services for support in living and dying

End Of Life

Hudson Valley Hospice

Offering hospice and palliative care services, remote support groups for caregivers, grief support, pet adoption, an end-of-life doula program, and more. hvhospice.org

Circle of Friends for the Dying

Offering a safe, comfortable homelike space where individuals with a prognosis of 3 months or less to live can rest in an atmosphere of peace and tranquility. Open to two residents with room for family and friends to visit. cfdhv.org

End Well Project

End Well is dedicated to the belief that all people should experience the end of life in a way that matches their values and goals. Bringing together a community that unites design, technology, health, policy, and activist initiatives to transform how the world thinks about caregiving, grief, illness, and the end-of-life experience with the ultimate goal of creating a future where ending well becomes a measure of living well. endwellproject.org

IN COMMUNITY Death Cafe

At a Death Cafe, people, often strangers, gather to eat cake, drink tea, and discuss death.The objective is “to increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives.” A Death Cafe is a group-directed discussion of death with no agenda, objectives, or themes. It is a discussion group rather than a grief support or counseling session. You can host and begin a death cafe in your community. See the website for guidelines. deathcafe.com

Local Death Cafe: cfdhv.org/event

Books

Being with Dying: Cultivating Compassion and Fearlessness in the Presence of Death byJoan Halifax

Sacred Passage: How to Provide Fearless, Compassionate Care for the Dying by Margaret

Coberly

The Tibetan Book of Living and Dyingby Sogyal

Rinpoche

In Love with the World: A Monk’s Journey Through the Bardos of Living and Dying by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche and Helen

Tworkov

The Smell of Rain on Dust by Martin Prechtel. A manifesto how-to-grievewell guide for all levels of grief and the many losses we encounter in our lives. A short handbook that wastes no words for 168 powerful pages. floweringmountain.com

Die Wise: A Manifesto for Sanity and Soul by Stephen Jenkinson

Gives exquisite language and thoughtfulness to the fear that North America, in particular, has around death and dying. A sociological exploration with wisdom and great insight for how to die well.

The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How To Free Yourself and Your Family From a Lifetime of Clutter by Margareta Magnusson

How to free the mind of the load of material stuff and distribute it well before your last days, to support the people who will be left to do it if you don’t. And, perhaps you get to befriend death while living and assuage fear and phobias, in a tidy home.

Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life Between Lives by Michael Newton. Case studies as revealed through hypnosis of twenty-nine people, revealing different layers the soul traverses in the spirit world without a body. Fascinating and comforting explanations of how dying feels and what is the souls’ journey.

Death: The High Cost of Living by Neil Gaiman. A three-part graphic novel about the high cost of living, starring Death as a female Endless One, to help story unfold in our own psyche as myth and to help us see in the dark.

Prayers of Honoring Grief by Pixie Lighthorse. Poem-prayers for the long arc of a grieving period, giving a sense of season and terrain to take time with, and a patient portal to move through.

Thirst by Mary Oliver

A volume of poems written while grappling with the loss of her partner.

MORE SoulCollageTM for Groups

A fun art process for deepening your relationship to yourself and others in community and for opening up awareness and conversation.

Nixa DeBellis, Certified SoulCollage Facilitator, nixadebellis@gmail.com

Five Wishes

This Five Wishes document gives you a way to more specifically guide your proxy, health advocates, and intimate friends and family to create an end-oflife plan. fivewishes.org

Nights of Grief and Mystery Tour

Words, poetry, melodies, and a rock band to delve in audience of a thoughtful performance in a theater of healing and grace through music. orphanwisdom.com/nights-of-griefand-mystery

Griefwalker, A documentary film directed by Tim Wilson