Those early days after someone’s been diagnosed with something as serious as lung cancer are harrowing. I had been so focused on not...

We struggle to talk openly and honestly about the end of life. I am astounded sometimes by the lengths we go to when it comes to denying the reality of death. A few years ago, one of the ‘doyennes’ of New Orleans left instructions that instead of a funeral, she wanted a late afternoon garden party at her home, where the champagne would flow lavishly and some of New Orleans’ best chefs would prepare a feast for everyone to enjoy. She had made the arrangements to be embalmed an