The Pain of Loss, Through Centuries and Books By Michelle Weber Highlight “My father is dead, I said to myself, my father is dead. Again and again I said it, and still I failed to grasp what it meant.”
A New Low: Stealing From the Dead By Krista Stevens Highlight “Thieves and forgers are taking houses from the deceased in ‘hot’ (Philadelphia) neighborhoods — as the city stands by.”
What Falls to Earth By Susanna Space Feature Grieving the mysterious death of her father, Susanna Space seeks refuge in the study of meteors.
The Haväng Dolmen By Longreads Feature A trip to a Swedish stone-age burial site gives an archaeologist too close a look at death.
Blackstars By Michael Gonzales Feature Michael Gonzales reflects on the deaths of a dear friend, and a bookworm he idolized: David Bowie.
Jack, Jacqueline — Dad By Yvonne Conza Feature Yvonne Conza wrestles with the complexities of estrangement from her dying — complicated — dad.
‘I Don’t Know What Else to Do. So I Run.’ By Krista Stevens Highlight “You see that you can never go back. And with this knowledge a peculiar grief descends.”
“I know I believe in the power of lining up little hopes” By Krista Stevens Highlight At Oxford American, Michael Graff remembers his dad, Carl.
After World War I, Horror Movies Were Invaded By an Army of Reanimated Corpses By Longreads Feature Were early horror films, with their long, angry processions of the undead, repeating the mass trauma of the First World War, or foreshadowing the coming of the Second?
The Hospital Where By Longreads Feature When accompanying his father to the emergency room, a writer reflects on how he developed his talent — and why that’s a story he can never tell his father.
The Strongest Woman in the Room By Kitty Sheehan Feature A daughter recounts her family’s worst day, through her mother’s eyes.
A Place to Stay, Untouched by Death By Jane Ratcliffe Feature After her mother’s passing, Jane Ratcliffe considers the role everyday objects play in a good death.
Disney World: A Surprisingly Good Place to Grieve By Krista Stevens Highlight “To my surprise, Disney World was not a difficult place to be while in mourning. To me it didn’t feel like an escape from grief, so much as a continued break from unendurable real life.”
Giving Up the Ghost By Emily Urquhart Feature After his death, Emily Urquhart ‘sees’ her brother with regularity. Nearly 20 years later, stories and science help to explain why.
Sliding Toward Disaster By Michelle Weber Highlight Water parks — competing to have the tallest, fastest, scariest slides — invent their own attractions and monitor their own safety, creating a deadly conflict of interest.
The Daughter as Detective By Alice Bolin Feature A bibliophile tries to understand her father through his favorite Swedish mystery books.
Remembrance of Folks Past: A Reading List of the Stories We Tell By Sara Benincasa Reading List “Who lives? Who dies? Who tells your story?”
Sign O’ The Times: Paisley Park Offers A Public Tour By Krista Stevens Highlight At Paisley Park, the most palpable feeling isn’t of Prince, it’s of loneliness.
A Woman’s Work: Home Economics* (*I Took Woodworking Instead) By Carolita Johnson Feature Carolita Johnson tallies the costs and benefits of love and cohabitation as a woman artist living in a patriarchy.
Looking for a Greener Death By Michelle Weber Highlight Aquamation is more environmentally-friendly than cremation and has a growing number of supporters. So why is it mostly illegal?
Anthony Bourdain and the Missing Piece By Ian Frisch Feature With magic, the goal is to give someone something they can carry around with them for a while.
Life After Life: Offering Dignity to Fellow Prisoners Through Hospice Care By Krista Stevens Highlight On the lowest paid, but perhaps most rewarding job at The California Medical Facility — a medium-security prison in Vacaville, CA.
Bang and Vanish By Janice Gary Feature A trip to Key West becomes an unexpected journey involving a sacred bird, a beloved dog, and the challenge of coming to terms with the nature of fate.
Drowning In a River of Murky Thought By Aaron Gilbreath Highlight After his high school friend drowns, a young academic’s mind leads him down a dark path of conspiratorial explanations.
But Where Will We Put Uncle Larry? By Krista Stevens Highlight When you bury a body, it stays in the cemetery. Cremation presents a whole new issue: where to store the deceased.
How to Write a Memoir While Grieving By Nicole Chung Feature Nicole Chung contemplates loss, adoption, and working on a book her late father won’t get to see.
Grief is a Jumble Word By Ken Otterbourg Feature Ken Otterbourg contemplates love and loss and what we remember when we try to forget.
What Happened Onboard the ‘Nautilus’? By Michelle Legro Highlight May Jeong searches for answers after the death of her friend, journalist Kim Wall.
