According to statistics on the Conversation Project website 60% of Californians say that making sure their family is not burdened by tough decisions is “extremely important” – 56% have not communicated their own end of life issues. Too many people are dying in a way they wouldn’t choose, and too many of their loved ones are left feeling bereaved, guilty, and uncertain.
The Conversation Project seeks to “transform our culture so we shift from not talking about dying to talking about it. It’s time to share the way we want to live at the end of our lives. And it’s time to communicate about the kind of care we want and don’t want for ourselves.” The Conversation Project provides a starter kit which takes users through steps to help gather their thoughts before starting to have a conversation about their end of life wishes – it starts with the sentence “what matters to me at the end of my life is …” The website emphasizes that this process is different from filling out advance directives or medical forms. “We believe that the place for this to begin is at the kitchen table—not in the intensive care unit—with the people we love, before it’s too late.”
The Conversation Project began in 2010, when Ellen Goodman a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and activist together with a group of colleagues and concerned media, clergy, and medical professionals gathered to share stories of “good deaths” and “bad deaths” within their own circle of loved ones. In September 2011 the Conversation Project began its collaboration with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and is now working towards a national campaign.
The Conversation Project website includes personal stories that have been shared by others.
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