Dying Words: Talking About the End of Life

Patrice Hirsch Feinstein and Tara Sonenshine write in The Huffington Post about the importance of finding the right way to talk about end of life csre: "Talking about death is hard. Really hard. Studies show that most people, even in their later years, resist the notion of talking about dying. In fact, many media editors and news sites do not like featuring stories about end-of-life issues, viewing them as depressing. But more and more people are thinking about the issue. According to PEW Research Center, 37 percent of Americans say they have given a great deal of thought to their own wishes for end-of-life medical treatment—up from 1990. Yet over a quarter of Americans (27 percent) say they have given no thought or not very much thought to their own wishes....As the popular conversation builds, and states grapple with referenda and legislative moves to put the “death with dignity” issues on their ballots, we, as individuals, will have to grapple with words. Dying is a hard subject. But it’s part of life and should be part of our public dialogue."