These are videos that we highly recommend!
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What to say to a grieving person (and what not to say)
Nina Westbrook: How to support yourself and others through grief
David Kessler: How to find meaning after loss
Caroline Catlin: Why I Photograph the quiet moments of grief and loss
Steven Sharp Nelson: How music can help you find peace after loss
Nora McInerny – We Don’t “Move on” from Grief, We Move Forward with it.
More to Dying than Meets the Eye
Brad Meltzer – How To Write Your Own Obituary
What Really Matters at the End of Life – B.J. Miller
At the end of our lives, what do we most wish for? For many, it’s simply comfort, respect, love. BJ Miller is a palliative care physician who thinks deeply about how to create a dignified, graceful end of life for his patients. Take the time to savor this moving talk, which asks big questions about how we think on death and honor life.
First Breath, Final Breath
The two most sacred moments of life are birth and death, yet they are approached in very different ways. Kim’s talk shares how to honor the final breath of life as beautiful and to approach it with both your head and your heart.
Kim Vesey has been a hospice nurse for 30 years, providing care to over 1,000 patients and being present during the death of over 100 patients. She is currently Vice President of Mission Support at Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton. Her professional and personal experiences have taught her to be present and live in the current moment.
Do You Know How You Want to Die?
Ashley Evdokimo discusses the importance of Advance Directives and stresses the point of having the conversation earlier rather than later. We have been conditioned to see the end of life as something that isn’t a part of life – and that needs to change. An Advance Directive is a great way to START the conversation about end of life care, and Ashley encourages each and every one of you to STOP waiting to have these conversations.
When Someone You Love Dies, There’s No Such Thing as Moving On
Stand-up comedian, actor and writer, Kelley Lynn shares her story about how she unexpectedly became a widow at the age of 35 and how her own journey with grief propelled her to help change the way we view grief. Too often, those who are grieving are told they need to move on and she sheds light on how harmful comments such as that affect those who are grieving. Her message is simple: those who have lost someone they love should be allowed to continue to love that person. Rather then having to “move on”, those grieving should be encouraged to find ways to move with or move forward with that grief and love for the person they miss. A must watch!
Beyond Closure
Nancy Berns is a sociologist at Drake University. She looks at the space between grief and closure and has found that not only is closure a fabricated concept, it is doing us more harm than good.
Passing On
Deceased. Departed. Passed On. No matter how you say it, it happens to all of us. Death is as much a part of human existence as is life, yet it remains a mysterious, often taboo subject. Passing On is an original documentary comprised of compelling, sensitive, and personal stories that frankly discuss the topics of death, dying, and end-of-life planning. This documentary will inspire you to begin to consider your own life and death and encourage you to start having important discussions with your loved ones.
Based on the best-selling book of the same title by Dr. Atul Gawande, Being Mortal explores the relationships between doctors and patients who are nearing the end of life and investigates the hopes of those patients and their families.
Gawande, a practicing surgeon and renowned New Yorker writer, addresses his profession’s ultimate limitation, arguing that quality of life is the desired goal for patients and families. Gawande offers examples of freer, more socially fulfilling models for assisting patients and families, and explores the varieties of hospice care.
To view the full Being Mortal documentary, visit http://www.pbs.org/video/frontline-being-mortal/