The Family Plot Blog
NDEs: We Are More Than ‘Clods of Dirt’
When a man of reason has several clinical deaths and lives to tell about it without neurological impairment, it makes for a very interesting presentation. At yesterday's Doorways of Santa Fe meeting, Stephen Young spoke about his personal take on near-death experiences he had following heart surgery. Within a 72-hour period 14 months ago, he clinically died and was resuscitated – four times – and he had three near death experiences. In the...
Learning Life Lessons from ‘The Death Class’
College and university classes on death and dying can teach a young adult a lot about life and living. “Death in Perspective” is a popular class taught by Professor Norma Bowe at Kean University in Union, New Jersey. Dr. Bowe’s class is designed to "develop an understanding of the nature and experiences of dying, death, and bereavement." The class has a three-year waiting list. The Death Class: A True Story About Life by Erika Hayasaki focuses...
Video: Discussing Advance Directives
http://youtu.be/pvc9sXhMkNI In this episode of the television series A Good Goodbye, host Gail Rubin speaks with Mindi Horwitch, LISW, an advanced care planning consultant, on why so many people who say they want to die at home (about 70%) wind up dying in the hospital (also about 70%). Many people are afraid to talk about death, so they don't have a much-needed conversation before there's a death in the family. Mindi and Gail discuss two ways...
News and Notes: Charging into the New Year
Happy New Year and welcome back to work! A lot of great news came in over the holidays I'd like to share with you. The Association for Death Education and Counseling let me know that I've earned the CT designation, which means Certified in Thanatology: Death, Dying and Bereavement. I've been a death educator ever since A Good Goodbye came out in 2010. Now I've got the certification to prove it! In yesterday's Albuquerque Journal, an article on...
Discussing End-of-Life Issues on Radio and in Print
Two end-of-life media interviews of interest you may want to check out: In today's Albuquerque Journal, on the front of the Health Section, there's a big story titled New Mexicans Advocate for More End-Of-Life Choices. It's got an attention-grabbing picture of me and Lola at a recent Death Cafe at Sheila's Sweets. (Lola's the life-sized plastic skeleton who has a seat at the table. Remember, "Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets.") It starts out:...
End-of-Life Care: Brain-Dead Means Dead
The sad situation with Jahi McMath, the 13-year-old brain-dead girl on a ventilator in Oakland, California, shows the need to have more education on end-of-life issues. The parents protested the hospital's intention to remove the girl from a ventilator that's keeping her alive. They hope for a miraculous recovery and seek to have her body transferred to a nursing care facility in New York. But brain-dead means dead. If the ventilator was turned...
Funerals: How Do We Organize The Party No One Wants to Plan?
Allison Copening, CEO of Seasons Funeral Planning, talks about the party no one wants to plan.
A Joke About Divorce and Death
A 98-year-old man and his 96-year-old wife are sitting in the divorce attorney's office, glowering at each other. "Why are you here?" the attorney asks. "We want a divorce," she says. "We've hated each other for years," her husband adds. "Well, how long have you been married?" the attorney asks. The wife replies, "Eighty years in June." "Well after eighty years of marriage why, at this late stage of the game, would you want a divorce?" the...
Short Video on Body Donation to Science
If you plan to donate your body to science, make sure to take care of the paperwork now! Here's a short video clip from A Good Goodbye TV about what you need to know NOW. Plus there's bonus info on a great way to learn how to call up funeral homes and make preneed arrangements. http://youtu.be/n65nJstb1_A The 4-DVD set of all 12 A Good Goodbye TV interviews is now available. Find out more and order a set today!
A Facebook “Sympathy” Button?
On Facebook, people often mention the death of a pet or a parent or a person who is special in your life. Unfortunately, the only way people can respond to the news is by pushing the "like" button or by making a sympathetic comment. There's news in the paper today that maybe Facebook will be coming out with a "condolences" button. Rather than inappropriately clicking "like" in response to bad news, you could have a "sympathize" button....
New DVD Series Kick-Starts Funeral Planning Conversations
Millions think a basic legal will can handle their estate, funeral arrangements and post-death formalities. They’re dead wrong. Understandably, many shy away from the subject until their time comes. However, just like talking about sex can’t get a woman pregnant, Gail Rubin (known to many as The Doyenne of Death®) is helping millions realize that talking about funerals won’t actually kill them. Fusing her humor and quick wit with years of...
Christmas Luminarias in the Cemetery
One of the popular Christmas Eve activities here in Albuquerque is to visit neighborhoods that line their sidewalks and homes with luminarias. These simple decorations are constructed of brown paper bags, weighted with sand and lit by a single votive candle. Besides the luminaria tour route that draws thousands to see the lights, some of the busiest places are the local cemeteries. Families decorate the graves of loved ones with luminarias and...
Albuquerque Death Cafe Meetup Group Announced
After the last successful Albuquerque Death Cafe, regular attendee Joe Fulton suggested a Meetup group would be a good way to manage future gatherings. Thanks to Joe, we now have an Albuquerque Death Cafe Meetup group! We currently have six members, and already seven people have signed up for the next ABQ Death Cafe. This gathering will take place on Saturday, February 1, 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Sheila's Sweets, 8600 Indian School Road NE...
South Park Christmas Carols: Dead, Dead, Dead
By Gail Rubin This morning, NPR did a brilliant story surveying downer Christmas songs, titled "Have Yourself a Sullen Little Christmas." It starts out: "Less than a week before Christmas, holly-jolly holiday music abounds — and if you're not feeling holly or jolly, it can be a little hard to take. For NPR Music's Stephen Thompson and Morning Edition producer Travis Larchuk, the holidays often mean searching for alternatives: In Thompson's...
What Fans of Walter White Can Teach Us About Funerals
By Gail Rubin (Spoiler Alert) Now that the award-winning TV series Breaking Bad has finished its run, if you plan to watch past episodes and don’t want to know how it ends, don’t read this blog post. (Still reading? Don’t say I didn’t warn you.) Walter White, who evolves from mild-mannered science teacher to meth manufacturer and drug lord, dies in the last episode of Breaking Bad. Here in Albuquerque, where the series was based and filmed,...
Discussing Solstice, Hospice, NDEs and DVDs
The longest nights of the year are upon us as we slide toward the Winter Solstice this Saturday, December 21. These short days remind us that our time in the sunshine of this lifetime is limited. Let us count our blessings, of which we have many. If you are reading this on the Internet or an electronic device, you must have electricity, a computer, tablet or smart phone, and the resources for access. That's a lot more than the possessions of...
Lessons in Joyful Living Radio Interview
Can you talk about joyful living and funeral planning at the same time? You bet! When we consider our mortality, we recognize how we need to make the most of this finite physical lifetime. Tune in to hear Gail Rubin, The Doyenne of Death®, on Lessons in Joyful Living, hosted by Kimberly Rinaldi, on the RockStar Radio Network, this Wednesday, December 18 at 1:00 p.m. ET / noon CT / 11:00 a.m. MT / 10:00 a.m. PT. Read more about this show....
ABQ Death Cafe Report
At yesterday's Albuquerque Death Cafe, held at Sheila's Sweets, seven people joined host Gail Rubin for a wide-ranging conversation. Mascot Lola (pictured), presided at the end of the table. Topics discussed included this past week's courtroom consideration of New Mexico's laws regarding physician aid-in-dying. The judge in the case heard arguments whether it will hold doctors liable under the state's current rules on physician-assisted...
Want to Discuss Physician Aid-In-Dying?
The question of whether a physician can assist a terminally ill patient end his or her suffering was examined in an Albuquerque courtroom over the past two days. The question centers on the definition of physician aid-in-dying and is it really physician-assisted-suicide? If you want to discuss these issues, there's a great opportunity tomorrow to the next Albuquerque Death Cafe, taking place Saturday, December 14 at 2:30 p.m. at Sheila's...
What People Don’t Know About Hospice Can Kill Them
Mention the word “hospice” and many people think it means a patient is “giving up the fight.” It’s actually all about making the most of the time a seriously-ill patient has, leading to a better quality, and sometimes a greater quantity, of life. Hospice and palliative care are the topic on A Good Goodbye Radio Wednesday, December 18 at 6:00 p.m. ET/3:00 p.m. PT. Three special guests will talk about what hospice is (and isn’t); why it’s...
Holiday Grief: Helping Your Child Cope
The holidays are ideally filled with family, laughter, love and togetherness, and a time for children to experience the joy of the season. However, children who have recently experienced loss may struggle during the holiday season, overwhelmed with feelings of sadness, anger and resentment over not having their loved one there. Parents and caregivers can help children cope with their feelings and help them find ways to keep the memory of their...