Politics and funerals
A topical post from our religious correspondent, Richard Rawlinson Timed to counter the low turnout of voters at the mayoral and local council elections last week, did you catch the BBC advertisement challenging political apathy by chronicling how so many everyday activities–from the fat count in our sausages to the safety of cyclists on the […]
How to Talk End-of-Life Care with a Dying Patient – Atul Gawande
Four questions a doctor needs to ask a person who is dying: 1. Do you know your prognosis? 2. What are your fears about what is to come? 3. What are your goals? What would you like to do as time runs short? 4. What tradeoffs are you willing to make? How much suffering are […]
This morning I stood at my grave…
Posted by Charles Philip Gould, one of the architects and strategists of New Labour, died of cancer at the end of last year. Before he died he bought himself a grave at Highgate cemetery. Below is an extract from his final book, which he finished dictating hours before his death. When I was recovering from […]
ADRTs — who does and who doesn’t
From a letter in the New York Times: Older adults who do not formally convey their treatment preferences to loved ones create a distressing situation in which children and spouses must make emotionally draining (and costly) decisions about whether to continue or stop life-extending treatment. As Ms. Jacoby points out, one obstacle to planning is […]
Three ways of talking to the dying
Virginia L Seno of the Esse Institute here proposes three ways of addressing a person who is dying. Here they are in stark outline: Ask the question,“What is most important to you right now?” Do what needs doing Be quiet and open-minded. Be present. Be available. Be willing to ask and hear and do. Read the […]
Is Fear Killing Compassion for Older People?
Posted by Jon Underwood, founder of the Death Café project “In this case, ignorance is not bliss. With death, ignorance is fear.” Caitlin Doughty – The Order of the Good Death The UK Commission on Improving Dignity in Care chose the 29th of February to drop their bombshell in the form of a draft report on how to […]
My Southbank Deathfest
Posted by Vale Some personal reflections on the Southbank Deathfest this weekend: Imagine a wire and steel footbridge over the Thames: brown water lapping, St Paul’s, pale in the wintry light, downstream. Drop down to buildings, a collection of concrete and glass halls that were modern once but which, in the way of those brave […]
Publishing event of the year!
The Natural Death Handbook, Fifth Edition A thoroughly updated and revised edition of the Natural Death Centre‘s celebrated handbook. Now presented alongside a new collection of essays on death, dying and funeral practices by doctors, historians, authors, poets, theologians and artists including Richard Barnett, David Jay Brown, Dr Sheila Cassidy, Charles Cowling, Bill Drummond, Stephen Grasso, […]
There were six of us in the house. Seconds ago there had been seven.
Fran and her Mum on her 70th Fran Hall, a funeral industry practitioner of many years’ standing, much admired by the GFG, now works as a consultant. She is also the newly-appointed Chair of the Natural Death Centre. For years Fran successfully managed to balance detatchment and empathy in her professional life, so how did it feel when […]
Going the wrong way
Roughly a third of family members of I.C.U. patients show symptoms of post-traumatic stress, according to research by the French intensive-care expert Elie Azoulay and his collaborators. If a loved one dies in intensive care after discussions about advance directives and patient wishes — that is, after the family has been made fully aware of the finality […]
