Not Your Average Death Blog
How Our Favorite Movies Trained Us to Accept Less
When you think about “estate planning,” old rom-coms probably don’t come to mind. But maybe they should. Because for many of us, the movies we grew up watching taught us more than we realized, especially about what we’re expected to accept.
These movies quietly trained us to accept less: less agency, less credit, less space, less support. And those lessons show up everywhere, from hospital rooms to attorney meetings, from caregiving roles to family finances.
In Episode 15 of The Death Readiness Podcast, I take a closer look at these cultural scripts, and how they still shape the way many women carry the emotional and logistical weight of family life.
If “Everyone Is Welcome” is too political, what kind of legacy are we creating?
Legacy isn’t just about wills and wealth. It’s the story we leave behind in our families, our communities, and our public institutions. It’s passed down in words and in silences, in the posters that stay on the wall, and in the ones we quietly take down.
The next generation is watching.
How Joseph Pulitzer’s 1864 Plunge Into Boston Harbor Helps Us Understand Memorial Day
Memorial Day began in the ashes of the Civil War. It started with families—ordinary people—who began placing spring flowers on the graves of their dead. Many of the dead weren’t even American citizens yet. I learned this after reading Sharon McMahon’s recent newsletter in The Preamble.
Macaroni’s Story: Why We Hit Record—and Why You Should, Too
If you’ve been listening to The Death Readiness Podcast for a while, you know we often get into the legal mechanics of estate planning, end-of-life documents, and the practical steps that make life easier for the people we leave behind. But death readiness isn’t just about having the right paperwork. It’s about preparing your family for the day when you’re no longer here. It’s about preserving who you were—what you believed, what you lived through, what mattered to you.
And that kind of preparation doesn’t come in the form of a checklist. It comes in the form of stories. That’s why this episode - Macaroni’s Story: A Granddaughter Records Her Unknown Hero - is special. We’re sharing an excerpt from The Mastroianni Family Podcast—and giving you the tools to create a private family podcast of your own.
Bringing Hidden Treasures to Light: Preserving Family Stories Today
The physical things we leave behind hold pieces of our history. But without our stories, they’re just objects. By taking time to document these memories—whether through conversations, recordings, or organized records—we create a lasting legacy that future generations can cherish.