In Conversation with an End-of-Life Specialist

Barbara Karnes, RN , started her hospice nursing work in the 1970s — before hospice was even a word most Americans knew. She didn't join a movement. She helped build it. And more than fifty years later, she is still writing, still teaching, and still asking the field harder questions. In this conversation, Barbara and Patricia talk about what it actually takes to walk with someone toward the...

Dr. Ken Gorczyca has been sitting with death since he was eight years old. His guinea pig, Squeaky, died, and no one helped him. No ritual, no guidance. So he put her in a shoebox, added flowers, dug a hole in the backyard, and figured it out on his own. He didn't know it then, but that was the beginning. Ken graduated from veterinary school in 1983 and moved to San Francisco — straight into...

What do we reach for when time gets short? Not the accomplishments. Not the carefully managed image. Something simpler. Something we wish we'd said out loud sooner. This conversation is for anyone who has been putting off a conversation they know they need to have. Which is most of us. The conversation doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to start. Guest: Diane Button End-of-Life Doul...

What does it take to stand in a room where someone is drawing their last breaths — with no clinical training, no script, and no way to fix it? Pastor Larry Wall has been doing exactly that for 35 years. As the founding pastor of Newport Church of God in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom and the visionary behind the Living Waters Hospice House, Pastor Larry brings something most bedside training pro...

What if talking about death could actually be fun?  Lisa Pahl, licensed clinical social worker, hospice veteran of 18 years, and CEO and co-founder of The Death Deck, believes that humor and the right questions can open doors that fear keeps shut. In this conversation, Lisa shares how a friendship forged through loss led her and co-founder Lori to create a suite of conversation tools — The Death D...

Grief counselor Jenny Filush-Glaze joins us to discuss the losses that don't come with funerals but hurt just as deeply — from chronic illness to broken relationships. After her own alpha-gal syndrome diagnosis, Jenny brings both clinical expertise and lived experience to conversations about youth grief, permission to feel, and why "at least no one died" is one of the most damaging...

We live in a culture that prizes eloquence and timing - say the right thing at the right moment, or don't say it at all. But Gabrielle Elise Jimenez, author of The Conversation , knows something most people don't: the "perfect" deathbed conversation doesn't exist, and waiting for it might mean never speaking at all.  In this tender exchange, Gabby reveals why showing up im...

In this National Hospice Month episode, the Second Season's first episode, host Patricia M Sears of Graceful Transitions speaks with Lori Rizzo , a certified end-of-life doula and dementia practitioner from Compassionate Crossings , about the urgent need to reduce stigma around dementia and transform how we support families navigating this journey.  With nearly 7 million Americans living with...

In June 2025, we were fortunate to talk with Angela Shook an End-of-Life and Companion Animal Doula. Angela Shook is an end-of-life doula, Hospice volunteer, and instructor for the Doula Programs at the University of Vermont, and offers multiple end-of-life educational workshops and grief support groups. She is a veterinary doula with Pet Well Mobile Vet, where she assists with euthanasia and the...

If you die without a will, your estate will go through probate—and your will will become public information. But that's not the scariest part. Without an advance directive, the court can keep you alive and 'comfortable' even if you don't want to be intubated or have limbs removed. Your family can override your unspoken wishes. Angela Ross, an attorney with 31 years of experienc...

Medical aid in dying (MAID) is legal in Vermont—but what does it actually look like? And where do you go if you don't want to die at home? Kasey March, a certified MAID Wayfinder and end-of-life doula with Doula Care for Dying, guides us through the realities of medical aid in dying in Vermont—from the process itself to finding a safe, appropriate location to take the prescribed medicine. Thi...

What if just starting the conversation—the one you've been avoiding—brought you relief instead of dread? Francesca Lynn Arnoldy, death literacy advocate and author of 'The Death Doula's Guide to Living Fully and Dying Prepared,' believes that transforming our relationship with death begins with a single step. In this conversation, we explore: What 'death literacy' act...

What if you could turn your body into a tree after you die? What if you couldn't afford a traditional funeral—what are your options? Lindsey Warren, green burial specialist, opens our eyes to end-of-life choices most of us don't know exist. Motivated by watching 'funeral poverty' devastate families after sudden deaths, Lindsey is passionate about helping people understand all t...