Blog
The Very Physical Process of Dying
There is a time when it helps to know something about the physical process of dying—about what you might expect in your last hours of life. If you or someone close to you has a fatal condition, it’s good to know that physical pain seems to decrease significantly or...
Reading and signing at Maria’s Bookshop
My book, What Does it Feel Like to Die?, launched June 25th with a reading and book signing at Maria’s Bookshop–and I’m still basking in the afterglow of wonderful community support and some beautifully poignant stories from friends and other audience members.
Dying people can still grow
In the often-painful time after patients receive a fatal diagnosis, an opportunity can also arise. Something about the experience—its finality, its intensity, even its trauma—creates a kind of existential readiness, a moment of introspection and openness to other...
We Don’t Usually Fear Death–What We Fear is Suffering
“If you could just push a button, how many of you would like to live forever?” Dr. BJ Miller, a palliative care doctor and former executive director of San Francisco’s Zen Hospice Project, posed this question to a group of 25 hospice volunteers-in-training. Only one...