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Reading: Primary Sources

Morrie Schwatz

image of Morrie Schwartz, an older man with white hair, with his hands raised and eyes closed, dancing

Morris "Morrie" S. Schwartz Obituary: From The New York Times, November 9, 1995.

Lessons on Living: Morrie Schwartz (video): Interview with ABC News Production's Ted Koppel, 2013. From PSCC Films on Demand.

Living Fully Until Death (video): Inspirational tales of three people, including Morrie Schwartz, who learn to live fully after terminal illness diagnoses.  A Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center production, 1995. From PSCC Films on Demand.                       

                                                                                     The Detroit Free Press 

Mitch Albom

Sunday Morning, Sunday Profile: Mitch Albom (video): Interview with Jane Pauley on the program Sunday Morning. Columbia Broadcasting System, 2014. From Alexander Street Videos.

Image of head and shoulders of author Mitch Albom with the words the tuesday people podcast with Mitch Albom author of "Tuesdays with Morrie" The Tuesday People Podcast with Mitch Albom: Inspired by Albom's book Tuesdays with Morrie, this interactive podcast explores the themes that Albom and his professor spoke about as Morrie was leaving the world, and how they relate to leading a better life. 

ALS

"ALS: Lou Gehrig's Disease" (video): This program from The Doctor Is In studies the cases of three patients with Lou Gehrig’s disease. A Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center Production, 2003. From PSCC Films on Demand

Man in striped baseball uniform speaks into a microphone while thousands of people in a baseball stadium watch him.Lou Gehrig Delivers his Famous Speech at Yankee Stadium One of the best-known baseball players of the 1930's, Gehrig was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, later known as Lou Gehrig's disease. MLB, 2014.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: hope through research: ALS pamphlet, National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke. Office of Scientific and Health Reports, 1984.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Lou Gehrig's disease: ALS pamphlet, National Institutes of Health, 2002.

I'm Dying To Tell You Podcast with Lorri Carey: Diagnosed with ALS in 2004, Carey's podcast is designed to share stories of inspiration & create a supporting community around them.

Legacy

Image of the side wall of a house which has been turned into a chalkboard and is filled with multiple prompts of "Before I Die, I want to . . ." written in chalk with people's answers written after the prompt.  Two people are writing their own answers in chalk.  One person is standing and writing his answer and the other person is squatting near the bottom of the wall writing her answer.

Before I Die Project (website): Originally created by artist Candy Chang in 2009, Before I Die is a global art project that invites people to reflect on death and share their personal aspirations in public. 

Before I Die, I Want To . . . (video): TED Talk with Candy Chang who discusses how she turned an abandoned house in New Orleans into a giant chalkboard asking a fill-in-the-blank question: "Before I die I want to ___."  TEDGlobal 2012.

Death and Dying

The Battle We Didn't Choose - My Wife's Fight with Breast Cancer by Angelo Merendino: Photo-essay from 2013 that documents the photographer's wife Jennifer's struggle with breast cancer in order to educate people through visually showing them what enduring terminal cancer is really like.                                                                                                              Angelo Merendino, 2013A woman with a bald head is lying on a bed and surrounded by four of her friends who are kissing her face and head and embracing her.

Hospice of Marin County, California, 1981, by Paul Fusco: Series of photographs documenting hospice patients and workers from photographer Paul Fusco. From ARTSTOR. 

Euthanasia Machine, Australia, 1995-1996: Photographs of machine developed by Dr. Philip Nitschke which delivers a lethal injection when button is pressed.  From JSTOR. 

Gloria and Me (video): Documentary about Gloria Taylor who, after being diagnosed with ALS, spent her last years as an advocate against Canadian law which makes assisted suicide for the terminally ill a crime. Ascent Films Inc., 2014. From PSCC Films on Demand.              

Religion and Euthanasia (video):  The highly controversial topic of euthanasia is examined in this program through the eyes of several medical and religious experts. University of Notre Dame, 1997. From PSCC Films on Demand.

With Eyes Open: Coping with Death (videos): Four-part series, hosted by NewsHour’s Ray Suarez, which invites viewers to look at death with their eyes open to the end, so that they may more fully live. Topics such as grief, medical decision making, caregiving, and life after death are discussed. KQED, 2009. From PSCC Films on Demand.

Mentoring

Essence of Healing: Journey of American Indian Nurses (video): Interviews with Native American nurses in the Great Plains, several of which detail the mentor relationship with an elder in their community who taught them how to be a healer. North Dakota State University School of Nursing, 2016. From Alexander Street.

"Top 10 TED Talks on Mentorship": TED Talks on the subject of mentoring both in career and in life. GrowthMentor, 2020.

Wisdom of the Elders, Inc.: Nonprofit founded in 1993 which records, preserves, and shares oral history, cultural arts, language concepts, and traditional ecological knowledge of exemplary Native American elders, storytellers, and scientists in collabPhotograph of older man in dark glasses seated in a stuffed chair talking to another younger man with glasses who is seated on the floor beside him, listening.oration with diverse institutions, agencies and organizations.

The Mentor: Photograph by Oggi Ogburn from the Mott-Warsh Collection, Flint, Michigan, 2008. From ARTSTOR.

Oggi Ogburn, 2008