MINDRAMP PODCASTS

In this episode I talk with Chris Palmer, author of the new book Achieving a Good Death, about important documents you can prepare to make sure you have the kind of end-of-life experiences you want.  

Chris and I discuss two broad classes of documents, 

The first set of documents are concerned with recording and sharing important aspects of the legacy you want to leave. Chris describes how to prepare legacy letters, ethical wills, and memoirs. 

The second class of documents are designed to make sure that health care professionals and care partners understand the type of medical care want - or don't want - as you approach the end of your life. 

Chris also discusses the importance of having a trusted health care advocate who can assertively represent your interests when you are no longer able to do so. 

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This episode, number 7 in MINDRAMP's End-of-Life series, is about having “The Hard Conversations,” those difficult, but important, conversations with your family and loved ones about the kind of death you want to have. As usual I am talking with my friend Chris Palmer the author of a new book called Achieving A Good Death. 

Chris and I talk about why it is important to talk about the kind of death you want with both loved one's and care professionals. They won't be able to help you if they don't know what you want. Unfortunately, death is a taboo topic for most Americans. Chris and I  talk about how to start a conversation about death, how to what to say to family and loved ones and how to have this conversation with young ones, with grandchildren. We also discuss various organizations that exist specifically to promote conversations about end-of-life issues.  

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This is the sixth of my interviews with Chris Palmer, author of the new book called ACHIEVING A GOOD DEATH. 

 In this episode we discuss the purpose of remembrance rituals  - memorial services, eulogies and obituaries. Chris helps us to think about kind of memorial services we would like to have and reminds us to let our loved one’s know - ahead of time - the kind of remembrance rituals we would be comfortable with - and how we can make it easier for our loved one’s to fulfill these requests. 

Chris and I also talk about the process of grieving and how each person tends to grieve in their own way. 

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This is the fifth episode of my end-of-life interviews with Chris Palmer, author of the new book called ACHIEVING A GOOD DEATH. To flourish as we age we need to live the best life we can and also have the best death we can. MINDRAMP's end-of-life series is about  the second part of that equation - figuring out what a good death means to us, and then figuring out what we need to do to make it happen. 

In this episode, Chris and I talk about body disposition - what to do with the body after death.  Burials and cremations are the traditional methods, but Chris points out that there are numerous new options - so-called "green burial" options that are more natural and better for the environment. We also talk about how we can make help survivors cope with body disposition concerns. Chris also warns about   unscrupulous practices of the funeral industry.

Check out the Chapter headings to find specific topics of interest. 

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Chris Palmer, author of the new book Achieving a Good Death, and I discuss the different choices we have about how to exit our lives. 

Chris offers five "exit strategies," including: 

• Withholding Life Saving Treatment
• Voluntary Stopping Eating and Drinking (VSED)
• Palliative Sedation 
• Medical Aid in Dying (MAID)
• Switzerland

We discuss hospice care, palliative care and death doulas. 

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This short essay., written for the Winter 2025 edition of 3rd Act Magazine, focuses on how modern media platforms provide propagandists with powerful vehicles for the disseminating of disinformation. 

I discuss Marshal McLuhan's idea that the medium is the message, worry about the proliferation of niche media platforms and discuss how advocates of authoritarian rule, from Hitler to Steve Bannon use media to mess with our minds, stimulating the extremes of credulity or cynicism. I suggest that we can counter disinformation by continuing to call out the lies and conspiracy theories and that we cultivate - in ourselves, our children and our grandchildren - the mindset of open-minded skepticism. 

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The third episode in our end-of-life series Chris Palmer and I (Michael C. Patterson) focus our conversation on what happens when we are in the process of dying.  

Chris points out that we can die in two ways: suddenly or slowly. Some of us might, unexpectedly, get hit by a truck and die suddenly. But, the vast majority of us these days will live a long life and will die a slow death.  Chris and I explore how we decide that we have begun the process of dying and explore the options we have about how we might like to die. Chris offers advice on what we should, and should not say, to someone who is actively dying. 

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To flourish we need not only to live well, but also to die well. And, conversely, the best way to insure a good death is to live as well as we can. This is the second episode in a series of conversations with Chris Palmer who has recently published a book called Achieving a Good Death.

Chris explains that he became interested in end of life issues because he was quite afraid of dying and felt that the best way to allay those fears was to better understand the topic. I wondered whether Chris was afraid of the dying process - becoming sick, experiencing pain and debility, etc. Or, was he afraid of death itself? 

We discussed the importance of the legacy and how our loved ones will think of us and remember us after we have died. Chris stresses the value of living our life in a way that minimizes our regrets when we die. He also explains his provocative idea that we die two deaths. 

We introduce the idea that end-of-life issues can be viewed from three basic perspectives: before, during and after. In the next episode we stat in the middle and  tackle issues concerning the “during” perspective. What are our options when we are in the process of dying?

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In this series of MINDRAMP Podcasts we will continue to discuss how to flourish as we near the end of our life - but with a special focus. To flourish we need to live a good life and die a good death. 

This series of podcasts will focus on achieving a good death. The series is built around a number of interviews with my friend Chris Palmer, who is an expert on end-of-life issues. Chris has published a new book called Achieving A Good Death: A Practical Guide to the End of Life.  

 In his book, Chris comments that “Death is a transformative teacher, but few want to become willing students.” Death is a difficult subject. 

A core message of Chris’s book is that the best way to prepare for a good death is to live the best life possible. Planning for your end-of-life is, in fact, an act of optimism and compassion. 

Death is inevitable. We can stumble blindly into the darkness, or we can opt to follow a gentler path that is illuminated by our own insight and vision. If you choose to prepare for the kind of death you want to have, these podcasts will help you understand your options. 

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This is a reading of an article I wrote for the Fall 2024 edition of 3rd Act Magazine. I recall the 60's and 70's when many of us had a youthful passion to create a better world. 

Now, decades later, we may not have the energy and exuberance of our youth, but we can still be passionate about our values and our convictions. We can still work to realize our dreams for a better world. 

I also suggest that we have the additional responsibility to use our status as elders to articulate a vision of a better form of humanity. We human beings are wondrous creatures, but are deeply flawed in ways that are dangerous to the health, well-being and survival of our world.  Just as we have worked to bend the arc of history towards greater equality and justice, we should, in our mature years, aim to bend the arc of evolution towards a more advanced form of humanity.

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