
Easing the Pain of Losing Your Father
Neil Chethik was twenty-seven years old when he first heard his father cry. “In 1984,” Chethik recalled, “my paternal grandfather died suddenly. I was living a few blocks from him at the time. My father came to town the next day, and we spent an afternoon going through my grandfather’s apartment. My father began […]
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Did a Case of the Yips Cost Mikaela Shiffrin Olympic Gold?
Posted by Martin Oaks under Community, Cremation, Hello world, Memorial, Resources
“I can’t explain to you how frustrated I am,” Mikaela Shiffrin told reporters in Beijing during the recent Olympic Games. “I have to fix something but I don’t know what I am supposed to fix.” The 26-year old native of Vail, Colorado, widely believed to be the greatest alpine skier in history, had just […]
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After All These Years, Artist JMW Turner Still Attracts Crowds Worldwide
Posted by Martin Oaks under Community, Cremation, Hello world, Memorial, Resources
Over 170 years after his death, JMW Turner, the enigmatic visionary painter, still commands the attention of the art world. In the last year, his work has been prominently featured in exhibitions in England, Canada, Denmark, France, Australia, Japan, and the United States. Turner’s Modern World, a landmark survey that highlights the artist’s luminous reach, […]
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Holding Space, Active Listening and Carl Rogers
Communicating with those in the final stages of life can be awkward and uncomfortable. Interacting with families connected to the dying loved one can also be strained. Right words are sometimes elusive. Striking the balance between meaningful support and maudlin sentiment is a challenge — our interpersonal skills are being tested by the definitive stressor. The […]
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Stephen Sondheim’s Pivotal Relationship with Oscar Hammerstein
Posted by Martin Oaks under Community, Cremation, Hello world, Memorial, Resources
Stephen Sondheim, who died recently at the age of 91, grew up in a highly dysfunctional home. The man who was to become the central figure in the American Theater for six decades was raised in an atmosphere of material privilege laced with significant emotional turmoil. Sondheim’s father, Herbert, was a clothing manufacturer and his mother, […]
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