They keep the Hindu funeral pyres burning, but at what cost?
For the men and boys of the Dom community in Varanasi, sacred cremations demand a lifetime of exhausting, dangerous labour
by Radhika Iyengar
Death and dying
Fieldnotes from my father’s funeral
I’d reported on earthquakes, murders and suicide attacks. I was still unprepared to watch my dad die
by Salman Masood
At 84, Jun lives to shock. His next act? A living funeral no one asked for
A film by Mari Young and Anika Kan Grevstad
Reflections on mortality can help you live well now – here’s how
For me and many others, contemplating death has clarified what matters. These curiosity-based exercises will get you started
by Joanna Ebenstein
Why one death doula sees an examined death as vital to a good life
A film by Annie Marr
As a society, we’re not death phobic, we’re death complacent
Our culture is routinely diagnosed with an excessive fear of mortality. A calm look at the evidence tells a different story
by Ingemar Patrick Linden
It’s not foolish to foster hope in the face of illness and death
As a great loss loomed, I feared straying too far from the hard truth. But I learned to distinguish denial from hope
by Christiana Boules
Why do so many of us blame ourselves after a loved one’s death?
After losing my father, I felt the guilt and regret that burden many other bereaved people – and found a way to carry them
by Delaney Rebernik
Grief is not a process with five stages. It is shattered glass
The five stages describe a grief that’s knowable and controlled. An accident in my kitchen helped me find a truer metaphor
by Joshua Thomas
Why so many of us see our loved ones after they have died
These experiences – which are more of an illusion than a hallucination – can be a healthy part of the grieving process
by Shayla Love
Ethan ponders his daughter’s future without him in this celebrated short
Directed by Ethan Barrett
Together forever: ‘at-home burial’ in southern Vietnam
What might a traveller along the Mekong Delta learn about the beliefs and traditions behind the country’s elevated tombs?
by Gina Elia
Efforts to expand the lifespan ignore what it’s like to get old
As modern medicine extends the human lifespan, quality of life is not keeping up, raising thorny ethical dilemmas
by Robert S Gable
How to get more comfortable with death
Angst about mortality is part of being human, but if it’s interfering with your life, there are proven ways to dial it down
by Rachel Menzies
Why ancient Mesopotamians buried their dead beneath the floor
In an age before photos or audio recordings, people found other ways to stay sensorially connected to their deceased
by Nicola Laneri
I thought I knew everything about death. Then grief struck me
Even though I grew up in Death World, and still live there, it couldn’t prepare me for being my family’s sole survivor
by John Troyer