Entering her apartment, I heard the scariest sound of all: silence. A burly EMT broke it with “I’m sorry.” His slight partner gave the details. Mom was where they found her. There was no blood to suggest a hard fall. The other EMT surmised she had a he… Continue reading
In David Kessler’s latest book, Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief (Simon and Schuster), he writes: We want to find meaning. Loss can wound and paralyze. It can hang over us for years. But finding meaning in loss empowers us to find a path forw… Continue reading
From the time I could first hold a pen, it was my dream to make a living from the written word. As a child, I was awed by the power of books and the worlds they opened. My career path, however, took a very different turn — until it didn’t. My early sch… Continue reading
When Carla Sofka’s mother died just before Thanksgiving 2017, Sofka didn’t immediately post the news on social media. She was busy planning the funeral, making travel arrangements and getting an obituary ready for the weekly newspaper in her mother’s c… Continue reading
If you are sure you would never read a book about how to face death, especially long before you need it, A Beginner’s Guide to the End: Practical Advice for Living Life and Facing Death just might convince you it wouldn’t be bad to have on the shelf. W… Continue reading
Linda Singer has been battling ovarian cancer — and beating it — for nine years. In recent months, though, it became clear that the battle finally had been lost. Rather than dwelling on looming death and planning a traditional funeral service, the ever… Continue reading
Dressing for important occasions can be stress-inducing, but deciding what to wear to a funeral can be doubly fraught. Dealing with grief and feeling overwhelmed, now you must find something suitable to wear, which can be especially hard if you’ve been… Continue reading
In June 2012, Meryl Streep gave one of her finest performances to a limited crowd. She hadn’t had much time to prepare, but it was a role that had been planned for her months, if not years, earlier. It’s just that the planner hadn’t thought to tell her… Continue reading