Have a Question About Death? A New Project May Have Answers.
Late last year, Amelia Pisapia confronted something she'd long been wrestling with.
'I was still holding a lot of grief around Covid,' said Ms. Pisapia, who spent the first year and a half of the pandemic assisting with resources for New York Times readers, such as a Covid-19-related explainer. 'With the five-year anniversary of Covid coming up, I was looking for a place to put that grief.'
Ms. Pisapia, an editor on The Times's Projects and Initiatives team, pitched a series to her team titled 'Death in the Modern Age.' It would focus on end-of-life issues and serve as a resource for readers who might be grappling with their own mortality or coping with the loss of someone close to them. The first article in the series was about A.I. 'griefbots,' written by Colin Dickey, a writer whose work deals with the occult in America.
The cornerstone of the project is an F.A.Q. titled 'Let's Talk About Death,' compiled from several hundred submissions from Times readers who either asked questions related to death and dying or shared personal experiences. It covers a spate of topics, from how to pay for end-of-life care to whether there is evidence of an afterlife. The F.A.Q. remains open, encouraging readers to continue submitting questions.
'There's no topic more evergreen than death,' Ms. Pisapia said. She added: 'Given reader interest and that it touches everyone, and every desk, we're hoping to keep it going.'
In an interview last month, she discussed her goals for the project and the reader questions that have resonated with her the most. This interview has been condensed and edited.
Tell us more about how this project came together.
At this moment in the United States, there are a lot of people rethinking what they want in end-of-life care — whether because of the pandemic, finances, newly approved medical aid in dying laws, being a member of the so-called sandwich generation and caring for dying parents while raising children, or simply just wanting something different than a traditional funeral or burial.
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