The Family Plot Blog
Radio Interview on “Having The Last Say”
If you were to capture the legacy of your life in one small story, what would that story be? And how would you write it? Alan Gelb, the author of Having The Last Say: Capturing Your Legacy in One Small Story, explored the subject with Gail Rubin on the latest A Good Goodbye Radio podcast. As the baby boomer generation ages, its members are looking ahead to the biggest challenge of all: making sense of life in its third act. This segment of...
Rocking at TEDxABQ!
The TEDxABQ Main Event on Saturday was stellar! Gail Rubin "knocked 'em dead." Here are photos from the event and the after party... And a tweet by Megan Kamerick, one of our coaches... Humans still have a death rate of 100% but 70% of us don't plan for it says @TheFamilyPlot @TEDxABQ pic.twitter.com/tqd9UZZ3Zo — Megan Kamerick (@megankamerick) September 12, 2015
![[Video] Imaginary QuitBit Wearable Lifespan Monitor](https://i0.wp.com/agoodgoodbye.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/QuitBit.jpg?resize=349%2C250&ssl=1)
[Video] Imaginary QuitBit Wearable Lifespan Monitor
Here's a fun video about QuitBit, an imaginary Apple Watch-like product that predicts the precise time you are going to die. The video is an ad produced by Toronto-based advertising agency UNION and funeral home Mount Pleasant Group. It provides a refreshing approach to getting people to pre-plan on end-of-life issues, including funeral planning. As reported in ShootOnline.com, QUITBIT is designed to take the wearer’s lifestyle habits into...
TEDxABQ This Saturday!
TEDxABQ, the locally-produced TED talk in Albuquerque, takes place this Saturday, September 12 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico campus. Twenty of New Mexico’s most captivating speakers in science, healthcare, policy, technology, art, and the way we see the world will inspire you to think in new ways and take action in our community. TEDxABQ includes live talks, stirring performances, short videos, and...
Jack Fuller Obituary
Jack Fuller, 83, has laid down his hiking poles for the last time. Only a month ago, he and his wife Helen returned from a hiking trip to Iceland, which included soaking in the natural hot springs there. Multiple Myeloma unexpectedly cut short his vital life. Jack was a man ahead of his time. A native of Palestine, Texas, he graduated high school at age 16, graduated college at 20 and got his PhD in physics by age 24. After graduation, he...
News and Notes: The Wayne Dyer Effect
Wayne Dyer's death on August 30 prompted waves of traffic to The Family Plot Blog. Before the national news media picked up the story, I knew something was up on Sunday, when almost 5,000 hits registered on a 2009 blog post, "Wayne Dyer on Life and Death." Hay House Publishers sent out this obituary I posted on Wednesday, September 2. Since then, it has been viewed more than 35,000 times and received at least 120 comments. When I did a Google...
Video: New Trends in Death Care
Gail Rubin, Certified Thanatologist, recently spoke about new trends in death care - cremation, home funerals, green burial and creative celebrations of life. You can view the video of the 20-minute talk below. She spoke to the weekly meeting of the Albuquerque Del Norte Rotary Club. Member Donna Pedace introduced the speaker. "For those of you who don’t plan to die, our speaker today will enlighten us on the finer points of not dying and what...
Wayne Dyer’s Obituary
When Dr. Wayne Dyer passed away on late August 29 or early August 30, the news of his death spread like wildfire on social media. However, most of the major news coverage went to the death of horror movie director Wes Craven, who also died over the weekend. Hay House Publishers provided this obituary, so you can learn more about the remarkable life and contributions of Wayne Dyer. (Update 9.10.15 - Wayne Dyer's close family held a private...
Wayne Dyer and Wes Craven Deaths
The deaths of Wayne Dyer and Wes Craven over the weekend provide a pop culture contrast of light and dark. My Facebook feed has lots of references paying tribute to Wayne Dyer, not so many for Wes Craven. Guess I'm more on the light side than the dark - I avoid horror movies. Wayne Dyer, best-selling author and lecturer, was one of the world’s preeminent proponents of the power of positive thinking. In 2009, he was diagnosed with a rare...
The Caregiver’s Caregiver Radio Interview
The Blogtalk Radio show, The Caregiver’s Caregiver, hosted by Dave Nassaney is an hour-long program dedicated to helping caregivers avoid burnout and survive grief. He recently interviewed Gail Rubin, Certified Thanatologist and author of A Good Goodbye: Funeral Planning for Those Who Don't Plan to Die. The discussion includes how caregivers experience anticipatory grief, mourning losses before the person dies. They also talked about new trends...
News and Notes: Caring for Caregivers
If you've ever been a caregiver, or know someone who is, tune in online to the Blogtalk Radio show, The Caregiver's Caregiver. Host Dave Nassaney interviews Gail Rubin on this hour-long program dedicated to helping caregivers avoid burnout and survive grief. The discussion includes anticipatory grief, new trends in death care, and why having a funeral or memorial service is healing for caregivers. Congratulations to Nathan Rhody with Rhody...
A Short History of Cremation in the U.S.
Jason Ryan Engler is a funeral director, cremationist and the historian for the Cremation Association of North America (CANA). At CANA’s recent convention, Engler presented an overview of cremation history and memorialization. While cremation was popular among the ancient Greeks, Romans and Vikings, and took root in England during the 1800s, let’s focus on what Engler had to say about cremation in the United States. The first open air cremation...
TEDxABQ Talk Preview Today!
Speakers for the 2015 TEDxABQ will practice their talks today at three Flying Star locations around Albuquerque between 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The public is welcome to attend this free preview event, ask questions of the speakers and provide their feedback. Certified Thanatologist Gail Rubin will present her talk, A Good Goodbye, at the downtown Flying Star location, 723 Silver Avenue SW. The event will take place in the upstairs area of this...
Radio Show Ponders the Moment of Death
Recently, the public radio program To The Best of Our Knowledge aired a fascinating program called "Death: The Last Moment." It was actually a re-airing of a show that first ran in 2014. Death never goes out of style. This hour-long series of interviews explores the medical, spiritual and psychological questions about the moment of death. One hospice worker shares the story of how her fear of sickness and death turned to wonder at the mystery...
Why You Need to Dictate What’s to Become of Your Ashes
The cremated remains of Dorothy Parker -- humorist, writer, critic, defender of human and civil rights -- are buried in a memorial grove next to the NAACP headquarters in Baltimore - right beside the parking lot. Her remains are far from New York City, the place she grew up in and loved. Dorothy Parker left instructions that she be cremated, but she left no instructions as to what was to be done with her ashes. She died in 1967 at the age of...
Urns in Style at CANA
At the CANA convention, Michi Kustra, owner of Urns In Style, shows the glass, ceramic and metal urns she offers through funeral homes and to the general public on her website, www.UrnsInStyle.com. And what stylish urns they are! Their handmade glass urns are very substantial, with a glowing quality, and made in the United States. They also offer ceramic urns with beautiful textures and finishes and contemporary metal urns in various sizes and...
President Carter, Please Consider Hospice
Is it wise for a 90 year-old with metastatic cancer to pursue aggressive treatment? I respectfully suggest former President Jimmy Carter consider hospice or palliative care over chemotherapy or surgery. He can set an example from which the public can benefit. President Carter revealed on August 12 he has cancer that has spread to other parts of his body and he plans to pursue treatment at Emory Healthcare in Atlanta. A more complete public...
Aid in Dying in New Mexico Ruling Reversal
On Tuesday, August 11, a divided New Mexico Court of Appeals reversed a court ruling that allowed mentally competent, terminally ill patients to choose their own time to die with aid from a physician. This means the January 2014 ruling by 2nd Judicial District Chief Judge Nan Nash, which permanently barred the state from prosecuting a physician who provides aid in dying for end-of-life, no longer provides protection from prosecution. Next stop:...
News and Notes: Your Burning Questions Answered
This past week, I've written some interesting posts on information gleaned at the Cremation Association of North America's recent convention and expo. You can learn about the latest on cremation rates, differences between cremation rituals in Asia and the U.S., what dental gold is worth and other burning questions you didn't know to ask. Links to blog posts follow below. The TEDxABQ Main Event, where I'll be speaking about pre-need discussions...
New Cremation Statistics from CANA
Guess what? Cremation rates in America continue to grow, but not as fast as it has in recent years. We're now at a national average cremation rate of 46.7%, based on provisional data that's subject to change. A 50% national rate is projected to be reached in the next 12-18 months, possibly by early 2016. Every year, the Cremation Association of North America (CANA) issues its report on statistics and trends on cremation rates in America and...
Marble Urn Vault for Cremated Remains
The theme of memorialization came up a lot at the recent Cremation Association of North America (CANA) convention. A vast majority of people scatter ashes, but about a third of the population choose burial for cremated remains. And there were many innovations displayed at the expo to support permanent placement of cremated remains. Batesville introduced the new Vanderbur Cultured Marble urn vault, which can be placed above ground or buried. It...