How to Have Everyday Conversations About Death and Dying

Very good suggestions in this piece, which pretty much boil down to: don't be afraid to talk about death.

"Even though there has been increasing media attention to end-of-life issues over the past year, we still live in a death-phobic, death-avoidant culture. While our movie and videogame screens are filled with images of violent death and news reports remind us every day of various threats to life, there is still a scarcity of authentic conversation about death in our society. Increased awareness and acceptance that death is a natural part of life is one of the most-needed changes in our communities. When we are able to face death without shutting out the conversation or turning away our attention, we will be less likely to resort to futile medical treatments to support our illusion of immortality and more likely to live our days to the fullest, because we will recognize that they won't last forever. In order to reach a point in our society where death becomes a "household word" we must begin to have normal, ordinary conversations about all things related to death and dying. But this is a difficult task for most of us because we've never been taught to talk about death."

How to Have Everyday Conversations About Death and Dying