The Atlantic

The Family Weekly: What People Actually Say Before They Die

Plus: selling the family home, parents playing favorites with children, and helping an anxious sibling
Source: Michaela Rehle / Reuters

This Week in Family

People’s last words are often nonsensical and borderline bizarre, yet they’ve gotten conspicuously little attention from researchers, since it’s difficult to study people’s final moments without being overly intrusive. Michael Erard writes about the deeper meaning behind people’s last words, and why understanding them is important to ensuring good end-of-life care.

Relationships with siblings can be even writes Jennifer Traig. She takes a look at the history of sibling rivalries from biblical times to the present, and how parents’ treatment of their children has dramatically shifted away from playing favorites.

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