A Death Doula reveals the most common regrets so we might learn from them
Death—our inevitable destiny—is unavoidable, no matter how hard we try to evade it. However, ensuring that we reach the end with minimal regrets (or better yet, none at all) is something that we can do something about. Maryanne O’Hara, an end-of-life doula and the author of Little Matches: Read More...
First study of dying human brain gives a glimpse into our final moments
For the first time ever, scientists have recorded the activity of a dying brain, and their discoveries have given some legitimacy to the common idea that our whole lives “flash before our eyes” before death. The remarkable thing is that the scientists weren’t planning on measuring the Read More...
The Optimist View: How to support someone through grief
“We bereaved are not alone. We belong to the largest company in all the world一the company of those who have known suffering.” - Helen Keller Yesterday marked the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in the United States. For many 9/11 victims, a voicemail was the only way to communicate Read More...
Lay your loved ones to rest in style these "planturns"
After a year of collective loss, Los Angeles woodworker C.C. Boyce has found a new and compelling source of inspiration for her work—death. “I never intended to get into the death care industry,” Boyce says, but now she finds herself contributing to the death positivity movement, a Read More...
Could AI help prompt doctors to have difficult discussions about death?
At the Optimist Daily, we’re always on the lookout for solutions—whether they may be for lighter issues like gardening, or for much heavier topics, like how we can best discuss how to prepare for death. Today, we’ll be touching upon the latter. The question of how and when to prepare for Read More...
Best. Year. Ever.
They can tell you anything about 2013. That it was a miserable year because of the ongoing crisis, the NSA leaks or the violence in Syria and Egypt. More than 10 million people in the Philippines were victimized by a typhoon. Of course, they’re right: 2013 was horrible. But don’t forget all the Read More...
The funny side of faith
Carmel Wrothl | August 2009 issue Mullah Nasrudin is a medieval folk hero claimed by many countries, including Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey. He’s part court jester, part Socratic philosopher, and the many tales of his sayings and adventures are popular throughout the Middle East and parts of Read More...
“You can be a tree”
Cynthia Beal, founder of the Natural Burial Company, thinks we should all become bushes, meadows or trees after we die. Marco Visscher | November 2008 issue What’s wrong with conventional burial? “Conventional burial typically has us preserved in formaldehyde-based fluid, packed in one box Read More...
The end is a beginning
Discovering the true meaning of death. David Servan-Schreiber| September 2007 issue Daniel is getting ready to die. He is 32 years old. Like me, he is a physician. For months, his body has been under attack from a lymphoma that came out of nowhere. He often talks things over with me. I listen to Read More...
Finally, a good talk
My father, free from the constraints of all those titles and roles. Tijn Touber | March 2004 issue I heard the news of your death in the dressing room of a television studio. The programme was over and I switched on my mobile telephone. Three messages. The first – and the last one recorded – Read More...