Best Life Best Death

Hannah Fowler and I talk about how she became involved in the making of the movie “The Last Ecstatic Days,” and what she has taken away from this profound project. Hannah is the Impact Producer for the film, an end-of-life doula and educator, a hospice RN, and faculty at the Conscious Dying Institute.  Learn more about why Ethan chose to film himself at the end of his life, how he found community through social media and in his community, and what you can take with you from one man's approach to his own death. Watch the trailer at https://www.thelastecstaticdaysmovie.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

*Note - Solace is no longer in business. Join Kiley Crowley from Solace Cremation as she and I discuss cremation. How does it work and where does it happen? What does it cost? Why might someone choose cremation? And what are some of the new ways that even this "tried and true" method of body disposition are changing in the current landscape of the U.S., with dispersed families and rising costs?   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

Dr. Geber's book, Essential Retirement Planning for Solo Agers: A Retirement and Aging Roadmap for Single and Childless Adults lays out 6 essential elements for aging safely and happily. Based on research across several areas, such as economics and psychology, these 6 elements are truly what matter most. Join us to hear Dr. Geber's thoughts on how to plan and cultivate well-thought out strategies for living well. As she says, “How do you take charge of your own script as you age?” 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

“I’m fine. That’s what grievers often say when people ask how they are doing. Except they’re not fine.” When Rachel Brougham was a young wife, her dynamic, beloved husband was killed in a bike accident in the city of Minneapolis while she was home making tacos for dinner. Her book, Widowland, is part memoir, part grief journal, part advice manual for all of us to better understand the path of grieving and how to support ourselves and others along its rocky contours. Whether coming from an expected death or a sudden surprise, grief is a new land – a region Rachel calls widowland – and we can learn how to be in that space and how to offer stronger support to those who dwell there. 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

Anthropologist Shannon Lee Dawdy set out to interview 100s of people in the U.S. over 5 years, in order to better understand American death practices. What she found is a phenomenon that is rapidly changing! Our podcast conversation and her book, "American Afterlives: Reinventing Death in the 21st Century," both offer glimpses into how we care for our dead -- our ceremonies, practices and beliefs. 

Continuing my exploration of body disposition options, on this podcast I talk with Emily Nelson of Be a Tree Cremation to get the details on "aquamation" or "water cremation." This is not a new process per se, but it is somewhat new in its use with people. In this process, which is becoming more and more available, the body’s tissues are broken down using water, heat, and alkaline chemicals. Listen in to hear more!

What is the so-called “Village Movement," in California and nation-wide? A way for people to help people, intentionally create community, and keep elders living well in their own homes! My favorite quote from this conversation with Kate Hoepke: “Young people step up to help their older neighbors for a lot of reasons – and deeply rooted is a need that younger people have for elders in their lives.”

Artist and art therapist Jackie Schuld and I discuss what prompted her to write “Grief is a Mess” and how creating these drawings and texts was helpful in a time of loss. Her charming animal characters find themselves in situations in which grief can surprise and overwhelm, or in which friends can be supportive or step on toes. Jackie’s genuine style and her creative joy make for a wonderful conversation!

In Part II of this conversation with Dr Christopher Kerr, he and I get into some nitty-gritty about what it would take to have more of us choose hospice sooner – thereby improving patient satisfaction, extending lives, lowering costs, and for sure increasing the quality of our final days. What gets in the way of doing what would make such a difference?

Dr. Christopher Kerr – of Hospice & Palliative Care Buffalo – studies and works daily with people who are at the end of their lives. After realizing that many of his patients had extraordinary experiences as death approached, he decided to design studies that would tabulate these experiences in a meaningful way. Dr. Kerr sees that these visions and healing experiences are “enormous gifts” to the dying and also to those left behind. They impact the bereaved because “how people leave us matters” – how we grieve is impacted by how we experienced the death. Listen in as Dr. Kerr and I discuss all of this and so much more in Part I of our conversation!