Visualizing End-of-Life Comes Home

For some time now I’ve been a member of VEOLI, a group of visual practitioners that focuses on helping folks navigate the difficult decisions around their own, or a loved one’s, death. As a culture we are terrible at this, having lost the habit of deathbed vigils since modern medicine took most Westerners into hospitals to die rather than in their own bedrooms.

We recently decided we’d like to make a video demonstrating this process (visual vigil planning, not dying in bed). I’m going to be interviewed next week about my choices in how I am laid to rest. (These can’t always be followed, obviously, but having clarity about how we’d like things to go if at all possible is a good initial step.)

At right is a drawing I made of someone else’s vigil plan. My friend Sherill is going to draw mine: I’m excited to see what she comes up with!