I have been meaning to call your attention to this special section in the NYT that was part of the January 4th Sunday paper….. but wanted to read every work thoughtfully so I could be sure it was something that might be helpful. I did, it is, and here we are.
It covers a variety of topics pertaining to end of life, from those as practical as cleaning out your belongings way ahead of time, to the complexities of grief. It outlines things to think about such as a will, a medical durable power of attorney, and other documents you should likely have in place. If you have ever had to pick up the reigns after the death of a loved one, you will know how helpful all of this stuff is.
There is also a great section on writing an obituary – I have been threatening forever to start mine. No sappy obituary for me please. No reason not to do it yourself in advance if you are so inclined. I was glad it included a part about end of life decisions to think about – such as things you may not want to be put through when you are nearing the end. It explains what hospice is and what it can provide to you and your family. I loved the section on funerals and burials. Who knew it was legal to be buried at sea (as long as you are 3 nautical miles from land and the water is 600 feet deep)? There is a very very helpful part about talking to kids – or just answering their questions about death. Kids often have questions about death and they should not be ignored.
In general this is a quite thorough (while staying on the short side), very easy to read, and full of pertinent, useful things we should all know about.
I am putting a link below. I get a certain number of articles a month I can share so I hope this link works even if you are not a subscriber. Since all my blog archives went out into a big wormhole from my typepad account, I plan to try and readdress some of the palliative care things I wrote about in the past. This nice section from the paper is a great place to start.
Tall Tales from Kansas 
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