How Brittany Maynard made us look at death

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- For something that surrounds us so completely, bookending our lives, modern Americans can be surprisingly shy about death.

Yes, we talk about "deaths" -- heinous deaths, tragic deaths, celebrity deaths, untimely deaths.

But when it comes to death itself, many of us would rather use the broom of wishful thinking to sweep it away, leaving death to sit in some dark corner of our minds. Woody Allen best summed up that sentiment when he said, "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work; I want to achieve immortality through not dying."

For much of human history, religious rituals forced believers regularly to confront our ultimate fate.

Brittany Maynard's journey

Brittany Maynard's journey

Brittany Maynard's journey

Brittany Maynard's journey

Brittany Maynard's journey

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How Brittany Maynard made us look at death