Ask a Death Doula

In this special episode, Suzanne B. O’Brien, RN—founder of the Doulagivers Institute—announces the 8th Annual Death Doula World Training Day, taking place on April 22nd at 7 PM ET.

This global event is more than a training—it’s a movement.

With over 400,000 people trained in 39+ countries, Death Doula World Training Day continues to bring together individuals, caregivers, and professionals from around the world to learn how to support others through the end of life with presence, compassion, and confidence.

This year’s theme is Global Unity, and the event is dedicated to the 100th birthday of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, whose groundbreaking work helped bring awareness, dignity, and humanity back to the end-of-life experience.

We are living in a time where many people feel disconnected, overwhelmed, and unprepared for life’s most sacred transition.

Death Doula World Training Day is here to change that.

This free training teaches individuals how to:

As Suzanne shares, “We are not here to fix death—we are here to bring love back into it.”

🗓 Date: April 22

SPACE is Limited- Save your seat now! https://doulagivers.com 

This is your invitation to join a global community choosing:

Together, we are creating a world where no one has to face the end of life alone or unprepared.

👉 Register now and share with your community

Because when we change the way we approach death…

If this message resonates, please share it with someone who needs it.

Death reminds us of what matters most:

Let’s bring that back—together.

In this deeply meaningful episode, we invite you into a global movement rooted in compassion, presence, and love.

Join Suzanne B. O’Brien, RN, founder of Doulagivers Institute, as she announces the 8th Annual Death Doula World Training Day, happening on April 22nd—a day dedicated to unity, education, and the sacred honor of supporting one another at the end of life.

This year’s event is especially powerful as we celebrate the 100th birthday of Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, the pioneer who transformed how the world understands death, dying, and the human experience. Her groundbreaking work opened the door for conversations that were once feared—and today, we continue that legacy together.

This episode is both an invitation and a remembrance:

Whether you are a family caregiver, healthcare professional, aspiring Death Doula, or simply someone seeking peace and understanding, this episode—and this global training—are for you.

Death Doula World Training Day is a global event created to bring education, awareness, and empowerment to people everywhere—so no one has to face death alone, unsupported, or unprepared.

With over 400,000 people trained in 15+ languages, this movement is helping to restore dignity, peace, and humanity to the end-of-life experience.

🗓️ Date: April 22

SAVE YOUR SEAT HERE

At the end of life, people don’t speak about what they achieved—they speak about how they loved, how they lived, and what truly mattered.

This work is not about death.

Be part of something bigger.

👉 Join us for Death Doula World Training Day

JOIN Death Doula World Training Day Click Here

Learn More About the EKR Foundation Click Here

JOIN DEATH DOULA WORLD TRAINING DAY ONLINE LIVE APRIL 22nd at 7pm EST. Save your seat HERE:CLICK HERE NOW!!!

After sitting with over a thousand people at the end of life, one truth becomes clear: we suffer not because of what happens to us, but because of what we continue to carry.

In this powerful episode, Suzanne shares one of the most life-changing lessons from those nearing death: you are not here to carry everything.

You’ll learn how to release emotional burdens, stop absorbing the weight of the world, and return to a more peaceful, grounded, and empowered way of living.

✨ In this episode:

At the end of life, people don’t wish they carried more pain—they show us how to let go.

Ask yourself:

This episode is a reminder that you are allowed to release what was never yours.

One of the most distressing moments for families at the end of life is when a loved one stops eating and drinking. It can feel like they are starving, like something is wrong, or like we should be doing more.

But what if this is actually one of the most natural and peaceful parts of the dying process?

In this episode, Suzanne B. O’Brien, RN—who has cared for over 1,000 patients at the end of life—explains the true physiology behind why eating and drinking stop, what your loved one is actually experiencing, and how to provide the right kind of comfort in those final days.

You’ll learn why the body no longer needs food or water, what happens when the swallowing reflex turns off, and why your loved one is not feeling hunger the way you might think. We also explore what the dying process typically looks like in the final days, the most common comfort issue patients experience, and what families should—and should not—do during this phase.

This episode will help you shift from fear and confusion to understanding, allowing you to show up with more presence, peace, and confidence when it matters most.

But the reality is very different.

The Real Problem

The Solution

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

About Suzanne B. O’Brien RN

Learn the Skills Before You Need Them

Share This Episode

In this special episode, Suzanne O’Brien, RN, founder of Doulagivers Institute and former oncology and hospice nurse, celebrates the one-year anniversary of her book The Good Death: A Guide for Supporting Your Loved One Through the End of Life.

After caring for more than 1,000 people at the bedside, Suzanne witnessed how much fear and confusion families experience simply because they were never taught what to expect during the end-of-life process.

Just 100 years ago, families knew how to care for loved ones at the end of life. Today, much of that knowledge has been lost. This episode explores how education, compassion, and open conversations can help us bring this sacred knowledge back.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• Why understanding death can help us live more meaningful lives

March Madness: End-of-Life Edition Events

Goodreads Giveaway

Enter the giveaway here

Host Your Own Good Death Book Club or Death & Dying Course

We are inviting people around the world to host their own Good Death Book Clubs or community Death & Dying courses based on Suzanne’s book.

Information Zoom

Save your seat here

During this session you will learn how to host a Good Death Book Club, facilitate meaningful conversations about death and dying, and bring end-of-life education to libraries, community groups, and spiritual centers.

The Good Death Review Party

March 31

Join us for a live celebration and review party to help more people discover The Good Death.

During this event we will celebrate the book’s first anniversary, write reviews together, share stories and reflections, and give away special gifts and merchandise.

Join here

Why This Conversation Matters

Every single one of us will experience end-of-life, either personally or with someone we love. Yet most families enter this sacred time without guidance or education.

When we bring back the knowledge of how to care for someone at the end of life, fear decreases, connection deepens, and love leads the way.

Death returns to being the natural and sacred experience it was always meant to be.

Resources

Learn more about Doulagivers Institute

Get The Good Death

Register for the next Free Doulagivers Family Caregiver Training

What if the secret to a happier life isn’t positive thinking — but remembering that life is finite?

After caring for more than 1,000 people at the end of life, Suzanne B. O’Brien, RN discovered a profound truth: awareness of death doesn’t create fear — it creates gratitude.

Recently quoted by The New York Times on happiness, Suzanne shares how working with dying patients transformed her life. What once felt like obligation — “I have to” — became privilege — “I get to.” Even ordinary moments began to feel extraordinary.

In this episode, she explores how consciously acknowledging mortality awakens presence, clarity, gratitude, and deeper life meaning. She also reflects on research highlighted by The Washington Post showing that healthy mortality awareness can actually increase happiness and life satisfaction.

• Why death awareness increases gratitude instead of anxiety

After sitting bedside with thousands in their final days, Suzanne noticed a powerful pattern:

Death is not the enemy.

Because when we understand death,

What if one question could change everything about how you die?

In this powerful episode, Suzanne shares a pivotal moment from her early days as an oncology nurse that transformed her understanding of end-of-life care. At the heart of this story is the one question that becomes the foundation for all future medical decisions:

What does quality of life mean to you — and when would you consider it no longer acceptable?

Without this conversation, the system is designed to keep treating — even when it no longer aligns with what matters most.With it, care becomes aligned, peaceful, and intentional.

You’ll learn why most end-of-life suffering comes from lack of planning, how fear drives crisis decisions, the difference between hope and false hope, and why defining your quality-of-life benchmark is one of the greatest gifts you can give your family.

A good death doesn’t begin in the final days — it begins the moment you choose how you want to live.

Can learning about death actually heal grief?

In this deeply moving episode from The Good Death virtual book tour, Suzanne B. O’Brien, RN, sits down with award-winning filmmaker and death educator Johanna J. Lunn, co-founder of The When You Die Project.

After experiencing multiple profound losses early in life, Johanna was unexpectedly guided toward a life devoted to exploring death, grief, and consciousness through film and community dialogue. What she discovered is transformative:

Together, Suzanne and Johanna explore how understanding what truly happens at the end of life can soften grief, awaken spiritual insight, and reconnect us to the essence of who we are.

In this episode, they discuss:

This conversation is for anyone who is grieving, fears death, or feels there is something more to this human experience.

Because when we understand death…

Johanna J. Lunn is an award-winning filmmaker and co-founder of The When You Die Project, a Canadian initiative dedicated to fostering conversations and education about death and dying through film and community engagement. Through documentary storytelling and public dialogue, her work explores mortality, grief, meaning, and the profound spiritual dimensions of the human journey.  Website here: https://whenyoudie.org