End of Life WisdomGuest Blogs

The Death You Want

“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,” I said, wondering the odds…
Christy Moe-Marek
February 12, 2019
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Dancing with Life and Death

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 she died, and to hold…
Christy Moe-Marek
January 29, 2019
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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 only fifteen minutes to spend…
Cathy Wurzer
January 21, 2019
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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 nationally televised.       I chuckled. That's…
Cathy Wurzer
December 26, 2018
Guest Blogs

Give the gift of “I Love You”

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 we know death is imminent,…
Christy Moe-Marek
December 21, 2018
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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. Bruce Kramer. Dec. 17, 2012  Michael Bischoff and wife Jenny. Credit: CaringBridge website We were having a conversation about the dismal efforts, over many decades, to…
Cathy Wurzer
December 19, 2018
Guest Blogs

Grief and Gratitude

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 grandma's recent death. She was…
Christy Moe-Marek
November 21, 2018
Guest Blogs

Keeping the End in Mind

((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 that confirmed a recurrence of…
Michael Bischoff
November 13, 2018
Guest Blogs

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 2:00am as I lay in a…
Christy Moe-Marek
October 22, 2018