A first-person account from off the beaten track, as told to Anne Ford.
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
“Don’t be fooled by a person’s beliefs about what dying might be like for them. Because people are not always the best predictors of their own path when the rubber hits the road. Whether this person is from a faith background or not, or whether this person has a loving family and this person is doing it solo—those kinds of things just don’t seem to be a great predictor.
“I do find that the people from strong faith traditions, mostly the Christian tradition, struggle when they aren’t placidly accepting their death, because they believe that their faith has told them that they should be able to accept it. Well, Jesus was not too thrilled the night before he was going to die. Death is going to affect us all, and however we experience it, it’s OK.
