Like many people, (especially here in the Northeast) autumn is my favorite season. There is something about the change of the air in late August, when the nights get cooler and the days crisp, that …
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Fall Like a Leaf
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150 Decisions
Death, no matter how it comes, is unexpected. When my father died, after a year-long battle with ALS, his death surprised and overwhelmed us. Even though we knew it was coming, the reality of death …
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In Lieu of Flowers
In my career, I’ve officiated close to 200 funerals, memorials, or graveside services. To the best of my recollection, there have been flowers at every single one. Some of the floral displays have been elaborate and …
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Death Positivity
The movement to bring death out of the shadows and into cultural consciousness and regular conversation is known as the Death Positivity Movement. The goal of Death Positivity is to acknowledge that death happens to …
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Who Wants To Live Forever?
“Who Wants to Live Forever” isn’t just a great Queen song, it’s a legitimate question. If you could, would you want to live forever? So far, humans have a 100% mortality rate, but that might …
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Ritual as Journey Toward Healing
There is no lack of tragedy in the world. Sometimes the depth of tragedy, as reported on the news, causes us to turn away, tune out, and disconnect. Today, though, I find myself thinking deeply …
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Know Your End-of-Life Options
On Tuesday the Burlington Free Press published an interesting article about the funeral industry, Some Vermont funeral homes charge twice as much as others—and what that means. Having worked with grieving families over the past …
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