To understand the cultural transition from a society that found comfort in end-of-life rituals to one that has distanced itself from the natural dying process, it is essential to look back to the Civil War era—a period when America was drowning in unrelenting grief and...

As global populations transition into what has been called the “longevity society,” caring for the aging and dying has prompted the emergence of an unusual self-care movement promising improved quality of life as it anticipates death. ...