Alternate Endings: Six New Ways to Die in America

Setup

Although death is every bit as much a part of life as birth, we pretend it isn’t there. Perhaps it’s time that changed. The soon-to-be released HBO documentary Alternate Endings: Six New Ways to Die in America, tackles this final taboo. Join the filmmakers for a sneak peek and a frank discussion about end of life options. How might we design more meaningful deaths?

Breathing new life into conversations about death
Breathing new life into conversations about death
How filming the end of your life could help others
When to talk about death and dying
The empowerment that comes from choosing how to die
1.

Breathing new life into conversations about death

Jump to idea
01:30

What compelled filmmakers Perri Peltz and Matthew O’Neil to create a documentary about a topic that’s mostly discussed in hushed tones and with sadness? Peltz and O’Neil say society’s reticence to talk about death and dying is stopping us from having conversations that could fundamentally alter how we think about the last stage of our lives:

48152932241 8d9b5706d6 O
Breathing new life into conversations about death

  • Perri Peltz
  • Matthew O'Neill
2.

How filming the end of your life could help others

Jump to idea
08:25

Deleaua and Dick Shannon are one of six families profiled in Perri Peltz and Matthew O’Neil’s documentary “Alternate Endings: 6 New Ways to Die in America.” Dick was terminally ill with a rare form of cancer, and after he was diagnosed he decided he wanted to take life-ending drugs once his condition degraded. He and his spouse Deleaua were understandably reluctant about allowing filmmakers to be present during the lead-up to, and eventual end of, Dick’s life. But they came around to seeing it as an opportunity to help others:

48152932531 D4e66419f3 O
How filming the end of your life could help others

  • Deleaua Shannon
3.

When to talk about death and dying

Jump to idea
12:12

Is there a good time to talk about death and dying? Panel moderator and rabbi Jennifer Krause asks Deleaua Shannon about when Deleaua and her husband Dick started the heartbreaking conversation about Dick’s impending death:

48153015802 E64d0f275a O 1
When to talk about death and dying

  • Jennifer Krause
  • Deleaua Shannon

After Dick was diagnosed with a terminal form of cancer, the couple talked for the first time about their true wishes for the final stages of their lives. They had already decided on some superficial things (like what song to play during their final moments), but the big questions, like how they wanted to spend their last days together, went unanswered until it was almost too late. 

4.

The empowerment that comes from choosing how to die

Jump to idea
16:24

“His pain was not from the cancer, his pain was the mental pain,” Deleaua Shannon says of her late husband Dick. He feared being a burden on his loved ones above all, and it caused him grief knowing that his terminal cancer would eventually force the burden of his care onto his family. That’s why Dick decided to take life-ending drugs:

48152932441 7a8633336f O
The empowerment that comes from choosing how to die

  • Deleaua Shannon

There was nothing to be done about Dick’s physical condition, but his ability to research, plan, and have agency over the end of his life allowed him to at least let go of his mental anguish around dying. Perri Peltz and Matthew O’Neil hope their documentary will help more people like Deleaua and Dick decide how they want to greet the final stage of their lives.

Learn More

Additional Information

Resources

Alternate Endings: Six New Ways to Die in America—HBO

Explore More

Arts

910 ideas
Sorry, we couldn't find any results
Clear filters
Alternate Endings: Six New Ways to Die in America

Thank you for signing up!

Please provide a valid email address.

Please provide a valid email address.
aerial 2019 campus
Newsletter
Sign up to receive the latest news from Aspen Ideas.