Want Enlightenment? Think Less, Do more Stan Goldberg March 30, 2012 Grieving and Recovery, Life 12 Comments When I gave a workshop on change at a well-known retreat center, one participant told me that this was the tenth week-long workshop he attended in...
Alzheimer’s: Awareness Isn’t Enough Stan Goldberg March 22, 2012 Alzheimer’s/dementia 14 Comments “If we just could increase awareness,” some of my friends with Alzheimer’s say, “funding would rise and the illness could be eventually...
Feeling like a 1960 Edsel?-You’re Just Aging Stan Goldberg March 1, 2012 Aging 14 Comments When I was in college I would take whatever I was driving and offer it and $50 to a used car dealer for anything that ran on his lot with a current...
I’m Different: Illness-based Identity Stan Goldberg February 15, 2012 Chronic illness 24 Comments How we view ourselves—our identity—is based on what we do, the roles we play, activities we enjoy, affiliations we have, the values that...
Saying Goodbye to Your Dying Loved One: A Tribute Party Stan Goldberg February 1, 2012 End of Life 22 Comments Excerpt from Leaning Into Sharp Points" Practical Guidance and Nurturing Support for Caregivers. One of the first things Dean did when I entered his...
She says “I have cancer.” Now, what do you say? Stan Goldberg January 4, 2012 Cancer 62 Comments There are 12 million of us in the United States who live with cancer and the number rises every year as researchers find new drugs to extend our lives. How will you respond when you hear the words "I have cancer?"
Going First: Preparing for a Loved One’s Death Stan Goldberg December 5, 2011 End of Life 14 Comments EARLY PRAISE FOR LEANING INTO SHARP POINTS FROM LIVESTRONG “Stan Goldberg brings wisdom and personal experience as a caregiver and hospice...
Opening the Soul’s Door:Caregiving Stan Goldberg November 28, 2011 Caregiving 16 Comments EARLY PRAISE FOR LEANING INTO SHARP POINTS “Stan Goldberg brings wisdom and personal experience as a caregiver and hospice volunteer to this...
How Can I Be a Compassionate Caregiver? Stan Goldberg November 7, 2011 End of Life 10 Comments Caring for someone with a chronic or terminal illness can bring out the best in us. It's easy if it is someone who shares our values. But how do we show compassionate care for someone with few redeeming qualities?
A Dying Man’s Question; A Turkish Answer Stan Goldberg October 12, 2011 End of Life 26 Comments I was reluctant to tell my new hospice patient in San Francisco that I would be traveling in Turkey for the next two weeks. Two weeks for me was a...
Reflections From New York, September 18th, 2001 Stan Goldberg September 7, 2011 Grieving and Recovery 16 Comments “Daddy, please come,” my daughter said on September 11th from New York City. Together, we watched the towers fall. Me, from the safety of my San Francisco home. She, from an office building in Rockefeller Plaza wondering if her friend survived.
Of Course You Remember Stan Goldberg July 7, 2011 Alzheimer’s/dementia, Poems 27 Comments Of course you remember she says. It was your sixtieth, and we came from across the country to express our love. I don’t remember, I say. But...
It’s Only Alzheimer’s, Not the Bloody Plague! Stan Goldberg July 7, 2011 Alzheimer’s/dementia 34 Comments A friend recently said to me, “When our friends learned I had Alzheimer’s, many looked at me as if I had some kind of contagious disease. Then, they just stopped calling or coming around. Don’t they know it isn’t the bloody plague?”
Through a Sealed Window Stan Goldberg July 4, 2011 End of Life, Poems 2 Comments Originally Published as Steve & Mac Stan Goldberg North Beach Beat, Arts and Literary Edition, December,...
“Shoot me, Please”: The Right to Die Stan Goldberg May 23, 2011 End of Life 45 Comments He pleaded with me to shoot him and the request wasn’t figurative. He was my first patient as a hospice volunteer in San Francisco and I was forced...
My Brain is Fried: Inside Chronic Illnesses Stan Goldberg April 27, 2011 Chronic illness 37 Comments Many people believe that everyone lives in the same world. At an event, we all see, smell, taste, or touch the same things, and therefore, our experiences are identical. But when we crunch the information into something that goes beyond observations, unique worlds—ones we may not understand—are created.
Caregivers: We’re Not Mother Teresa Stan Goldberg April 11, 2011 Caregiving 39 Comments I’d been a bedside volunteer for more than five years; sitting with dying patients and their families once or twice a week for up to four...
A New Workshop for Caregivers Stan Goldberg March 4, 2011 Caregiving, End of Life, Workshops and Presentations “How do I do this?” he said. His wife was just enrolled in hospice. “We’ve been married for 40 years, but God help me, I don’t know what I...
Leaning Into Sharp Points: Practical Guidance and Nurturing Support for Caregivers-Introduction (excerpt) Stan Goldberg March 3, 2011 Caregiving “How do I do this?” he said. His wife was just enrolled in hospice. “We’ve been married for 40 years, but God help me, I don’t know what I...
Playing for Relatives: Understanding Buchenwald Stan Goldberg January 3, 2011 Grieving and Recovery 33 Comments I thought about my father’s family tree as I drove from Prague to Weimer. Thirty-three relatives had died in Auschwitz, three had been liberated...