I never had the chance to say hello. But I stood in line to say goodbye. After Pope Francis died, my editors asked me to fly to Italy in advance of a move next month to take up the post of Rome bureau chief. I recently finished an eight-year tour in Tokyo and had thought…
The family of Brendan Costello gathered in the hospital half-light. He had overcome so much in life, but the profound damage to his brain meant he would never again be Brendan. It was time. Brendan had spent four months enduring three surgeries and a lengthy rehab after infections further destabilized his damaged spine. He had…
Bryant Lin estaba de pie frente a su clase en Stanford en septiembre, probablemente una de las últimas que impartiría. Con solo 50 años y no fumador, le habían diagnosticado cáncer de pulmón en estadio 4 cuatro meses antes. La enfermedad es terminal, y Lin calculó que le quedaban unos dos años antes de que…
The police in Baton Rouge, La., are investigating whether a hazing episode at a fraternity may have played a role in the recent death of a 20-year-old Southern University student, university officials said Wednesday. The student, Caleb Wilson, of New Orleans, died at 12:27 a.m. on Feb. 27, the East Baton Rouge Coroner’s Office said….
Dr. Bryant Lin stood before his class at Stanford in September, likely one of the last he would ever teach. Just 50 years old and a nonsmoker, he had been diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer four months earlier. The illness is terminal, and Dr. Lin estimated that he had roughly two years left before…
Dr. Bryant Lin stood before his class at Stanford in September, likely one of the last he would ever teach. Just 50 years old and a nonsmoker, he had been diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer four months earlier. The illness is terminal, and Dr. Lin estimated that he had roughly two years left before…
One recent evening, Sandra Demontigny tried to write down when she would die. “I sat down in a corner with a candle next to me, just to create my own bubble, to think and to cry a little,” she said. She had reflected on this moment for years, desperately hoped for it, fought tirelessly for…
How do you want your social media pages, smartphone photos and computer files handled after you die? While property and money distribution are usually at the top of the estate-planning list, don’t forget to leave instructions regarding your digital accounts and assets — so your survivors are left with more than just random bits and…
In early 1988, the British neuropsychiatrist Dr. Peter Fenwick, an expert on near-death experiences, appeared in the BBC documentary “Glimpses of Death” to comment on the near-death visions of people who had briefly died, or nearly died, and then come back to life. After it aired, thousands of people wrote him letters describing similar stories….