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 us in the grip of the medical industrial complex: To die or not to die, that is the question. We have achieved the capacity to stave off death and we... Read more. #DeborahAlecson #death #thanatology #medicalindustrialcomplex #lungcancer #chemotherapy #terminallyill #healthinsurance #pancreaticcancer #dyingtime #oncologist
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 death-phobic culture where life at all costs (physically, emotionally and financially) is the norm. Too many of us know someone whose dying time was... Read more. #DeborahAlecson #thanatology #death #advanceddirectives #powerofattorney #healthcare #endoflife #TheFiveWishes #POLST #MOLST #terminallyill
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 the country where people come together of their own free will to talk about death, loss, end-of-life care, etc. These are not macabre gatherings and usually... Read more. #DeborahAlecson #thanatology #grief #holidays #death #loss #endoflifecare #Christmas
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 and 2, is a time to party and honor ancestors. They entice their deceased loved ones with sumptuous foods and special activities to come out and play... Read more. #DeborahAlecson #thanatology #DiadelosMuertos #BerkshireEagle #DayoftheDead #calacas #calaveras #angelitos #Mezcal #Abrahamicreligions #Judaism #Christianity #Islam #AdamandEve #G
Can We Ever Be Prepared to Die?
Ms. Alecson examines this contemporary and socially relevant discourse. Recorded in Palo Alto, CA on May 27, 2015. #medicalethics #conscious #family #dying #thanatology #death
Complicated Grief: A Poetry Reading by Deborah Golden Alecson
Deborah Golden Alecson reads from her new collection of poetry, Complicated Grief. Recorded at Lauren Clark Fine Art, Great Barrington, MA on December 20, 2014. #dysfunctional #family #mother #death #suicide #grief #complicatedgrief #poetry #berkshires
Taylor & Francis Online: Converting Loss Into Language
Converting Loss Into Language DOI:10.1080/02682621.2014.980990 Deborah Golden Alecson MS Special Education Adjunct Instructor, pages 127-130 Professional publication. Paid Subscription required. Click here to read more. #death #dying #bereavement #excelsiorcollege #thanatology
Dying in America
Distance EDU on Demand presents Deborah Golden Alecson's discussion on a September 2014 report issued by the Institute of Medicine called “Dying in America: Improving Quality and Honoring Individual Preferences Near the End of Life.” Alecson is a faculty member in the Schools of Health Science and Nursing and one of Excelsior’s resident experts on death, dying and bereavement. Click here to listen. #podcast #excelsiorcollege #death #dying #interfaith
Conscious Dying with Deborah Golden Alecson
Hospice Care in the Berkshires Presents "Inside Hospice Care" with host, Jane Salata, speaking with author, thanatologist, poet and educator, Deborah Golden Alecson, on the topic of conscious dying. Recorded in 2008. #hospicecare #eldercare #palliativecare #conscious #death #dying #thanatology #medicalethics #berkshires
Redefining Hope with Deborah Golden Alecson
Hospice Care in the Berkshires Presents "Inside Hospice Care" with host, Jane Salata, speaking with author, thanatologist, poet and educator, Deborah Golden Alecson, on the topic of redefining hope. Recorded in 2009. #hospice #death #dying #thanatology #medicalethics #pancreaticcancer #berkshires #video
