Best Life Best Death

One of many online “story capturing” programs, I gave my dad a gift of Storyworth last Christmas. How did it work, what did he have to do, how did it all come together, and was it worth the time, cost and effort? I'll tell you about our experience plus a few thoughts about why I think sharing our stories matters. As author Charles deLint says, "We're all made of stories. When they finally put us underground, the stories are what will go on. Not forever, perhaps, but for a time. It's a kind of immortality, I suppose, bounded by limits, it's true, but then so's everything." For more information on Best Life Best Death please visit our website at www.bestlifebestdeath.com Follow us on our social channels to receive pertinent and helpful resources on death, grieving, and more at: Facebook: www.facebook.com/bestlifebestdeath Instagram: www.instagram.com/bestlifebestdeath

Today’s conversation is with the two of the Founders of Titan Casket, Scott Ginsberg and Joshua Siegel. As they say on the Titan website: “Titan Casket was founded with a singular mission: to offer designer caskets at revolutionary prices, while driving affordability and transparency in the funeral industry.” What are they doing? How it is different? How is this business model changing the funeral industry? And how are consumers reacting? For more information on Best Life Best Death please visit our website at www.bestlifebestdeath.com Follow us on our social channels to receive pertinent and helpful resources on death, grieving, and more at: Facebook: www.facebook.com/bestlifebestdeath Instagram: www.instagram.com/bestlifebestdeath

The mission of the Rocky Mountain Refuge for End of Life Care is "to offer a dignified alternative to dying alone on the street for those with terminal illness." In this podcast, you’ll learn from the interim executive director, Brother James Partick Hall, about the often challenging end-of-life trajectories for unhoused people in the Denver community. JP shares clear information plus moving stories about how a team of social workers and hospice caretakers are stepping in to support those in need. For more information on Best Life Best Death please visit our website at www.bestlifebestdeath.com Follow us on our social channels to receive pertinent and helpful resources on death, grieving, and more at: Facebook: www.facebook.com/bestlifebestdeath Instagram: www.instagram.com/bestlifebestdeath

Barbara Karnes, RN and I talk about the ins and out of the holiday season – the awkwardness at times, group gatherings, being alone. What things can be helpful if grief is in your heart? How do we support ourselves, ask for help, and reach out to others? As we chat, Barbara and I end up taking this well beyond December, with Barbara encouraging us to consider how we might live with a mindset of “making the most of each moment” every day of the year. She says, “We should live our life like this 365 days a year! Every single day is a gift. We tend to focus on seasonal areas — yet what really matters is the moment we are in.”  For more information on Best Life Best Death please visit our website at www.bestlifebestdeath.com Follow us on our social channels to receive pertinent and helpful resources on death, grieving, and more at: Facebook: www.facebook.com/bestlifebestdeath Instagram: www.instagram.com/bestlifebestdeath

This podcast is all about the role of being a caregiver: what situations put us in this role, who is finding themselves doing the bulk of caregiving, why does caregiving feel different in this era, and what can we do to support caregivers? Barbara is a practical, heartful end-of-life educator, and when you combine her wisdom with my curiosity - it's a good listen! As Barbara says, "I think we need to shine light on caregivers" as they are "the invisible hero in the whole scenario." Subscribe to the podcast for bonus content for only $7.99 a month! https://anchor.fm/diane-hullet/subscribe For more information on Best Life Best Death please visit our website at www.bestlifebestdeath.com Follow us on our social channels to receive pertinent and helpful resources on death, grieving, and more at: Facebook: www.facebook.com/bestlifebestdeath Instagram: www.instagram.com/bestlifebestdeath

Greg Dale of Artful Ashes (Seattle, WA) says simply: ”We create beautiful, tangible treasures. Something that people can hold and remember the good times.” How do they do this? By creating unique blown glass art from cremated remains! Find out how this unique glass art business got its spark to begin, how people come from all over to participate in the ceremonies of making these pieces, and about the true artistic and heart-filled inspiration at the core of this work. Beautiful! For more info visit Artfulashes.com For more information on Best Life Best Death please visit our website at www.bestlifebestdeath.com Follow us on our social channels to receive pertinent and helpful resources on death, grieving, and more at: Facebook: www.facebook.com/bestlifebestdeath Instagram: www.instagram.com/bestlifebestdeath

Theresa and I run the gamut in this conversation, from her many experiences as a nurse to her sudden role as a breast cancer patient. Her book -- Healing: When a Nurse Becomes a Patient -- forms the basis of our wide-ranging conversation. We cover her experience plus compassion, empathy, overwhelm, our for-profit medical system, and the varied challenges/obstacles/mazes that patients face. This discussion touches all of us at some point, because we all interface with the medical world. And how to do it in the best way possible, for everyone involved in patient care? For more information on Best Life Best Death please visit our website at www.bestlifebestdeath.com Follow us on our social channels to receive pertinent and helpful resources on death, grieving, and more at: Facebook: www.facebook.com/bestlifebestdeath Instagram: www.instagram.com/bestlifebestdeath

“We kind of are a ‘just say yes’ funeral home!” says Seth Viddal of The Natural Funeral. Seth is full of information about what they offer at their location in the Front Range of Colorado, and I was fascinated to learn all about it. He and I discuss water cremation, flame cremation, natural reduction, burial, green burial, private land burial, and open air pyre cremations. This episode may pique your curiosity to think about what is available in your area and what feels right to you. For more information on Best Life Best Death please visit our website at www.bestlifebestdeath.com Follow us on our social channels to receive pertinent and helpful resources on death, grieving, and more at: Facebook: www.facebook.com/bestlifebestdeath Instagram: www.instagram.com/bestlifebestdeath

What does a singer/songwriter have to do with Best Life Best Death? Just listen, as Peter Mayer  offers an uplifting reminder of the beauty in the everyday and thoughtful reflections on our place in the cosmos. He plays an acoustic version of “You’re Not Just a Wave, You’re the Whole Ocean Wide” – a remarkable unrecorded song, based on a metaphor from "Tuesdays with Morrie." Plus a simple, acoustic version of “Everything Is Holy Now.”  For more information on Best Life Best Death please visit our website at www.bestlifebestdeath.com Follow us on our social channels to receive pertinent and helpful resources on death, grieving, and more at: Facebook: www.facebook.com/bestlifebestdeath Instagram: www.instagram.com/bestlifebestdeath

Alexandra Jo and I dig into the work of Parting Stone, a company which creates beautiful, solid, rock-like pieces from cremation remains. We talk about what they look and feel like, as well as how these stones support “the creative ways that people can ritualize grieving." We digress into talk about playing in cemeteries while growing up, disenfranchised grief (what's that? - you'll soon learn), and how to support others in their “full bucket” time of grief.  For more information on Best Life Best Death please visit our website at www.bestlifebestdeath.com Follow us on our social channels to receive pertinent and helpful resources on death, grieving, and more at: Facebook: www.facebook.com/bestlifebestdeath Instagram: www.instagram.com/bestlifebestdeath