Best Life Best Death

This week – more about Medical Aid in Dying. The advocacy organization called End of Life Options Colorado and Dr Barbara Morris are all about education and access, for patients, families and physicians. If someone gets a sudden and terrible diagnosis, how can families quickly learn more? When is someone like Dr Barbara Morris called in? What role does End of Life Options Colorado play? The bottom...

Everyone I meet has questions about Medical Aid in Dying. What is it? Where is it legal? Who chooses this and why? What are the requirements for eligibility? Join me and Dr Barbara Morris to learn more, bust some myths, and come away with a better understanding of what this end of life option is and what it isn’t. Time to get curious! For more information on Best Life Best Death please visit our w...

This week, I’m again joined by Janet Booth, MA, RN and Trish Rux, RN to talk about their book Dying Matters: 8 Conversations That Can Change Your Life . In this episode, we explore the second half of the book, looking at what’s “behind the paperwork.” As Jan says, “The paperwork might lay down the law, but what’s the spirit behind that law?” Given that most Americans have not completed their advan...

What if you found a book that would truly lay the groundwork for why conversations about the end of life matter so much? What if this book could jumpstart conversations with family, friends, and your community? What if it even had a Discussion Guide in the back, filled with ideas? This episode with Janet Booth, MA, RN and Trish Rux, RN explores the first four chapters of their new book Dying Matte...

One of my most listened-to episodes, with Hospice Nurse Julie. Tune in to hear Julie, in her characteristic practical and charismatic way, describe what really happens when we die. Key to know: we rarely die like we do in the movies. Instead, the body shuts down gradually. In this classic BLBD episode, this experienced hospice nurse walks us through what that process actually looks like. My hope i...

Beverly Thorn knows dementia firsthand, and her book Before I Lose My Own Mind: Navigating Life as a Dementia Caregiver is an empowering, realistic guide for caregivers, friends, spouses, and anyone who will be touched by dementia. And guess what, folks? That’s pretty much all of us. Estimates that focus specifically on Alzheimer’s dementia (the most prevalent form of dementia) put the number at a...

How do we talk about aging in a way that actually helps us live better? In this episode of Best Life Best Death , we zoom out. Way out. Jacob Kendall and I look at aging not just as a personal experience, but as a cultural story and a national issue. What happens when we’re willing to widen the lens? Can thinking about the Big Picture get us talking more at our kitchen tables, as well as finding w...

What is grief, really? And how do we actually work with it? In this conversation, Krista St-Germain offers a clear and humane definition: Grief is the natural human response to a perceived loss. From there, we explore how the goal isn’t to “get to the end” of grief; the goal is to integrate the loss into your life. We talk about the “dual process model” of grief, and how healing isn’t linear, but...

Krista St-Germain knows the experience of grief, deeply. As a widow and coach, she is an expert at discussing this complex feeling. In this episode, we have a conversation about her life, her husband’s death, what it means to feel feelings, and the spiral of post-traumatic growth. She notes,“Every return to familiar emotions is an opportunity to meet them from a new level of capacity.” What does t...

Rosanne Corcoran knows caregiving from the inside. When her mother moved in with vascular dementia, Rosanne became her primary caregiver for years, navigating the daily realities, emotional toll, and quiet endurance that so often go unseen. Today, she channels that lived experience into advocacy as a support-circle leader and podcast host with Daughterhood, a community built to reduce isolation an...

This episode explores the small-yet-potentially-vast world of funeral photography. When everyone we love is gathered in one place, often for the last time, what might it mean to have photographs of that moment? Is it comforting? Intrusive? Sacred? I’m joined by Nell Arbuto, founder of Minnesota Funeral Photography, who works in this niche field. Nell shares her why and her how: how she approaches...

In my view, Michelle Lapierre was fortunate: she and her mother talked openly about end-of-life choices well before those conversations became necessary. And when her mother did become terminally ill, she was clear about her choice: to use Medical Aid in Dying, which has been legal in Colorado since 2017. What led them to have such clarity? What was the experience like? How does Michelle feel abou...

Giving Up the Ghost is a memoir about traumatic loss, identity, and the slow work of letting go, not just of people, but of the versions of ourselves we thought we would be. In this episode, I talk with author Samantha Rose about the transformations that accompanied the loss of her mother to su!c!de. Samantha shares insights from her lived experience, including what kind of support made a differen...

Marni Blank is an “after-loss professional.” What does that mean? Imagine someone with a legal background, lived experience of loss, a steady head for details, and the ability to step in and quarterback the team when someone in your life has died. That’s what an after-loss professional can be. I find this work both fascinating and profoundly useful. Tune in this week to hear what Marni has to say...

My guest this week will nudge you to think about what you’ve already taken care of – and what’s still unfinished – when it comes to end-of-life planning. Marni Blank and I dive into some of the most fascinating (and often avoided) questions: What gets in the way of getting things done? What superstitions keep us from filling out the paperwork? Does talking about death somehow invite it in? (Spoile...

From her early experiences as a young birth doula, through medical school, into working in oncology and hospice, this doctor has seen beauty and denial go hand-in-hand. Realizing that many of us die from diseases created by choices in how we live, she now offers a primary care practice focused on support for better, healthier longevity. What does it mean to age well? How might we get the support w...

Join me in conversation with a dynamic woman in her nineties who founded a writing group with friends that is now a sustaining source of inspiration and shared connection. We know that social connection is key to staying engaged as we age, and Mary reflects on what she’s learned about why it matters. As she says so beautifully, “another element of flexibility reveals itself as we age – one that en...

This week’s BLBD podcast brings something a little different: it's story time! Listen this week to hear a few of my favorite sections and ideas from this beautiful book by Lisa Smartt, Words at the Threshold: What We Say as We're Nearing Death . As a linguist, she became interested in what people said as they neared the end of life – and not only the words, but the patterns and commonaliti...

Are you ready for some real talk about what may be missing in your healthcare experience? Dr. Bob Uslander highlights the “gaps in care” we rarely name — gaps in planning, knowledge, understanding treatment options, and navigating care needs, including hospice. How does poor coordination in our healthcare system limit communication and leave crucial choices, like VSED (Voluntarily Stopping Eating...

This week, Dr. Uslander and I dive into the often-overlooked transition from hospital to home. How can that shift go more smoothly? What does it really take to understand a discharge summary? And how can families prepare for a period that is so often confusing, rushed, and chaotic? Unfortunately, the current U.S. medical system seems primarily designed to prioritize profit, increase efficiency, an...

Starting in her twenties—and quickly shaped by an experience of profound love and loss—Lauren Carroll has devoted her life to the funeral profession and the wider end-of-life field. In guiding people through loss and grief, she’s found that creativity can offer the action we instinctively seek. Whether you set up an altar, create a collage, connect with nature, make space to remember, dance, shout...

Here with the holiday of Thanksgiving in the US in 2025, join us for a chat about Rhea’s experience as a Chaplain, and the idea of finding a bit of slower “turtle time” when we need it. Rhea leads us in a guided meditation in which we can rest, welcome all of ourselves, and let it allll jussst beeee. She guides us to make friends with the breath as we gently relax and follow her voice. Whether you...

More from author, cancer survivor and psychospiritual specialist David Maginley! Building on our conversation from last week, David and I continue to explore the impact of Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada. As he says, “This goes far beyond the hospital bed and goes to the heart of our culture.” I would agree – MAiD is huge topic for our time. I certainly don’t have answers, but wow did I enjo...

Ready for a deep dive? You can’t get much deeper than asking: What is the purpose of death? This episode is about Medical Assistance in Dying, yes, but that is only the avenue in for a next-level discussion. What are the psycho-spiritual dynamics around death? What does it mean that the ego dissolves? How does consciousness expand at the end of life? As a Chaplain, cancer survivor, and someone who...

This episode is chock-full of important information about a topic that affects so many. What is dementia? What symptoms might it include? Why does it matter to test for dementia? What is a “dementia advance directive”? What are the needs of caregivers? How can support groups help? Jessica Empeño is the National Director of Clinical Engagement & Education for the nonprofit organization called C...