Summer Summit Spotlight – Your Morbid Friends
One of the reasons talking to people about death can be so challenging is that it often means talking to them about what is most important to them in life. It can sometimes require a vulnerability that is difficult for people, as they worry about whether they will be valued for what makes them who […]
Death Book Roundup 3
It’s time for another book round up! Who doesn’t love a little summer reading? Previous book recommendations on this blog have focused on non-fiction books and memoirs by death care professionals. This time we want to tell you about some books that really get inside the grief experience in a more personal way. Most of […]
Spotlight on Summer Summit Guest, Dr. Cynthia Pan
This week on the blog we are highlighting an upcoming Summer Summit guest who puts the International in International Doula Life Movement. Dr. Cynthia Pan is a hospice and palliative care expert with decades of experience.
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 […]
Being Great Doesn’t Happen By Accident
Think about the last time you saw somebody do something really amazing. Maybe it was an athletic event, maybe it was a magic trick, maybe it was someone absolutely cleaning up on Jeopardy! by answering questions you wouldn’t have thought anybody knew the answers to. These incredible moments are super impressive, and usually brief—maybe a […]
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.
