The death of an adult child is painful, pervasive and one that subverts natural order. Nearly 10% of parents above the age of 60 years face the death of an adult child. The bereaved elderly parent is often left faced with profound grief marked by changing dynamics in relationships, changes in world views, and further […]
This sombre series of portraits taken of people before and after they had died is a challenging and poignant study. The work by German photographer Walter Schels and his partner Beate Lakotta, who recorded interviews with the subjects in their final days, reveals much about dying – and living. To view the series, visit: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/gallery/2008/mar/31/lifebeforedeath
How does the death of a child change a parent? How does the death of a parent change a child? How do these moments change us as we develop and grow further away from who we were as children? Phillip Toledano is an artist who lives in New York City with his wife Carla and […]
About the Film Fifty women from North Carolina with incurable breast cancer heroically endure an experimental medical protocol to prove that there is a better way of life, and death, for cancer patients and their families everywhere. Pathfinders, an organization founded partly by social workers, addresses more than the medical needs of patients. The program […]
About the Work When a baby dies parents are caught unaware as typically they move through pregnancy with awe and wonder and joyful anticipation of the day of birth. Whether a miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant death, each parent embarks on a unique path of grief facing an awful disruption of life assumptions. This is not […]
The Book Common Heroes is not a Hollywood rendition of heroic death, but rather an opportunity to explore with everyday people the pain, sorrow, anger, and even the humor when death touches us through those we love. What does it feel like to see your life within the framework of a life-threatening illness? How do people […]
About the Essay Sara Thomas Monopoli was pregnant with her first child when her doctors learned that she was going to die. It started with a cough and a pain in her back. Then a chest X-ray showed that her left lung had collapsed, and her chest was filled with fluid. A sample of the […]
Edwin Shneidman was not afraid of death. He studied it all his life. L.A. Times Photographer Liz Balen produced this 3-minute piece right before Schneidman passed away. To view, visit: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/ed_shneidmanff_ss,0,3414993.htmlstory
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