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Denver

Lighter Living

End-of-Life Books

End-of-Life Resources

  • www.agingwithdignity.org ~ Aging with Dignity is a national nonprofit organization with a mission to affirm and safeguard the human dignity of individuals as they age and to promote better care for those near the end of life.
  • www.bkbooks.com/blog ~ Something to Think About: a blog on end of life by Barbara Karnes.
  • www.changingthewaywedie.com ~ Website about the book, Changing the Way We Die, with additional resources.
  • www.angelovolandes.com ~ Physician advocate for end-of-life conversations.
  • www.theconversationproject.org ~ The Conversation Project is dedicated to helping people talk about their wishes for end-of-life care.
  • www.theconversationbook.org ~ Video link advocating conversation and the three options of life-prolonging care, limited medical care, and comfort care.
  • www.fullcircleaftercare.com ~ Helps you settle personal and estate matters after the death of a loved one.
  • www.youtube.com/user/OrderoftheGoodDeath/~ Ask a Mortician, videos from a mortician who wants to answer your questions.
  • www.deathcafe.com~ Death Cafe, “At a Death Cafe people, often strangers, gather to eat cake, drink tea and discuss death. Our objective is ‘to increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives’.”
  • http://deathoverdinner.org/ ~ The creators have gathered dozens of medical and wellness leaders to cast an unflinching eye at end of life and created an uplifting interactive adventure that transforms this seemingly difficult conversation into one of deep engagement, insight, and empowerment.
  • www.irabyock.org ~ Dr. Ira Byock is a leading palliative care physician, author, and public advocate for improving care through the end of life.
  • www.karenwyattmd.com ~ Her book, What Really Matters: 7 Lessons for Living from the Stories of the Dying, details her experiences as a hospice physician. Her book, The TAO of Death: The Secret of a Rich & Meaningful Life provides reflective wisdom and spirituality of the dying process.
  • www.eoluniversity.com ~ Resources and inspiration for the end of life.
  • www.oktodie.com ~ Their mission is to create conditions in which people: plan ahead, make their peace, understand that it is okay to die naturally, and make educated choices, which allow them to pass away peacefully and comfortably surrounded by those who love them most.
  • www.prepareforyourcare.org ~ A website that assists with making medical decisions for yourself and others, talk with your doctors, and get the medical care that is right for you.
  • www.codaalliance.org ~ The Coda Alliance is dedicated to helping you comfortably deal with one of life’s most difficult situations—starting your end-of-life conversation. Check out the “Go Wish Game.”
  • www.notifbutwhen.org ~ Not If But When: This website is a curated list of books for children and youth about death and loss. Children and teens facing the loss of friends and family, or their own mortality, need help navigating the emotional, physical, and practical upheavals and restorations that are part of the natural process. Books offer opportunities to ask questions, wonder, and simply acknowledge the realities of their circumstances.
  • www.mydirectives.com ~ MyDirectives makes it easy to create a state-of-the-art emergency, critical, and advance care plan.
  • www.caringinfo.org ~ CaringInfo, a program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, provides free resources to help people make decisions about end-of-life care and services before a crisis.
  • Best books on End-of-Life Planning.
  • www.funerals.org ~ Funeral Consumers Alliance, 800-765-0107
  • www.nfda.org ~ National Funeral Directors Association, 800-228-6332
  • www.homefuneralalliance.org ~ National Home Funeral Alliance: This is the place to find information about home funerals, including directories for where to find home funeral guides, home funeral education programs, home-funeral-friendly funeral directors, celebrants, clergy, and groups who will help families when needed.
  • www.funerals.org/greenburial ~ Green (or natural) burial emphasizes simplicity and environmental sustainability. The body is neither cremated nor prepared with chemicals such as embalming fluids. It is simply placed in a biodegradable coffin or shroud and interred without a concrete burial vault. The grave site is allowed to return to nature. The goal is complete decomposition of the body and its natural return to the soil.
  • www.cremationassociation.org                                        www.cremationassociation.org/page/CremationProcess~ Cremation Association of North America. Provides information on flame-based cremation and water based cremation/alkaline hydrolysis.
  • www.funeralwise.com/plan/cremation/cremation-process/~ Funeralwise describes the cremation process in detail.
  • www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/alkaline-hydrolysis-laws-your-state~ Describes alkaline hydrolysis and gives information about what US states offer it.
  • www.greenburialcouncil.org ~ Green Burial Council believes burial is “green” only when it furthers legitimate environmental and societal aims, such as protecting worker health, reducing carbon emissions, conserving natural resources, and preserving habitat.
  • www.greenburialnaturally.org ~ Green Burial Naturally: State-By-State Where, How, and Why to Choose Green Burial.
  • www.celebrationsoflife.net ~ Their mission is to provide a meaningful Legacy Journey® experience to help individuals and families live their lives with intention and share their values, wisdom, and generosity with loved ones and future generations.
  • Planning an Accessible Funeral Service

Perhaps a few of these resources called to you. To read a more in-depth review of each book, visit and follow Lisa on Goodreads. If you have found or read any books or articles that you believe would be good additions to this list, please contact me. This list of resources is ever-expanding and updated thanks to the suggestions of my readers and further research since the book’s publication.