Dying Kindness

What's the point of obituaries? Why are some people so into reading them? Should you draft your own obituary as a Dying Kindness?

Today we talk with Michael Osborne from the podcast Famous & Gravy, a podcast about what really matters in life, and what's gravy... one dead celebrity at a time.

Referenced:

Famous & Gravy

Generation Anthropocene

New York Times Obituaries

Obituary for Shirley Temple Black

Famous & Gravy episode on Shirley Temple Black

For most of us, there will come a point when we'll need to have someone else help manage our finances. Two common approaches are to set up a joint bank account, or use a Power of Attorney for Finances. Which is better? How do you decide which to use?

A funeral can get expensive. In this episode, I break down the elements of a traditional burial funeral in the United Stages, and the median costs.

After a lifetime of independence, it can be tough to age or get ill and start to need help. So many of us fear becoming a burden so we resist asking for help. But at what point will our independence become a problem? What's the difference between asking for help and being a burden?

A discussion of the kinds of things that you could (and should) include in your living will, including examples that Cianna wrote into her own. 

Topics: Living Will, Advance Directive

Mentioned:

DyingKindness.com

NOLO Press

Book: The Art of Dying Well

Book: A Beginner’s Guide to the End

Dying Kindness Bookshop 

The Death Deck

The Conversation Project

Estate lawyer: Kathleen Hunt

Book: Death Poems

Living Will. DNR. Advance Directive. POLST. 

You know these forms are important. But are they the same? Do you need all of them? What are they for? And when would you need them?

Forms are location specific. Do an online search for "[where you live] and [name of form]" or ask your lawyer to get the right version for you.

Recap of summary: 

• Everyone over the age of 18 should specify their wishes and designate a health care proxy, ideally with an Advance Directive or Living Will and Medical Power of Attorney

Selecting the right Health Care Agent is a critical factor in ensuring that we get the kind of care we want when we're critically injured or nearing the end of our lives. Your agent will be responsible for implementing your Advance Healthcare Directive, and (even more) for understanding why you made the decisions you made so they can respond to unanticipated situations. How do you choose the right person? What, exactly, would you be asking them to do?

Referenced: 

Thinking about dying has me thinking about aging. And as I took my aging body on a hike, I decided maybe it's time to get used to using hiking poles—and this had me thinking about what we can do now so that we can keep what we love doing for longer.

Do you want to be buried near your parents? Want your children to scatter your ashes at your favorite beach? Would your family visit your memorial tree in a forest?

What kinds of things do you need to take into consideration when you're choosing your final resting place?

Bonus in this episode: An interview with Mike Szymanski, creator of the #DoxieTombstone in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Burial or Cremation? That question is important, yes, and it's not the only thing that needs to be decided about what will happen with your body after you die. This episode covers some of the practical decisions that need to be made regarding final disposition.