We don’t talk about death. It’s difficult. The PBS program “,” which airs Monday evening, could help change that. The documentary“explores the various ways we think about death — not death in general, but our own in particular,” according to PBS’s website.
My experience as a volunteer at the Denver Hospice has shown thedying, their family and friends don’t have to go through the experience alone.Hospice care (in home or in a hospice facility) offers families and friends the opportunity to give life new meaning. Supported by trained staff (medical, social workers, chaplains, volunteers) families are able to let go of old stories and begin again.
I’ve watched families walk through the door with stunned, questioning looks. Whatap next? Where do we turn? They quickly find they’re not alone. And when they leave, often I hear, “What are we going to do now?” And the response, “I don’t know but I know we’re going to do it together.”
Watching “Into the Night” can be a first step in talkinghonestly, compassionately about death.
David L.Stevenson,Denver
