Life is for the Living

In the very last episode of the season, and just in time for Christmas, our guests tell us stories of grief: the deaths that hit them the hardest, how they remember their dead, and what a good death looks like. 

Marco and I talk about death and dying. Again. :D 

I ask our guests the big questions: Are you afraid of dying, what would be a good death, and what do you think happens after death. 

Marco and I dive into what we have learned about the death care system, and what we would want to change about it. 

Although our guests have different perspectives on the way death is talked about and regulated, one thing they all agree on is that it things aren't great they way they are. In this episode, we talk about what needs to change to make people's lives easier when they are facing the death of a loved one. 

In this episode, we chat about our biggest take-aways from our interview with Dr. Jennifer Blanks, what we look for in our favorite cemeteries and what we want written on our epitaphs.  

In this episode, we talk to Dr. Jennifer Blanks, also known on Instagram as The Cemetery Sista, about her work locating and documenting African American cemeteries in Texas and Louisiana, how race affects the experience of death, and how New Orleans does death right.

Dr Blank's Website: The Cemetery Sista LLC

Producer Marco and I discuss funerals we have attended, how we memorialize our dead, and what we want for our own funerals. 

In this episode, Rebecca Lynn-Scott, death positive activist and practicing Hellenic pagan, talks with me about ritual and it's place in our processing of death. Rebecca suggests rituals that non-believers can use, describes her perfect burial rite, and explains what wailing is.  

When you die, what do you want to happen to you body? Producer Marco and I rank body disposition methods and how we want our bodies disposed of, give helpful tips on how to to get the cheapest funeral, and dive into the ins and outs of coffin making. 

Hold on to your hats for this episode, because it is a great one. Guest and co-owner of the Natural Funeral Seth Viddal walks us through all the different types of body disposition methods, including earth cremation, water cremation and funeral pyre. 

In this epitaph, Producer Marco quizzes me on the signs of active dying (which I totally cheat on, don't tell him) and we talk about the deaths we have seen, and what how we envision our death beds. 

What does dying look like? In this episode, with the help of Death Doula Kathy and Hospice Volunteer Brooks we talk about what to expect when someone is close to death.

Reference:
Gone From My Sight by Barbara Karnes, RN

You can also catch us on Youtube

Flipping the script, Producer Marco interviews me about my experience with my mom's dementia. I talk about having to face a complete uncertainty of how it will all pan out, coming to peace with my mom's eventual death, and how my dad is coping with the loss. 

Producer Marco and I dive into Medical Aid in Dying, and whether or not we would want it for ourselves, and if we could assist a loved one who wanted to die. This episode does contain conversations about suicide. 

In this week's epitaph producer Marco and I get into what diagnosis we fear the most, how we would want to handle it, and how we probably would handle it.

Watch the video on Youtube