Stories from the Web
VIDEO: A Good End of Life by Judy MacDonald Johnston
A TEDX Talk by Judy MacDonald Johnston: Thinking about death is frightening, but planning ahead is practical and leaves more room for peace of mind in our final days. In a solemn, thoughtful talk, Judy MacDonald Johnston shares 5 practices for planning for a "good end of life." Judy MacDonald ...
Continue ReadingVIDEO: Don't Mean to Dwell on This Dying Thing
A TEDX by Rebecca Brown on The Discomfort With Death: Rebecca Brown challenges our American discomfort with death by sharing experiences from her work with hospitalized adolescents and young adults who are suffering or dying. She suggests that our "pornographic" relationship with death creates fear, anxiety, and loneliness for those ...
Continue ReadingVIDEO: 'Ask a Mortician' on Advance Directives and Why You Should Have One
We’re quick to have conversations about how we want to live our lives but steer away from the ones concerning how we’d like to prepare for them to end. We all deserve the chance to communicate our preferences in who handles our care and how we want to be treated ...
Continue ReadingInside A Home Funeral
Melissa Roberts Weidman, a hospice writer and administrator, recounts her experience with a home funeral. After the death of her best friends’ 22-year-old son, Weidman was asked to help arrange his home funeral. In the article, she describes the intimate details of preparing his body, as well as the emotions ...
Continue ReadingFear, Death, and Pumpkins
Last week, I'm Sorry to Hear was featured as the go-to source for at-need funeral planning on NPR's "The Pulse." In the hour-long segment, reporters touched on the growing appeal of Death Salons, Death Cafes, and featured "death-tech" companies in the Innovation segment. The whole broadcast is fascinating. Our interview ...
Continue ReadingFCA and CFA National Funeral Price Survey Results
October 15, 2015 JUST RELEASED NATIONAL SURVEY RESULTS: The Cost of Dying is Variable and Non-Transparent Press Teleconference Reveals New Data on Costs, Price Disclosures and Laws Which Fail to Protect Bereaved Consumers. The Full Press Release can be found here and is excerpted below. Washington, D.C. – "Today, the ...
Continue ReadingConsumer group survey: Funeral costs vary in Philly, but prices difficult to compare
By Elana Gordon for WHYY Newsworks Determining the costs of funeral services can be really difficult in Philadelphia, according to a new survey from the Funeral Consumers Alliance and the Consumer Federation of America. Federal law mandates that funeral homes give price lists to consumers who walk in the door, but if you're ...
Continue ReadingFuneral for one: Why burial decisions still matter when you don't have kids
Looking ahead to end-of-life decisions is never easy. But having children, or close family members, sometimes tidies the to-do list. You choose a burial site where your kids can easily travel. There's an obvious loved one to handle all the decisions and paperwork. So individuals who don't have children — ...
Continue ReadingVIDEO: Everything You Need to Know About The Good Death
The Good Death | Dying on Your Own Terms Irina Jordan, founder of Artisurn talks about the "good death" and all that it entails on this TEDX Talk. From green burials, to home funerals to death doulas, to death with dignity laws, Irina neatly sums up all the good ways to die in the ...
Continue Reading$100,000 from AOL Founder Down to 8 Finalists Read
By Jared Shelly for PhillyMag After more than 130 Philly companies applied, the quest for a $100,000 investment from one of the world’s best-known angel investors has narrowed to eight semi-finalists. Steve Case — AOL founder and champion of tech cities not named Silicon Valley, San Francisco and New York — will make the investment on Sept. 29 after ...
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