At age 95, my grandmother was asked how it felt to be so close to the end of life, and if she had any deep thoughts to share. She thought for a moment and then replied brightly, “I think you’re alive until you’re dead.” What a simple but profound thought. It may actually turn out to be the basis of a life-saving strategy for frail elderly people in Vermont who wish to die … [Read more...] about Talking About Death and Dying: A Case for Denial
Suicide by any other name…
Again today, my Facebook feed is filled with statements of mourning about yet another reported suicide of a well known person. People who knew Robin Williams only by his public persona are grieved by his untimely death, allegedly at his own hands. We can only imagine the heartbreak being experienced by his friends and family. And again today, I ask: what is the distinction … [Read more...] about Suicide by any other name…
Surprised by Death
When my father-in-law was in the last weeks of life, suffering with a diagnosis of advanced pancreatic and liver cancers, he insisted that he felt fine. At one point, not long before he died, he actually told the Hospice nurse that he believed he had received the wrong diagnosis, and that in fact he wasn’t dying at all. The chief reason for this conclusion was that he had … [Read more...] about Surprised by Death