Author Archives: raine.clara.shakti
Documentary Review: How to Die in Oregon
How to Die in Oregon opens in Roger Sagner’s living room. He is surrounded by family and friends as he prepares to down the lethal drink that will end his life. Thanks to Oregon’s death with dignity law, Roger and … Continue reading
Posted in Death, Documentary, Grief, Media, Physician Assisted Suicide
Comments Off on Documentary Review: How to Die in Oregon
Let this be a Moment of Remembering
Let this be a moment of rememberingThe first time I met youAs you ran and played, you kept coming back to meAs if to ask, “Will you be my mama?” Let this be a moment of rememberingThe bark you had … Continue reading
Memorials: Old Town Graveyard
Date visited: June 1, 2024Address: 265-299 E. Liberty Street, Medina, OH Medina’s Old Town Cemetery appears to be the quintessential church graveyard, as it is a small and quiet field of graves nestled between two churches, the Congregational Church to … Continue reading
Book: What the Dead Know
True crime aficionados know that medical examiners, like the late great Dr. Donald Mallard (Ducky) on NCIS, talk to the dead and the dead talk back. It is not unusual when watching an episode of NCIS to hear Ducky, or … Continue reading
Posted in Book, Death, Death Professions, Media
Comments Off on Book: What the Dead Know
Academia: My Interest in Afterlife Beliefs
This was written as part of my coursework at Marian University, where we were assigned to write about our interest in the afterlife. Original Submission Date: March 10. 2023 One moment the rise and fall of Luke’s chest signified he … Continue reading
Memorials: Spring Grove Cemetery
Date visited: June 1, 2024Address: 785 E Washington St, Medina, OH 44256 Medina’s Spring Grove Cemetery, which is the town’s “new” cemetery, dates to 1883 and is characteristic of a rural or garden cemetery with winding paths, old growth trees, … Continue reading
Books: All the Living and the Dead
When I think of people who work with the dead, I think of people who work in funeral homes, including funeral directors and embalmers, police detectives and that’s about it. However, in her entertaining book All the Living and the … Continue reading
Posted in Book, Death, Death Professions, Grief
Comments Off on Books: All the Living and the Dead
Academic: Black Maternal Mortality and Reduced Abortion Access
This paper was for a class in my thanatology programClass: African American DeathwaysDate Originally Submitted: August 20, 2023 Black women, regardless of education or wealth, have always been more likely than White women to die due to pregnancy related complications. … Continue reading
Posted in Academic, African American, Death, General
Comments Off on Academic: Black Maternal Mortality and Reduced Abortion Access
Memorial: Cleveland Potter’s Field
Date Visited: May 20, 24Address: Green Rd, Highland Hills, OH 44122 A poem of my father’s introduced me to Potter’s Fields. I can’t locate the poem now, but I remember my sadness in reading about people who had lived their … Continue reading
Movie Review: My Sister’s Keeper
Anna Fitzgerald’s parents had her in order to save her older sister, Kate, who was dying of cancer. Kate’s cancer impacted the entire family as their world revolved around keeping her alive. Howev er, when Anna was 11 and Kate … Continue reading