{"id":7778,"date":"2016-05-27T18:03:28","date_gmt":"2016-05-27T18:03:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/idsunmedia.com\/?p=7778"},"modified":"2016-05-27T18:03:28","modified_gmt":"2016-05-27T18:03:28","slug":"launching-vees-chariot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2016\/05\/27\/launching-vees-chariot\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018LAUNCHING VEE\u2019S CHARIOT\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Local woman writes on the power of the dying process<\/i><\/span><\/h2>\n

BY MARIA PREKEGES <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Kate
Kate Riley, left, and Vee Riley. Photo courtesy of Kate Riley<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With many people celebrating Mother\u2019s Day this past month, it seems fitting to announce a book written by a local Wood River Valley resident that takes people on a special journey between a mother and daughter, in one of the most intense times of their lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cLaunching Vee\u2019s Chariot: An End-of-Life Tale\u201d is published and will be on shelves soon. Kate Riley, Vee\u2019s daughter, is the author of the book, which takes the reader on a voyage unlike any other and deals with a subject many don\u2019t want to talk about \u2013 end of life.<\/p>\n

When it comes to the subject of death, many people shy away from talking about it. Perhaps it\u2019s just the fear of the unknown. Many children don\u2019t want to talk with their parents about it as it\u2019s just too hard to fathom. It\u2019s too hard to think about a world without them. But in today\u2019s society, that is slowly changing. Slowly changing with people like Kate and her book. And really changing, with people like her mother, Vee Riley, who found the courage to die with dignity, the way she wanted to.<\/p>\n

Vee was diagnosed with cancer \u2013 nine malignant tumors, to be exact. After she was diagnosed, Vee made it clear to her family that she wanted to die a conscious death. She wanted to die in her home with her family by her side. Vee was an artist who was also a writer who contributed to The Weekly Sun. Her artist side shone through after her diagnosis. Vee decided to create her own cremation container as part of her \u2018conscious death.\u2019 She then decided to collage the cremation container. After she finished this incredible work of art, she placed a small sign at the foot of the container. The sign read: \u2018Vee\u2019s Chariot\u2019.<\/p>\n

In the book, Kate writes about the nine months she and her mother spent together after her cancer diagnosis and before her death.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were days I felt strong, very strong. And then there were days when I caved. Death is a vulnerable place. I structured the book to have an impact on the readers, in hopes of initiating more conversation, or at least thinking more about death. I also purposely take the readers through Vee\u2019s conscious dying process, which is not easy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kate continues to talk about how the book is really her mother\u2019s story.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Launching Vee\u2019s Chariot\u2019 is really Vee\u2019s story; however, I wanted to reveal my internal landscape because I think it\u2019s important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starting the death conversation well in advance is important to Kate, who is part of the Death Caf\u00e9 movement. The Death Caf\u00e9 objective is to increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives. A Death Caf\u00e9 is a group-directed discussion of death with no agenda, objectives or themes. It is a discussion group rather than a grief support or counseling session.<\/p>\n

Kate continues: \u201cDeath \u2013 it may be the most important conversation you ever have. Our culture insulates itself from death. People miss out in extraordinary ways. There is so much to gain from being with the dying. I work in this field because of the intimacy, vulnerability, and strength that comes with it all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just being there is incredibly important to Kate.<\/p>\n

\u201cHolding sacred space; even if no one is talking, one bears witness to a profound time in another\u2019s life. The dying always have a profound influence in the way I choose to live life. Every death I\u2019m involved in changes me in some profound way. The impact affords me appreciation and a greater love for all life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vee died on Sept. 7, 2014 \u2013 four days shy of her 87th birthday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Local woman writes on the power of the dying process BY MARIA PREKEGES With many people celebrating Mother\u2019s Day this past month, it seems fitting to announce a book written by a local Wood River Valley resident that takes people on a special journey between a mother and daughter, in one of the most intense […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7780,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[72,37],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-7778","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-community","8":"category-special-feature"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7778"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7778\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}