Showing titles in Death & Dying

It's time to invite death out of the closet! The impending or actual death of someone close to you can be devastating. It doesn't matter if you knew it was coming, or if it was a total shock-you'll never be the same. There is no right way to grieve, and no appropriate time frame. It's different for everyone. Author and therapist gone rogue, Becky Aud-Jennison, the creator of The Death Dialogues Project and podcast, has sewn together threads from people's shared personal stories and her own experiences.

Jess enlisted in the Marines immediately after graduating from high school in 2001, and in 2004 she volunteered to serve in the Marine Corps' first officially declared Mortuary Affairs unit in Iraq. Her platoon was tasked with recovering and processing the remains of fallen soldiers. With sensitivity and insight, Jess describes her job retrieving and examining the remains of fellow soldiers lost in combat in Iraq, and the psychological intricacy of coping with their fates, as well as her own.

As you read these words, planet Earth teems with trillions of life-forms, all going about their own business: eating, reproducing, thriving.... Yet the life of almost every single organism draws nearer to certain death. On the other hand, "suicide" inside the mitochondria that live within us results in the death of millions of cells each second for our own good! Why is death such a universal companion to life on Earth? Why haven't animals evolved to break free of its shackles?

How will I survive this loss? When her life shifted from fairytale to nightmare due to her husband’s death by suicide, Michelle Ann Collins found herself in the darkest place imaginable, reaching for answers to questions like: How am I going to eat, sleep, get out of bed, and do all the things? As a yoga therapist and wellness coach, she had more tools than many suicide loss survivors do, and yet escaping the dark grief cave required the most excruciating work of her life. It may feel like it now, but your life did not end with theirs.

Since the internet's earliest days, people have died and mourned online. In quiet corners of past iterations of the web, the dead linger. But attempts at preserving the data of the dead are often ill-fated, for websites and devices decay and die, just as people do. Death disrupts technologists' plans for platforms. It reveals how digital production is always collaborative, undermining the entrepreneurial platform economy and highlighting the flaws of techno-solutionism.

When you’ve lived decades of life, grief doesn’t just break your heart—it unsettles your body, fogs your thinking, and reshapes every routine. The world may expect you to “stay strong” and “move on,” but your days and nights tell a very different story.

Step into the shadows of Victorian history to explore the haunting mourning rituals that shaped how an era faced death. For listeners craving a dark, atmospheric journey during their commute, this vivid social history brings nineteenth-century grief back to life. Wander through crowded parlors...

Uncover the profound history of grief and cultural mourning rituals to find deep comfort in our shared human experience. Whether you are navigating a personal loss or seeking a thought-provoking audio companion for your commute, this fascinating anthropological journey connects our deepest...

With the sudden deaths of both of her parents, Mallory McDuff began to research sustainable practices around death and dying. For McDuff, an educator and environmentalist, what started as a highly personal endeavor expanded into a yearlong exploration and assessment of green burials, aquamation, green cemeteries, home funerals, and human composting. In Our Last Best Act, McDuff bridges the gap between environmental action and religious faith by demonstrating that when the two are combined, they become a powerful force for the greater good

After Life is a collective history of how Americans experienced, navigated, commemorated, and ignored mass death and loss during the global COVID-19 pandemic, mass uprisings for racial justice, and the near presidential coup in 2021 following the 2020 election.

The preeminent meditation on plagues and pandemics from the Islamic world, now in English for the first time A Penguin Classic Six hundred years ago, the author of this landmark work of history and religious thought—an esteemed judge, poet, and scholar in Cairo—survived the bubonic plague...

Your best friend has lost their spouse, your spouse has lost a parent, or someone close to you has lost a child. It doesn’t matter what has happened—the loss is deep, heavy, and seemingly impossible. You want to help, but...how? Unfortunately, we’re not trained in the human art of knowing how to support a loved one in their darkest hour.

Why do we embalm the deceased? Why are funerals so expensive? Is there a reason coffins are shaped the way they are? Where does the tradition of viewing the body come from? Ceremonies for honoring the deceased are crucial parts of our lives, but few people know where our traditional practices come from—and what they reveal about our history, culture, and beliefs about death. In Last Rites, author Todd Harra takes listeners on a fascinating exploration of American funeral customs—exploring where they came from, what they mean, and how they are still evolving. 

"Albert," the neighbor said, "your mom needs you to come home." That's how it began for Albert Hsu when his father died. Anyone who has lost a loved one to suicide experiences tremendous shock and trauma. What follows is a confusing mix of emotions - anger, guilt, grief, and despair. 

In this deeply affecting and uplifting book, Janet Wehr shares the real-life stories of her many years as a hospice nurse. Her first-hand account gives illuminating and comforting insight into the spiritual aspect of what occurs in the transition between life and death, highlighting the importance of the mind-body-spirit connection as it manifests in the dying process. It also gives a candid impression of hospices and hospice nurses and the services they can provide. All of Janet’s 46 personal stories are true, fascinating, heart-felt, and thought-provoking.

At the end our lives, we look forward to eternal life. Now you can take a fascinating journey through eschatology, the theology of the Last Things. In these twelve lectures, you will join renowned theologian Dr. Peter Phan in encountering De Novissimis—the “Last Things.” You will explore...

A belief in the afterlife is common to almost every faith and culture around the world. Even people who don't consider themselves spiritual share a fascination in life after death. In this powerful guide narrated by Candida Gubbins, author and intuitive, Diane Ahlquist, shares her own knowledge...

Deu anys després de la mort del seu pare, el narrador d'aquest llibre decideix escriure-la. Amb l'ombra del suïcidi que priva el dol, es pregunta: és possible trobar les paraules d'un comiat que no es va produir? Així, aquest relat personal i íntim esdevé una recerca per entendre com es forgen els vincles familiars, a què condemna el silenci, on s'amaga la veritat d'una història. Però l'escriptura falla, i l'autor recorre a les biografies d'escriptors que es van suïcidar i a les seves darreres notes per reconstruir un adeu possible, temptatiu.

Médica geriatra com vasta experiência em Cuidados Paliativos, Ana Claudia Quintana Arantes nos convida a um novo olhar sobre esse momento. A perspectiva da finitude pode trazer clareza para as escolhas, reavivar lembranças, restaurar afetos. Pode abrir caminho para um processo de luto amoroso e íntegro, ainda que haja dor. Este audiolivro nos conduz pelas etapas do adoecimento com gentileza e sabedoria. Aprendemos a levar conforto para o corpo enfraquecido.

Deadhouse: Life in a Coroner's Office chronicles the exploits of a diverse team of investigators at a coroner's office in Pittsburgh. Ed Strimlan is a doctor who never got to practice medicine. Instead he discovers how people died. Mike Chichwak is a stolid ex-paramedic, respected around the office for his compassion and doggedness. Tiffani Hunt is 21, a single mother who questions whether she wants to spend her nights around dead bodies.