Videos: Aging and Dying Well

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, difficult conversations about death have become a very real part of life. But these conversations don’t have to be scary. They can be enlightening, even truly comforting. Authors and experts Shoshana Berger, BJ Miller, MD, Katy Butler, and Sunita Puri, MD show how we can remove the fear from the process of dying and create a much better experience for our loved ones and ourselves: one that brings us closer to the beauty and joy of life.

• Authors: Shoshana Berger and BJ Miller, MD, A Beginner’s Guide to the End: Practical Advice for Living Life and Facing Death
• Author: Katy Butler, The Art of Dying Well: A Practical Guide to a Good End of Life
• Moderator: Sunita Puri, MD, That Good Night: Life and Medicine in the Eleventh Hour

NHAELO Director Rebecca Brown addresses the Franconia Community Church on the need for better conversations around terminal illness and mortality, and the need for medical aid in dying in New Hampshire. Her talk starts at 33:55.

Roshi Joan Halifax addresses “Courage, Love, and Compassion” with the Hospice of Santa Barbara. Halifax is a remarkable teacher and a leading voice on death and dying. Her book, Being with Dying, Cultivating Compassion and Fearlessness in the Presence of Death is an insightful, practical, and profound reading.

What is a good death? NHAELO Director Rebecca Brown joins a palliative care nurse, a spiritual director, and an end-of-life doula for this panel discussion at the Portsmouth Public Library. The event was sponsored by Hospice Help Foundation and Brookhaven Hospice in conjunction with the library.