Guiding Light of Comfort

06/25/2024

Three months after the training, I traveled to my hometown in southern California. Officially, I was there with my parents and sister for my grandmother’s 88th birthday. Unofficially, I was there to ask her how she wanted to die. I’d looked into death doulas in the area because I was curious, bu...

02/14/2024

This helps explain the role of the a Death Doula

We all know about doulas for childbirth, but what about a doula for death? The Doctors welcome Alua, who supports people during the process of dying to expla...

11/13/2023

Wrapping up our wonderful weekend get away.

05/11/2023

04/21/2023

This week I am flooded with memories of one of my childhood friends. She was diagnosed with a fist size tumor in her chest March 3, 2022, she was gone by April 24, 2022. She was only 56 yrs. old. Gail, you are missed by so many. Love you!
I was able to make a trip to see her when she was first diagnosed in March. Noone explained to her options about her care, advance directives, how she wanted to be cared for, nothing. We sat quietly in her hospital bed, and I had those uncomfortable conversations with her because I loved her. She just smiled and thanked me.
Don't wait until there is a medical crisis to start those conversations! Tomorrow is not guaranteed.

07/09/2022

Interesting? Hmm

These are my sisters “ashes”.

Only they aren’t ash, because she had water cremation rather than fire cremation… meaning its actually just pure bone. It’s finer than sand, the texture is like soft flour.

Water cremation is beautiful for this reason, and also because her tissues and organs are saved as a liquid nutrient that we use to grow gardens. She’s becoming peonies and mammoth sunflowers right now.

All of our lives the Earth feeds us. This is how we feed her, when we no longer need the bodies she gave us. We give them back. 🌻

So I’m packing up the kids, the dog, her liquid and her bones and driving to Texas to deliver her to Mama. There, she will also become part of the soil and part of the vine.

♻️
❤️
😭

Thank you to Be a Tree Cremation for providing her care. We love you.

07/07/2022

America's Most Popular Living Will.

06/25/2022

My heart is broken. I can’t believe you are gone. You were one of the smartest men I know. Who will I ask all of my hard questions? You were a man of few words but we always knew you loved us by your actions. In my heart forever

06/23/2022

This is my dad who left the earthly world in the early hours of the day. He loved to be flashy dresser, and loved to fish! He was the best dad! He would use character voices in the books he would read us at bedtime when we were kids and was always up for a trip to the beach. You will be missed by us all. We love you dad.

06/20/2022

Well its been a year and dad remembers my name most of the time but now his body is failing him faster than his memory as he is on hospice now.
Be very specific when helping someone record their advance directives. He never thought he would be in this shape, none of us think it will ever happen to us.