A written interview originally published by Mystic Mag How long have you been supporting people through grief and loss as an end-of-life doula? What first drew you to this path? I began my journey as a postpartum doula in 2009, and a few years later, expanded my path to become a childbirth educator and birth… Continue reading Holding Hands Through Life’s Thresholds
Death illiteracy is a significant social and public health challenge. Our difficulty in accepting our mortality, combined with a reluctance to plan for life’s eventual end, can lead to unnecessary suffering and isolation. However, by improving our individual and collective understanding of death, we can take meaningful steps to foster a greater sense of connection… Continue reading Community Death Literacy
Truth: Caring can be draining. But does it necessarily have to be? Can we find ways to notice our own dwindling energy reserves and replenish them as needed? First and foremost, let's establish the most important promise we must make to ourselves, which is to maintain connection to our own humanity. We must be aware… Continue reading Vital Deathcaring: Maintaining Connection to our Humanity
As it tends to happen, I just had THE MOST INCREDIBLE experience (namely, leading a retreat in Portugal), but it was bookended with heartache. Before leaving for the retreat, my dear Gram had a serious fall and was gone within a week. Although she wasn't ever actually terminally ill (which made getting hospice care difficult), she announced… Continue reading Layers of Loss
As a doula, I've had the incomparable honor of being present at life's beginnings and end. Either can (sometimes) be difficult. Both can (sometimes) be beautiful. Recently, I was providing phone support to an adult son who was tending to his terminally-ill mother. It was an exhausting, emotional journey for them, as it can (often)… Continue reading A Goodbye Lullaby
Francesca Lynn Arnoldy 