Why I Wore Black After He Died: Lessons from Victorian Mourning Culture
I needed others to see me—to acknowledge my grief.
Aging and dying
Editor’s Note: The Death Issue
When I learned that my first issue as editorial director of YES! would be on death, I cringed a bit. No one likes to think about death, much less talk about it. In fact, death might be more taboo to discuss than even sex or money. A recent survey found that only about a third of people had discussed making wills with their partners, or their wishes concerning their funerals. It’s almost as though we believe that dying doesn’t actually happen. At least not to us.
Some Blunt Advice About Your Death
Author and end-of-life educator Sallie Tisdale gets real about death and dying.
I Am a Future Ancestor
Knowing this changes how I live my life.
Dealing With Loss When Death Is Uncertain
For families of missing or disappeared persons, mourning the ambiguous loss of their loved ones is complex.
7 Things People Forget to Do Before They Die
It’s never too soon to act.
How Steep Is That Sidewalk? A Digital Map for People With Disabilities
For disabled people, getting around Seattle is a constant challenge. This app wants to make it easier and safer.
Black Funerals Are a Radical Testament to Blackness
For African Americans, homegoings are the ultimate form of liberation.
Return to Nature
Green burials go beyond not polluting or wasting. It’s about people needing and caring for land, conducting life-affirming activities there—including death.
How Capitalism Exploits Our Fear of Old Age
Getting older isn’t all loss and no gain—we may actually become happier and more emotionally resilient.
Hot Flashes and Killer Whales: The Evolutionary Advantage of Menopause
The patriarchy thinks menopause is a problem. A new book is making waves with the argument that "the change" has value for our species and the women who go through it.
What Happens When Old and Young Connect
Intergenerational relationships are a critical ingredient in well-being, research shows, particularly as we age.
6 Ways to Stay Healthy as You Age
How to elevate the quality of your life.
The Choices We Make for Others at the End of Life
A palliative care nurse explains what to expect in the last days and hours.
For Cookbook Author, Food Is an Ally Against Dementia
She can’t remember recipes, and food doesn’t taste the same, but Paula Wolfert believes that what she eats is key to helping her slow her cognitive decline.
How Restoring My Late Parents’ Cherished Possessions Helped Me Grieve
It was just stuff. Until it wasn’t.
Best Books of 2018 for a Meaningful Life
The year’s must-reads help to weather hard times and make a difference in the lives of those around us.
Take a Moment to Thank Your Food
Gratitude for what feeds us opens us to awe and beauty.
How I Celebrate Life on the Day of the Dead
Día de los Muertos is for remembering those I miss and pondering how to keep them alive in the present moment.
Parker Palmer on Autumn, Aging, and Acceptance
The author of On the Brink of Everything finds inspiration in nature’s cycles of death and renewal.
How Silence Leads Us to Awe
A Buddhist lama and an ex-priest discuss the benefits of turning off the noise in our daily lives.
Patience Gray’s Italian Slow Food Education
Foraging for weeds and mushrooms with a visionary of the sustainable food movement.
Why Mister Rogers Is the Role Model We Need Right Now
The unconventional children’s television pioneer celebrated dignity and kindness in the age of mass media.
Can a Strict Vegetable Diet Cure Cancer?
A review of the documentary “The Food Cure,” which follows patients undergoing an intensive and controversial nutritional therapy.
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