The Importance of Taking a Break
As we move into the holiday season, things are going to be hectic. A lot of us are going to have a lot more than usual on our plates. So please think ahead and find ways to make time for yourself. We’re counting on you.
Peering Beyond the Veil
Here’s something you might not know: Arthur Conan Doyle, the author who created the great fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, was a big fan of going to seances. He was not only a follower but a spokesperson for a movement that began in the 1890s called Spiritualism, which reached its height in the late 1910s and […]
My Love Affair With Forest Lawn
Forest Lawn is a company with several cemetery properties; by coincidence I happened to grow up just a few miles away from their main site in Glendale, California. It was a lovely place to meditate on life, death, or in my case, Poli Sci homework.
Death Positive: The Death Talk You Didn’t Know You Needed
As doulas, the first and most important part of our job often is simply to open up the conversation, to help people feel safe communicating their thoughts, questions, and concerns about death to each other.
Not Dead Yet
Don’t let yourself start making the mistake of thinking of terminal patients only in terms of their illness. Instead, keep looking at the mother/father/grandparent/brother/sister/beloved friend who is still there with you, living and breathing, ready to talk about the things they care about, everything they have done in their life, and even the things they still want to do. Maybe you can help them do those things! There is still time.
Barbara Karnes
A pioneer of the hospice movement, Ms Karnes has won multiple awards as an End of Life Educator and the author of a number of educational booklets on death and dying which are invaluable for anyone who has lost or is in the process of losing a loved one, and essential for everyone working in end of life work. This week we are honored to spotlight Ms Karnes for our blog, in her own words.
The Jaws Effect
Within the doula and death positive community we spend a lot of time talking about how to open conversations about death, and how important it is to do that. In this week’s blog we’re going to discuss why it is so important to make the effort and have these conversations in the first place.
Spring Flowers
The delicate and fragile beauty of flowers reminds us of the delicate and fragile beauty of life. We cherish them because they look and smell lovely, but also because they don’t last forever, and that makes them all the more valuable.
Death Themed Gatherings
Death is an infinitely large topic. None of us will ever know everything there is to know—it’s impossible. But the cool thing about that is that everyone knows something no one else does. The more we get together and share, the more it will increase everybody’s knowledge.
Difficult Clients
Your job is to meet your client where they are, mentally and emotionally. Be ready to set boundaries if necessary about behaviors that are intolerable, but otherwise, show up with compassion, patience, and a thick skin.
