End of Life University

Learn about a helpful conversation game that encourages discussions about advance care planning for dementia. My guests for this episode, Lisa Pahl and Jamie Thrower, are the co-creators of The Dementia Deck, a new card game to help inspire conversations about demential. Lisa is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Advanced Practice Hospice and… Continue reading Ep. 529 The Dement...

Learn how to discover and preserve our own and others’ stories to provide inspiration in challenging times. My guest Stephanie Ford is the founder of Life Stories with Steph, a video storytelling service dedicated to preserving personal and family histories. With a background in caregiving, hospice and training as an end-of-life doula, she discusses the… Continue reading Ep. 528 Sharin...

Learn about a powerful course and theatre initiative to redefine how we care for veterans at the end of life. My return guest, Dr. Qwynn Galloway-Salazar is an Army Veteran, end-of-life doula educator, and an advocate for redefining how nations honor and support veterans and their loved ones through the end of life. She is… Continue reading Ep. 527 Transforming Veteran Care Through Stories,...

Learn how “peace-of-mind” planning starts with a few small steps that are doable and make a big difference. My guests this week, Jennifer Tadjedin and Karen Callahan, are the co-founders of The Heartwood Collective where they guide people through all facets of developing a death plan (other than financial and estate planning.) They discuss how… Continue reading Ep. 526 End-of-Lif...

Learn about a beautiful memoir co-written by friends whose correspondence helped them both navigate a year of overwhelming loss and grief. My guests today are Christina Holbrook and Jane Flynn, co-authors of a shared memoir from a year when they were both confronting loss and grief–the diagnosis a glioblastoma brain tumor and the death of… Continue reading Ep. 525 Writing as a Lifeline...

Learn about a new book that addresses challenges faced by patients, providers, and caregivers at the end of life. My guest Cathy Yuhas is an RN and certified end-of-life doula who founded Dying Matters, LLC to advocate for conscious, compassionate end-of-life care. She is also the author of a new book: Walking Each Other Home:… Continue reading Ep. 524 Meeting the Challenges of End-of-Life C...

Learn how deep listening and poetry are helping transform healthcare and provide an antidote to burnout. My guest Jenny Hegland is the Executive Director of The Good Listening Project, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to humanizing healthcare through the healing power of poetry and compassionate presence. We discuss the work of TGLP and the power of… Continue reading Ep. 523 Humanizing Health...

In this special episode I’m sharing with you the Introduction to my new book Wild and Holy! I hope you enjoy listening to this brief excerpt and that you’ll consider backing the Kickstarter campaign where you can receive many wonderful bonuses for your support. Wild and Holy has been named a “Project We Love” by… Continue reading Ep. 522 BONUS: Introduction to Wild an...

My two guests this week are administrators of Caring House, a non-profit residence for hospice patients in Torrance, California. David Zartman is the Executive Director of Caring House having previously been a successful entrepreneur. Joanna Franco is the Director of Operations with many years of experience as both a caregiver and a residential care coordinator… Continue reading Ep. 521 Cari...

Learn about an uplifting documentary film about a mother’s grief project that became a world-wide movement. Content Warning:This episode includes a conversation about the suicide death of a loved one. Please listen with care and take steps to protect your emotional wellbeing. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is… Continue reading Ep. 520 Scattering CJ: A Mothe...

Learn about a beautiful memoir that teaches readers how to contemplate death in order to find meaning in life. My guest Andy Chaleff is an award-winning author, speaker, and mentor whose work explores the intersection of grief, love, and transformation. He facilitates deeply personal conversations and workshops that help people navigate life’s most challenging transitions.… Continue re...

Learn about a memoir that discusses sibling grief and the spiritual transformation that can occur after loss. My guest Kristina Amelong is the author of the memoir What My Brother Knew about the death of her younger brother when she was in her teens and her journey from loss and abuse to healing and spiritual… Continue reading Ep. 518 What My Brother Knew: Grief After Sibling Loss with Krist...

Learn about a heartwarming book of end-of-life teaching stories about the “little things” that make life meaningful. My guest Diane Button is an end-of-life doula, a founding partner of the Bay Area End-of-Life Doula Alliance in Northern California, and an instructor for the University of Vermont’s End-of-Life Doula Professional Certificate Program. She has been a… Continue...

Learn why the qualities of ethical service are important for everyone who cares for others at the end of life. My guest Kathy Ginn is a massage therapist and bodyworker who is also an End-of-Life Care Doula, Grief Companion, author, and educator. She is the founder of Ethical Dimensions continuing education platform and the author… Continue reading Ep. 516 Ethical Service for End-of-Life Wor...

Learn about the importance of community-based rituals for grief to help us heal the divisions in our society. In this solo episode I’m sharing some my observation that our society is currently in a massive collective grief spiral, largely due to unaddressed grief from the COVID pandemic as I wrote about in a recent Substack… Continue reading Ep. 515 Collective Grief Rituals: Honoring A...

Learn how business leaders and entrepreneurs are being taught to find meaning in life from the stories of the terminally ill. My guest Travis Luther MA is a sociologist and entrepreneur and a recognized expert in childhood trauma. He teaches business leaders through workshops, one-on-one coaching, and keynote speaking about finding deeper meaning in work… Continue reading Ep. 514 Life Advice...

Check out this recent episode from my podcast What Really Matters that includes why we need death-aware spirituality. This week I’m taking a little summer break from interviews and sharing with you a recent episode from my newly-relaunched podcast What Really Matters. I discuss the importance of spirituality right now at this particular time in… Continue reading Ep. 513 Why (Death-Awar...

Learn about a helpful workbook and a free workshop toolkit to support people who are navigating a life-changing diagnosis. My return guest Dr. Hsien Seow is a palliative care researcher and a professor in the Department of Oncology at McMaster University. He is a co-host with Sammy Winemaker MD of The Waiting Room Revolution Podcast… Continue reading Ep. 512 Navigating a Life-Changing Diagno...

Learn about innovative educational programs for medical students and the impact they are having. My special guest Dr. Kevin Dieter is a family medicine and hospice and palliative care physician who helped to develop the nationally recognized palliative care curriculum at Northeast Ohio Medical University. He created a virtual learning module called “Being with Dying”… Continue re...

Learn about an exciting new training to become a Death Literacy Educator and teach in your community. My return guest Francesca Lynn Arnoldy is a doula and a published researcher with the Vermont Conversation Lab and she runs a program for Death Literacy Educators. She is the author of The Death Doula’s Guide to Living… Continue reading Ep. 510 Training Death Literacy Educators with Fr...

Learn about Dr. Ira Byock’s strategic vision for approaching the major issues facing hospice and palliative care. My guest Dr. Ira Byock is a leading palliative care physician, author, and public advocate for improving care through the end of life. He is the author of the books Dying Well, The Four Things that Matter Most,… Continue reading Ep. 509 A Future Path for Hospice and Palliat...

Learn about a helpful book with resources for dementia caregivers. My guest Dr. Beverly Thorn is dual trained in the neurosciences and clinical psychology. She is the author of hundreds of articles, two books, and four workbooks on coping with chronic illness. She has also been trained as an end-of-life doula and served as her… Continue reading Ep. 508 Navigating Life as a Dementia Caregiver...

Listen to an important discussion about how spiritually-focused people can speak up about social justice issues and work toward community healing. In this episode I’m sharing with you part of the recent workshop on Sacred Activism I hosted with Terri Daniel and Brian Smith. Terri is an inter-spiritual hospice chaplain and end-of-life educator certified in… Continue reading Ep. 507 Sacr...

Learn about the specialty of pediatric palliative care and how one doctor has benefitted from his relationship with his seriously ill patients. My guest Dr. Bob Macauley is one of only a few hundred pediatricians in the U.S. specializing in palliative care for children with life-threatening illness. Uniquely Dr. Macauley attended both divinity school and… Continue reading Ep. 506 Pediatric P...

Explore how death doulas fill the gaps in end-of-life medical care with Kacie Gikonyo, RN and founder of The Death Doula Collective. A conversation about presence, advocacy, and healing at the end of life.