Maybe you’re intrigued by the thought of having your body scientifically frozen when you die, on the chance you’ll be revived one day (cryonics). But the thought of having no ready access to funds when you’re thawed would have your head spinning like a… Continue reading
I was sitting in the office of a new doctor, which is to say, I was filling out a lot of paperwork. There were blank boxes that required my health insurance information. Columns of medical conditions that required Yes/No responses to document my health… Continue reading
Bereavement is an old-fashioned term, harking back to an era when family members who lost a loved one dressed in black, literally wearing their grief for all to see. Today, mourning a death has few rules, traditions or identifiers. But research indicat… Continue reading
We published hundreds and hundreds of stories this year in the areas of health, money, work and purpose, living, caregiving and technology — all with the mission of serving older adults through the power of public media. Among our four editors, they ch… Continue reading
It was a bad time, to be sure. My younger sister, Ann, was fading from stage 4 colon cancer, and all I could do — all any of us could do — was to try to keep her comfortable. For months, her friends had been dropping by her home to express their love a… Continue reading
(Editor’s note: This story is part of a special report for The John A. Hartford Foundation.) Cathy Wurzer made a dying man a promise. Through interviews with Bruce Kramer (a former dean at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn.) beginning in 2… Continue reading
Everyone will die, some sooner than others. It is a natural, normal and universal part of life. Yet, most people have little experience with the dying process or know what to expect when a person is dying. During this period, it can feel like you are w… Continue reading
For more than 25 years, I served as a psychology professor and researched grief and bereavement. I consulted and taught individuals, couples and families to meet the demands that chronic illness exacts, to build safety nets and resilience in the presen… Continue reading
On Saturday, Oct. 27, a hate-spewing 46-year-old man stormed a Pittsburgh synagogue and made a cruel mockery of its very name — the Tree of Life — by unleashing a volley of gunfire that extinguished 11 lives. The savage attack, the third on a house of … Continue reading
We were watching the evening news when my husband, Bob, noticed the date and gasped. “August 16th? Oh, my God. Yesterday was Leslie’s and my wedding anniversary,” he said, referring to his late wife. “I can’t believe I missed it.” “Thank you for sharin… Continue reading