Writer George Saunders describes his brush with death and what it taught him....

Genius writer George Saunders, author of the new book of stories "Tenth of December", talked to the New York Times about his brush with death in an airplane near-crash and how it affected him:

"For three or four days after that it was the most beautiful world. To have gotten back in it, you know? And I thought, If you could walk around like that all the time, to really have that awareness that it's actually going to end. That's the trick."

Read the full article here.

A dying nurse offers herself as instruction in caring

This amazing story from the New York Times describes how a nurse lived every moment of her life with purpose, right up to the end, by teaching nursing students about dying. Click here to read the story.

Life lessons

Here's a wonderful column, by Regina Brett of the Plain Dealer, called Regina Brett's 45 life lessons and five to grow on.