Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: mourning

  • Campaigning for Craig: The healing power of a legacy T-shirt

    Nancy GershmanChicago, Illinois, United States Sometimes the elephant in the room is a painful irony, like the story of Craig, a 25-year-old flying instructor who died in his aircraft. As parents we think, “Oh, if only we’d talked him out of flying lessons!” But as bereavement professionals, we see both sides: a young adult doing…

  • Crossing boundaries: visual representations of death and dying

    Mary T. ShannonPortland, Oregon, United States Introduction How do we as clinicians, caregivers, and fellow human beings talk about death and dying in our culture, or perhaps more precisely, how do we not talk about it? Many avoid the topic out of fear, denial, or discomfort, creating silent narratives that torment, isolate, and separate at…