Death is universal. No matter what path any of us take through life, we all get there in the end.

And along the way, most of us have to cope with the deaths of others. How we deal with those deaths is a big part of what makes us human.

This issue spans the gamut from professional to personal observations on death, from sober to touching to humorous. Using words, photos, paintings, drawings and a graph or two, we explore the final journey.