A Deathbed Playlist (Written by Christy Moe-Marek)
The other day, I was driving to a friend’s house when a song I have long loved came on the radio, She Used to Be Mine, by Sara Bareilles. There are days when the song moves me to tears on its own, but as I…
The Death You Want (Guest blog by Christy Moe Marek)
“Have you given any thought to how you want your end of life to go?” I gently asked my nearly-94-year-old grandma that question one afternoon as we talked about her younger brother who had died two years earlier. “I don’t want a stranger to find me.” “OK,”…
Dancing with Life and Death (A guest blog by Christy Moe-Marek)
On New Year’s Day, I bid farewell to a dear friend – a beautiful, vibrant woman whom I’ve considered my soul sister since we first met more than 20 years ago. Though she lived 1,500 miles away, I was fortunate to be with her when…
The Courage to be Real
At no time in our relationship has my physician told me that she feels it is a pleasure to care for me. Frankly, while I like her, I don’t expect that kind of emotion from my deadpan doc and given that most physicians usually have…
What will they say about you?
The funeral, earlier this year, for the late President George H.W. Bush seemed to capture the essence of the man and led a newsroom colleague of mine to post this bit of advice on Twitter: Live your life as though your funeral service will be…
Give the gift of “I Love You” by Christy Moe Marek
By Christy Moe Marek This holiday season, I find myself reflecting on the ways we can do end of life better. After a doozy of an autumn that brought mortality to my doorstep, several times, both personally and professionally, I am reminded that even when…
The Healing Experience
I remember the day my friend Bruce Kramer said something that puzzled me but in the years since his death have come to appreciate. We were having a conversation about the dismal efforts, over many decades, to find a cure for ALS; a disease that…
Grief and Gratitude (by Christy Moe Marek)
This is a blog post by our friend Christy Moe Marek. A certified death doula who asks the question: “Can we be grateful for our grief?” In this time of Thanksgiving, it is a question I’m trying to answer in the wake of my beloved…
Keeping the End in Mind (By Michael Bischoff)
((This is from our good friend Michael Bischoff of the Health Story Collaborative. Michael is living with a brain tumor. He was gracious in taking the time to join us at our recent End in Mind Shakopee event)) Last week I had a brain surgery…
Reminders of Impermanence
Reminders of Impermanence By Christy Moe Marek “I’m in an ambulance on my way to the hospital,” my husband told me as I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. “Wait. You’re what?” was all I could think of to say. It was almost…
New Name. New Look. New Beginnings.
In March of 2015, as my friend Bruce Kramer was dying, in making one final request, he asked me to look for the “ripples” in our work together. After nearly five years of radio interviews and a book, I couldn’t see anything else to do…
Message Received (Guest Blog)
Message Received By Christy Moe Marek “I heard my mother talking to me yesterday,” a client recently told me. “I was half asleep and I had just been talking about her, so it was probably nothing. I’m sure it was just a dream,” her tone…