Makes Life Worth Living in the Face of Death?

DailyGood

In this deeply moving TED Talk, Lucy Kalanithi reflects on life and purpose, sharing the story of her late husband, Paul, a young neurosurgeon who turned to writing after his terminal cancer diagnosis. (Video 16 min. Transcript included.)

Is End of Life Its Own Stage of Life?

NextAvenue

Deborah Carr, professor of sociology at Boston University who has studied death and dying throughout her career, shares her thoughts about well-being at the end of life and embracing this period as a distinct life stage.

Dying Alone

Find Your Harbor

Sacramento’s Joshua’s House is the first hospice for the homeless on the West Coast and only the eighth in the country — inspired by Marlene von Friederichs-Fitzwater’s grandson, Joshua, who died on the streets at the age of 34.