The Death Writer Blog: A few weeks ago, I was sitting in a doctor’s office and I read a little blurb about the Conversation Project in one of the magazines. So, I sent them an email and Lindsay Hunt the Project Director was gracious enough to answer my questions.
1) Why was the Conversation Project started?
The Conversation Project began in 2009, when Ellen Goodman, along with a group of colleagues and concerned media, clergy, and medical professionals, gathered to share stories of “good deaths” and “hard deaths” within their own circles of loved ones.
Over several months, a vision emerged for a grassroots public campaign spanning both traditional and new media that would change our culture. The goal: to make it easier to initiate conversations about dying, and to encourage people to talk now and as often as necessary so that their wishes are known when the time comes.
In order to make this vision a reality, The Conversation Project began its collaboration with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) in September of 2011. IHI is a not-for-profit organization that helps lead improvement of health and health care throughout the world.
Today, The Conversation Project team includes seasoned law, journalism, and media professionals who are working pro bono alongside professionals from IHI who bring a wealth of expertise to the project.