More than a hundred million people type this question into Google each month. They are met with dozens of websites linking to more websites, filled with terms many have never heard before. As they try to learn the difference between a coffin and a casket or an heir and a beneficiary, the list of logistical tasks piles up.my father’s ashes when he died by suicide in 2018. Five days after his traumatic death, my family and I packed up leftover lasagna from the post-funeral celebration of his life.
Before there were apps for navigating loss, there were death doulas. Despite its etymological connection to the ancient practice of assisting with childbirth, the death doula movement is relatively new. But the beginning and end of life usher in significant changes and emotions, and with them, a flood of logistical tasks.
Achieving this goal can involve, as Arthur explains, a combination of technology and personal support. “You have an app or website you can use, but there’s somebody on the phone who can also answer your questions or guide you through.” Sheri Kay, a death doula in Asheville, North Carolina, seeks to alleviate her clients’ expectations that they need to move fast. “You can rest into it without the sense of urgency for something to be over and the next step to happen,” she says. “We bring a sense of, hopefully, some essence of control to an uncontrollable situation.”
Many who work in the death care industry, from doulas to tech company founders, emphasize the importance of end-of-life planning. The logistical burden after someone dies can be lightened by thorough advance preparation, like keeping track of account information, having updated wills, and talking with trusted individuals about funeral wishes. But Seligman recognizes that such a smooth transition is not the reality for many.
That person might be a doula making tea and calling funeral homes for you. It may look like a clearly organized platform that lets you check off one task at a time over the 13 months it typically takes to wrap up a loved one’s affairs. Or it may combine both with the community kin-care many people turn to, the aunt who writes beautiful obituaries and the brother who speaks legalese.
That looks like flesh. 1/10 too gorey.
How anti semitic of you to say Jews are goblins. No one else connected the two. HogwartLegacy
Stop trying to tackle anything serious and stick to alien encounter stories
You guys are disgusting for letting someone like Jaina Rodriguez Grey writing your video game reviews. 1/10? Lol yea ok
Forms are a big problem in a social media-driven, semi-literate world. For everyone else it's just an inconvenience, and who expects someone's death to be convenient?
If the first thing you do is Google, how are you even a functioning adult in this world?