New IDLM Partner: Lifebooks

There is a saying in some parts of the world that a person doesn’t truly die until the last time their name is spoken. This beautiful idea is an illustration of how much we cherish the memory of people who have gone on before us. One of the ways a doula can serve their clients […]
Last Call for Summer Summit!

Over the past few weeks, we have posted several blog entries spotlighting some of the guests who will be speaking to us at our upcoming Summer Summit celebration. Well this is going to be our last chance to do that because Summer Summit starts next week! Summer Summit is great opportunity for us to hear […]
The Gift of Trust

A commonly held view among those who work in hospice, or with end of life patients in general, is that most people who need to go on hospice wait too long to do it. Instead of opting for hospice care when they receive their terminal diagnosis, they decide to do one more round of chemo, […]
Summer Summit Spotlight – Emma Acker

Everybody dies. We all know this; as death care professionals we face this reality every single day. One of the challenges of death care work is the fact that even though everyone dies, not everyone has the resources to pay for good care at the end of their life, and unfortunately this happens to be […]
Is It Time to Revisit Your Advance Care Plan?

I’m getting ready to take a big trip in the fall, and as I was working on preparations today it occurred to me that it’s been a while since this blog said anything about advance care planning. When it comes to making an advance care plan, a lot of people think it’s something you do […]
Get Ready for Summer Summit 2025!

The days are long and the weather is getting warmer. Summer is just about here, and that means the International Doula Life Movement Summer Summit is right around the corner.
Library or Hospital?

In a former life I had a job as a library page. It was a wonderful job: the people were nice, the work was pleasant; I was allowed to wear whatever I wanted (within reason) and I had access to soooo many books. It was the first job I ever stayed at for more than […]
Music for End of Life

A couple weeks back, I was having a pretty rough day. One of those days where nothing seems to go right, and nothing seems to help, and the only thing you can do is give up, lie in a dark room, and listen to Simon and Garfunkel on repeat. You might have a different preference […]
All That Remains… and What To Do With It

A friend of mine likes to regularly remind me that when he dies he wants his remains shot into space. He says it with humor because he knows it’s a silly thing to say, but he is serious about it. The two of us have even done some research together on options and pricing (for […]
The Words We Say

If you’re reading this, you already know how important it is to talk about death. One of the things you’ll hear over and over again in your IDLM classes, in workshops and CE classes, in Death Cafes and here on this blog, is how important it is to find ways to simply have conversations about […]