Soul At Heart End-of-Life Doula

11/16/2025

📿The term death doula is fairly new, the role itself, ancient.

🤝Humans have always had community members who guided the dying and cared for families during transitions of life and death.

🌎In ancient Greece, Egypt, Rome, and throughout Indigenous cultures across the world, specific people were recognized as guardians of the dying.

🧙‍♀️They were often intuitive healers, medicine women, spiritual keepers, or elders.

🫂The figure most often cited as the earliest recorded death doula is the ancient Greek “thanatophoros,” which translates to bearer of death.

🧝🏼‍♀️In Celtic and Norse communities, there were women who performed keening, vigils, shrouding, and spirit ushering.

🪶Indigenous communities worldwide have their own versions of death work that stretch back thousands of years. Knowledge keepers, midwives of life and midwives of death, medicine elders, and ceremonial guides were responsible for preparing the body, honouring the spirit, and caring for family members. These are the oldest forms of death doula work.

🫶🏼The work we do today is a continuation of a lineage that stretches across continents, cultures, and thousands of years.

👣We stand in the footsteps of healers, ritual keepers, bedside guardians, and sacred witnesses of the dying.

11/16/2025

11/15/2025

Hello again, dear friends. In our recent blog posts, we have visited the intentional work of preparation—securing our plans, healing our relationships, and, most recently, Holding Space: Finding Comfort and Meaning in the Final Days. The completion of that final journey marks a sacred shift: the transition from caregiving presence to the quiet, profound work of grief. For those left behind, the days immediately following a death can feel surreal....

Explore the sacred space of grief after loss. Understand emotional complexities, embrace rituals, and honor loved ones during this profound time.

11/15/2025

When you or someone you love is on hospice, everything can feel fragile, your heart, your hopes, even your voice. I want you to know something: hospice is not the boss of you. We are not here to take over or to dictate what should happen. Our role is to support you, to honor your loved one, and to walk with you in a way that feels right for you. But we can only do that if you tell us what you need, what scares you, what feels off, or what you don’t understand.

If a nurse suggests a medication or recommends increasing one, you have every right to ask why. If you don’t like something, say so. If you’re afraid, please tell us. This doesn’t make you difficult, it makes you a fierce advocate for the person you love.

We are not here to tell you what you “should” do. We are here to ask what you want, what you hope for, and how we can support you in a way that reflects your values and your person’s dignity.

I look at it like this: when the dying process is met with clarity, communication, and compassion, even in the hardest moments, the path through grief becomes gentler. It doesn’t remove the pain of losing someone you love, but it keeps you from carrying the heavy weight of “I should have spoken up” or “I should have asked.” Some things are out of your control, and some things are out of ours, but asking questions never hurts. Speaking up never hurts. Silence, however, often does.

As a hospice nurse and an end-of-life doula, I want to know how you feel about the care you’re receiving. I want to understand what matters to you and what worries you. I want to make sure your needs, and your loved one’s needs, are truly honored. Please don’t ever be afraid to use your voice.

We are here to meet you exactly where you are, and we can walk this with you so much better when you let us in.

xo
Gabby
www.thehospiceheart.net

11/13/2025

Wise words

11/12/2025

BREAKING: DEATH WITH DIGNITY WINS IN THE ILLINOIS SENATE!

The Illinois End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act (SB1950), also known as Deb’s Law, passed the Senate and now heads to Governor JB Pritzker's desk!

If signed, Illinois will become the first Midwest state with a Death with Dignity law, joining 12 states and Washington, D.C., where terminally ill patients will have the right to this compassionate end-of-life option.

Donate now to secure the final push and protect the freedom for terminally ill patients to die with dignity: https://tinyurl.com/7ewxp5ey

Your life. Your freedom. Your Death with Dignity.

11/10/2025

11/10/2025

Love this

One day, you will be a memory for some people — a story they tell with a soft smile, a moment that flickers in their heart like candlelight in the dark. Life is a collection of these quiet imprints — laughter that lingers, kindness that ripples, presence that heals. Every encounter, every shared word, becomes part of someone’s tapestry of remembrance. So, walk gently through their lives. Speak truthfully. Love deeply. Forgive quickly. Leave warmth where you can, and light where there was shadow.

When your name is spoken years from now, may it be wrapped in peace and gratitude — a reminder of love’s quiet power.

As evening descends and the sky folds into hues of gold and indigo, may your heart rest knowing you are already leaving beautiful traces behind.

✨ Good evening — may your night be gentle, your spirit light, and your soul at ease. 🌙

Mitra ➡ Tips That Change Your Life ❤☀

11/10/2025

As an end-of-life doula, I often find myself standing at the threshold—between the known and the unknown, the living and the dying, the silence and the stories. It’s a sacred space. And while it may sound heavy, it’s also filled with grace, tenderness, and sometimes even laughter. Learn more about this work at soulatheart.com.

11/05/2025

The coffee that tastes good.

The sun on your face.

The song that makes you cry in a different way.

This is how you keep from drowning In grief.

Let yourself have the small beautiful things. They're not betrayals, they're lifelines. 🖤