Time stops.  You look around the room hoping for beauty to be found. Beauty calms your heart, settles your thoughts, and you know in this moment how much you need its power. Your soul is crying, “Beauty, where are you?” Your frenetic wandering eyes notice a small window half shrouded by dingy white curtains. Yet, […]

Dr. Pamela Pyle https://drpamela.com/ The Uvalde school massacre arrests our hearts and screams for our attention.  We cannot un-see the horrific recordings of grieving families juxtaposed by images of innocence—nineteen children and two teachers to be exact. Safe public places are now a misnomer. School buildings have become targets rather than training grounds. These out […]

We were on a three-hour road trip. My husband Scott was “driving” a self-driving car, our friend Jerry sat in the passenger seat, and I was in the back. Jerry was trying to reel in his fear from taking his first-ever ride in a self-driving car and tamp down his growing hunger as the aroma […]

In June of 2017, I visited the famous Western Wall in Jerusalem. On this beautiful, cloudless day, the sky a brilliant blue, the place was packed with pilgrims who had come to pray. With my head covered out of respect for the traditions of this sacred place, I approached the women’s side to pray with […]

The Covid-19 pandemic may finally be slowing, but the pandemic has shone a stark light on one human problem that we’ll never escape. One day books analyzing the pandemic will fill whole rows in libraries, but no analysis can dim the glaring human condition that we must face—the fact that we’re all going to die. […]

A child has a traumatic brain injury caused by a stray bullet. Parents clutch the child with an awareness of warmth that will soon fade away. An entry and exit wound quickly assessed by paramedics and reported to receiving trauma center. A solemn response is heard from a disembodied voice in return. It is the […]

(I ORIGINALLY WROTE THIS ON 1/1/22, HOWEVER, THE PRINCIPLE STILL HOLDS AND GLAD TO REPORT THAT I’M MORE OKAY THAN I WAS THAT DAY, AND THAT’S GREAT!) I love new beginnings. Today, we celebrate a new year with hope for less tragedy, less suffering, less loss. New Year’s Days fill us with expectation to do better and […]

Learn why conversations with your children now are crucial for understanding the world we live in.

My patient declared as she lies on her death bed, “It’s ok, it will be a good death.” This unexpected phrase launched me on an inspiring quest for the secrets of a good death. I discovered wisdom and hope from those on the precipice of awareness of their own mortality.  A good death is not an […]

If you’ve ever suffered the throes of grief, the idea of anything good coming from death seems cruel. Entertaining the idea feels impossible. That is normal. It takes time and distance to get a broader, more accurate perspective. It’s worth the trouble to gain it because getting a fresh perspective on death can help you […]