The Lost Art of Dying w Lydia Dugdale

We all die, but most of us rarely think about it. After all, isn't
life about living? Why would we want to dwell on the depressing
details of dying? Sadly, this denial leads many of us to go our
whole lives without appreciating the gifts of our life. After all,
if we think we'll live forever, what is the value of a day? My
guest today is Lydia Dugdale, a Columbia University physician who
has attended the deaths of hundreds of humans. She regularly
witnesses people dying ghastly, over-medicalized deaths in
hospitals connected to life support and often subjected to "heroic
measures" like painful experimental treatments and
repeat-resuscitation... graphic examples of our modern inability to
accept death and die well. Against this backdrop, Lydia found a
body of forgotten knowledge, the Ars Morendi, the Art of Dying
Well, that for centuries empowered normal people to prepare for
their deaths - and live better lives in the process. This is not an
episode about death, it is a conversation about the beauty of life
that comes into clearer focus when we recover our sense of
finitude, empower ourselves to step off the modern medical
conveyor-belt, and invest our time and attention in the
relationships that make our lives vibrant and full. Enjoy yourself.
It's later than you think!