One year ago, on this very day, my world shattered into a million pieces as I said goodbye to my mother, Betty Hammer. She was not just a mother to me, but the light of my life, a guardian angel who saved me when she adopted me. She not only offered me unconditional love but […]
GRIEF & THE HOLIDAYS
It’s okay not to be okay. It is natural for the holidays to bring up memories of loved ones lost as it is a time focused on togetherness. The absence of what is lost can often feel all-consuming. Whether your grief is new or not, the high expectations from society (and sometimes from ourselves) for […]
The Role of Hospice in End-of-Life Decisions
One of the many effects of the current COVID-19 pandemic has been the recognition of the necessity for advance care planning and the benefits of doing so. More patients are dying every day in isolation and suffering from serious illnesses. As of this writing, the National Vital Statistics System of the U.S. Centers for Disease […]
5 Questions to Ask at End-of-Life
Surgeon, a public health researcher, and author Atul Gawande is inspiring end-of-life conversations with his bestselling book, Being Mortal. The book, which was also turned into a documentary shown on PBS’s Frontline, continues to be an integral part of a larger conversation on end-of-life choices for living your own mortality as fully as you can […]
How To Face Your Fear Of Death And Make Peace With Dying
There’s a saying along the lines that there are only two things in life that are certain: death and taxes. Sure, a lot of people manage to evade the latter, but the former is something that every living being has to face eventually. Death is an inevitable part of life; part of the very cycle […]
Is End-of-Life Its Own Stage of Life?
A sociologist makes the case for embracing this period as a distinct life stage. Deborah Carr, professor, and chair of the sociology department at Boston University, has spent much of her career studying death and dying. That expertise led, in 2019, to an invitation to write an article in the Annual Review of Sociology about […]
Grief in the Age of Coronavirus
With strict social distancing guidelines in place for everyday living including banning gatherings of more than 10 people, what happens when you have a loved one who has died but you can’t attend the funeral or memorial? How can a loss be grieved during this time of quarantines and shut-downs because of the coronavirus? The […]
Grief Amidst the Holiday Season
The holidays are just around the corner and they’re a time of important traditions for many families. Some grieving families find comfort in those traditions, but others may find them too painful. For example, if a parent has passed and it was his job to put the angel on top of the Christmas tree each […]
Coping with Hospice During the Holiday Season
The holidays can be challenging for people who have a terminally ill loved one. During the holidays we are accustomed to finding ourselves surrounded by the love and warmth of family and friends. We cherish the depth and beauty of these connections and celebrate shared traditions and rituals with togetherness, laughter, and joy, but when that family […]
SENIOR NETWORK: Charlie Tyler: Managing Grief During the Holidays
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Next Page »