Musings on Mortality: Good dying time results in good death
The very first module for my medical humanities course is called "Good Death: Oxymoron or Possibility?" A good death implies a good dying...
Musings on Mortality: Combat stress by embracing whatever brings joy
There is a term used in the field of thanatology called "mortality salience." It comes out of a theory called "Terror Management Theory"...
Musings on Mortality: Being open about death helps everyone
When death is in the house you feel the impermanence of life. When you feel the impermanence of life, you feel truth. When death is in...
Musings on Mortality: Current events can escalate death phobia
It starts with the denial of death. We are pretty sure that we won't die anytime soon so we don't give it much thought. Why obsess over...
Musings on Mortality: To die or not to die? The answer isn't so simple
"To be or not to be, that is the question," Hamlet articulates in Shakespeare's play "Hamlet." We can reword this question for those of...
Thanatology and Poetry: A Conversation Between Deborah Golden Alecson and Thomas Fink
Thomas Fink: The thanatologist Deborah Golden Alecson is the author of Complicated Grief: A Collection of Poems (Finishing Line Press,...
Musings on Mortality: Plan a dignified death on your own terms
Many people have expressed to me their desire for a dignified death for themselves and their loved ones. This is a challenge in a...
Musings on Mortality: It's OK if grief creeps in during holidays
I was recently invited to speak at a Death Cafe in Kingston, N.Y., about grief and the holidays. The Death Cafe is a movement throughout...
Musings on Mortality: Maybe if we celebrated death we wouldn't fear it
Mexicans really know how to have a good time when it comes to death. Their Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, celebrated on Nov. 1...
Musings on Mortality: Difference between suicide, medical aid in dying
There is a profound difference between suicide and medical aid in dying, otherwise known as death with dignity. It is not a matter of...
