By Mary Kay Jordan Fleming for Next Avenue For years, I’ve feared my 70-member family was coming apart at the seams. Marriages, relocations, and deaths loosened the bonds my parents stitched together a…
7 Steps for Widows and Widowers to Manage Their First Year Alone
By Anna Byrne for Next Avenue Nothing quite prepares you for the dark and debilitating grief of losing a spouse or life partner. The beginning of every widow or widower’s…
Advance Care Planning: A Gift You Give Yourself – and Your Loved Ones
By Emily Gurnon for Next Avenue Lisa Cassaro and her husband were in their 40s, living in Orcutt, Calif., when they learned about advance care planning in the most difficult way possible. Jeff…
Heart & Soul Hospice organizes classic car show for patient
Bill Hughes has always admired classic cars. Now that Hughes is receiving hospice care, he didn’t think he’d be able to attend another car show. That’s when Heart & Soul…
Living With the Gaps
By Denise Torcicollo for Next Avenue For the first time, I find myself purchasing a box of sympathy cards. I’ve come to expect news of death. Maybe it’s my age.…
Is End of Life Its Own Stage of Life?
By Lola Butcher for Next Avenue Deborah Carr, professor and chair of the sociology department at Boston University, has spent much of her career studying death and dying. That expertise…
For My Grandchildren: A Letter of Love and Legacy
By Connie Zweig for Next Avenue You own my heart. This love has been a surprise — and the most precious gift of my late life. I was not a…
Understanding the Social Security Rules for Widows and Widowers
By Chris Farrell for Next Avenue During a recent Minnesota Public Radio program I hosted about Social Security, I was surprised at the number of callers with questions and complaints…
When You’re Living With a Terminal Illness
By Randi Mazzella for Next Avenue In 2015, actress Shannen Doherty was diagnosed with breast cancer. After completing successful treatment, she was told she was in remission. Then in February of…
Heart & Soul Hospice in Wichita earns advanced certification
Heart and Soul Hospice was recently awarded Level 4 certification from the “We Honor Veterans” program. We Honor Veterans is a program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization…