A Good Goodbye Funeral Planning

03/24/2026

What Was I Saving My Money For? Lessons from a Refrigerator Magnet.

Today’s post is a departure from Mortality Movies. It’s about mortality and your money, and your family history with finances.

03/17/2026

Oscar Night Reflections: Let's Celebrate and Remember to Live Before We Die

Did you watch the Oscar awards on Sunday night? Lessons from the evening on celebration, remembrance, and the surreal hazmat-suited existential punchline.

03/10/2026

Route 66 Alpha to Omega: scattering ashes from Chicago to the Pacific in honor of artist Steven Bleicher, on the anniversary of his death.

Join death educator Gail Rubin for this road trip scattering ashes at the beginning and end of Route 66, fulfilling the wishes of artist Steven Bleicher.

03/09/2026

In the latest issue of THANOS magazine, the publications of -IFTA, the World Organization of Funeral Operatives, features a Q&A with Rubin, The Doyenne of Death, about movies as a mortality teaching tool.

In this issue of THANOS Magazine we explore topic of disability inclusion in the funeral industry.

03/03/2026

Come along with Gail Rubin, The Doyenne of Death, as she scatters cremated remains along Route 66! https://mailchi.mp/agoodgoodbye.com/march-news-route-66

02/24/2026

The Big Lebowski is a .6 Mortality Movie. Death, funeral planning and the finer points of ash scattering sneaks in through this absurdist comedy.

02/17/2026

Being There is a Mortality Movie that provides important lessons about estate planning. It powerfully shows what happens when someone dies without a plan.

02/10/2026

Gail Rubin's new book, 98.6 Mortality Movies to See Before You Die is coming soon!

02/03/2026

The "Chuckles Bites the Dust" episode from The Mary Tyler Moore Show: A way to talk about death without ruining dinner.

Watching The Mary Tyler Moore Show's episode "Chuckles Bites the Dust" is the perfect conversation starter

01/27/2026

The Mortality Movie Critical Care illustrates what happens when the ICU meets Kafka (and the Billing Department). It will be shown on February 7!

Critical Care is the next Mortality Movie Night selection on February 7. It's a comedy that skewers medical care, insurance, and difficult decisions in the ICU.

11/18/2025

Check out this list of holiday Mortality Movies: festive films that stare down the Grim Reaper.

These holiday Mortality Movies offer structured meditations on death, regret, and the radical possibility of change, just in time for family gatherings!

11/06/2025

The Chicago Tribune just did a story about the convention last week. And the first photo features Gail Rubin, The Doyenne of Death! Companies featured include Passages International, Inc. - Green Funeral Products, Parting Stone, The Natural Burial, Bio-Response Solutions, and Loop Bio-Tech. Here's a gift link to the story:

You can learn a lot about your options for the afterlife at the annual trade show, which recently ended at McCormick Place. It was not a solemn gathering.