The Family Plot Blog
Digital Address Books and Death
The New York Times' Sunday Review section featured on the front page "My Digital Cemetery" by Rob Walker. He started by stating he has 2,743 contacts in his digital address book, which stretches back two decades to the dawn of digital devices - in his case, a 1996 Palm Pilot. That seems like a lot. He admits they've been passed along with each new device he's acquired. He's interviewed a lot of people over those 20 years, and their contact...
August 22: Albuquerque Death Cafe
Mark your calendar for the next Albuquerque Death Cafe on Saturday, August 22, 2015 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The event will take place at Gail Rubin's home - RSVP through the Meetup Group or post a note in the comment section. Click here to go to the Meetup page. The address will be provided to those who indicate they will attend. The objective of the Death Cafe is “To increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most...
News and Notes: TEDxABQ and Mortality Minute
Exciting news: Presenting a TED talk is a dream come true for many speakers. I've been selected to be one of 20 speakers at TEDxABQ, New Mexico's independently organized TED event. TED talks (TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design) offer big ideas and inspirational thoughts from a wide range of people. My big idea relates to encouraging preneed funeral planning and preparing advance medical directives. More than 2,000 people will...
September 12: Gail Rubin Speaks at TEDxABQ!
Hold on to your hats! Gail Rubin, Certified Thanatologist, will present a TEDx talk on taking death out of the closet, talking frankly with your family and making end-of-life plans: advance medical directives and pre-need funeral planning - and her big idea to help make that happen. TED talks - which stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design - are all about ideas worth spreading* (the asterisk indicates "*Probably. But you be the judge")....
The Composition of Human Cremated Remains
If you've ever wondered why cremated remains can look so different, this guest article by Nick Savage, President of Memory Glass, has all the answers, down to the chemical composition of human cremated remains. What Exactly are Cremated Remains? As funeral directors, crematory operators, and even as a glass keepsake manufacturer, we deal with cremated remains every day, it’s our business. The cremation rate in the United States has risen so...
Bobby Wonderful on Burying Your Parents
Bobby Wonderful: An Imperfect Son Buries His Parents by Bob Morris illuminates the emotional roller coaster Baby Boomers face as our parents decline and die. Morris' wit and honest reflections will make you laugh and make you cry. His memoir takes us to the Long Island home where he grew up, the hospital rooms where his mother and father spent their last days (years apart), and assorted vacation spots where Morris is routinely interrupted by...
Event: July 11 Albuquerque Death Cafe
The next Albuquerque Death Cafe will be held Saturday, July 11, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Gail Rubin’s home. The new regulations regarding Medicare reimbursing physicians for discussing end-of-life issues and advanced medical directives with their patients is great news! The objective of the Death Cafe is “To increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives.” It’s all about an interesting,...
Social Security Administration’s Death Master File
On CBS's 60 Minutes yesterday, they ran a story about the Death Master File of the Social Security Administration. They have dead people who are still on the rolls to receive benefits, and they have very much alive people who have been declared dead by the federal government. The death benefit for reporting a death to Social Security is $255. That's what an average funeral cost in 1937, when Social Security was established. The benefit has not...
Understanding Grief and Mourning Through Film
Wednesday, July 8, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Osher Lifelong Learning presents "Understanding Grief and Mourning Through Film" with Certified Thanatologist Gail Rubin. Grief is pain, and mourners in the midst of pain may feel like it will never end. Every individual grief journey is unique to each person in its emotional depth and duration. Films provide a safe and memorable way to examine grief and mourning reactions and consider healing...
New Hampshire Funeral Directors Association Meeting
The New Hampshire Funeral Directors Association (NHFDA) summer convention brought funeral directors from throughout the Granite State to Hampton Beach. This is one of the few spots along New Hampshire's rugged 18-mile coastline that actually has a sandy beach. The two-day event featured Certified Thanatologist Gail Rubin presenting two different two-hour film clip-illustrated continuing education programs. "Jewish Funeral Traditions on Film"...
Celebrating Life Free eBook Now Expanded!
A good eBook just got better with the release of an updated version of Celebrating Life: How to Create Meaningful Memorial Services, with Templates and Tips by Gail Rubin, CT and Susan Fraser. The National Funeral Directors Association estimates 50% of those who die in the U.S. during 2015 will be cremated. Thousands of families don’t know what to do with their loved ones’ cremated remains or how to create a memorial service. The Celebrating...
A Peek at The Doyenne of Death’s Mail
As the Doyenne of Death, I get some interesting pieces of mail. There are magazines like American Funeral Director (check out my quotes in this article), Mortuary Management (I'm a monthly contributing writer), ICCFA Magazine (the publication of the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association, to which I have contributed articles), and Funeral Business Advisor (I'm a contributing book reviewer). And then there are other marketing...
Qeepr #TalkDeath Roundtable Tackles End-of-Life Issues
Today's #TalkDeath Roundtable discussion provided lots of great insights about funeral planning (or not), new trends in death care and funerals, and the problem of making decisions under duress of grief. The session was facilitated by Mandy Benoulid and Georgia Carter of Qeepr. The featured guest experts are Chris Raymond, editor of About.com’s Dying, Funerals & Grief website, and past editor of The Director funeral trade magazine, and Gail...
News and Notes: Live Qeepr Online Conversation Tomorrow!
If you've got burning questions about end-of-life issues you'd like to discuss, tune in online tomorrow, Wednesday June 17, for Qeepr's second #TalkDeath Roundtable. The event will be carried LIVE on Google+ & YouTube at 3:00 p.m. ET/noon PT. The experts for this online roundtable discussion are myself and Chris Raymond, editor of About.com's Dying, Funerals and Grief website. More information here. The June issue of American Funeral...
How to Fly with Cremated Remains
Today's guest blog post on the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys website: How to Fly with Cremated Remains With the growing trend toward cremation, there’s a growing trend toward traveling with cremated remains, or cremains, on airlines. These are the current Transportation Security Administration (TSA) rules about carrying cremated remains through security. Passengers may transport cremains as part of their carry-on luggage or,...
Book Review: On Grief and Grieving
On Grief & Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and David Kessler is a classic text which stands the test of time. First published in 2005, it has been re-released ten years later with a foreword by Maria Shriver – someone well acquainted with grief and loss. Kübler-Ross’ Five Stages of Grief was initially five stages of attitudes the dying experienced before death. Those now...
Qeepr #Talkdeath Roundtable June 17
Qeepr.com (pronounced "keeper"), an online memorial and tribute platform, started the #Talkdeath Roundtable Web series to foster death positivity and death awareness, and spark end-of-life conversations. The next live online #Talkdeath conversation will take place Wednesday, June 17 at 3:00 p.m. ET/noon PT, with guest experts Chris Raymond, editor of About.com's Dying, Funerals & Grief website, and past editor of The Director funeral trade...
Discussing Death Cafes with Lizzy Miles
Learn all about the Death Cafe movement on the latest podcast of A Good Goodbye Radio. Join U.S. Death Cafe pioneers Lizzy Miles and host Gail Rubin for a 20-minute discussion on FuneralRadio.com. The Death Café movement first came to the United States in 2012. It originated in the United Kingdom, started by Jon Underwood in London. The concept is based on the work of Swiss sociologist Bernard Crettaz, who held Café Mortel events in France and...
End-of-Life Care in New Mexico Symposium
This Saturday, June 6, doctors and nurses in New Mexico have the opportunity to earn continuing education credits while learning about end-of-life care. The End-of-Life Care in New Mexico one-day symposium will bring together healthcare professionals to expand their knowledge and support them with information around options on end-of-life care and practices, including aid in dying in New Mexico. The event is sponsored by Compassion &...
News and Notes: Communications and Change
The one constant in life is change. How you react to change as a positive or negative makes all the difference. Did you know the Tarot card for Death actually means change, transformation and transition? I'm preparing a new presentation, "Office Morale in the Movies: Communications and Change," with funny film clips to illustrate. Applying concepts from thanatology (the study of death, dying and bereavement), we'll explore ideas to inspire...
Event: Office Morale in the Movies: Communications and Change
The Tarot card for change is the Death card. It represents significant transformation and transitions, including sudden and unexpected change. Change in the workplace may not actually be a life or death situation, but it can feel like the end of the world. Change in the workplace is inevitable - just like death and taxes Change can be seen as positive or negative, growth or decay. The question is, how do you respond to the unknown aspects of...