Kerry is creating causal loop diagrams of 19 stories told by elders. One of the patterns she found is that some of these folks came to terms with death early in life, usually through the loss of a parent. This seems to have given them a strength that they would not have otherwise had.
We will say more later.
Ernest Becker made a career of exploring western attitudes toward death. He thinks that consumerism is a "Denial of Death."
Kerry says that it is the Acceptance of Death that made them who they are. Acceptance in general seems to be important.
Other themes are the development of Self Worth.