Caring for someone who is dying takes a different approach, and family members may not always remember that or see that it is no longer time to "seek a cure." Katie Duncan and I discuss some of the challenges that family caregivers face when someone is dying: realizing the time to "fix" is at an end; stepping into a role with little or no training; adjusting to this new role, often from a geographic distance; acknowledging and adjusting to the constantly changing needs of the loved one; and figuring out who to turn to for guidance and resources. As educator Barbara Karnes says, “Dying is not a medical event, but a community event.” Listen in to learn more.

Follow her on socials:

⁠https://www.facebook.com/death.care.coach⁠

⁠https://www.instagram.com/death.care.coach⁠

⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkE5aFVFxWT46nNar91cLXw⁠⁠

At some point in your life, caregiving will likely come upon you, if it hasn’t already. As Rosalynn Carter noted, there are only four kinds of people in this world: “Those who have been caregivers; those who are currently caregivers; those who will be caregivers; and those who will need caregivers." What can we put in place to help folks in this role?

Katie helps us think through some key questions, including:

Follow her on socials:

https://www.facebook.com/death.care.coach

https://www.instagram.com/death.care.coach

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkE5aFVFxWT46nNar91cLXw

Sonya Barsness brings theory and practice together in her work and teaching as a "revisionary" Gerontologist. How can we improve the experience of aging in the 2020s in the US? What would it mean to be more positive in our understanding and actual experience of aging? What do seniors need as they age? What do humans need at any age, and how do we keep it or create it as we grow older? Perhaps we could be fighting for a paradigm of aging that celebrates the experience of growing older, sees each older person as a unique person, and recognizes that aging is multi-dimensional!

Check out her website: https://www.sbcgerontology.com

Follow her on Facebook: ⁠www.facebook.com/SonyaBarsnessConsulting/m⁠

Why is this one of my favorite books? How can a book like this have a positive impact on your view of your life *and* your death? What are some pragmatic topics we could benefit from thinking about? What are some of the thoughtful gems from authors BJ Miller, MD and Shoshana Berger?

Listen in as I talk about this book and see if you want to add it to your nightstand pile... A Beginner's Guide to the End: Practical Advice for Living Life and Facing Death.

This week: a joint podcast with The Heart of Hospice and host Helen Bauer. This is swift-talking, wide-ranging, longer-than-usual chat! What brought me into end of life work? Why might any of us want a “supported death”? How can end-of-life workers bring an open mind to any death? How can caregivers be held, metaphorically and literally? What can we learn while in a relationship with hospice? How can we hold expectation vs hope? How do we support the multiple needs of various people involved in any caregiving situation? At the end of life, how do you begin to let go of the bonds of the world? *Bonus trivia: What’s Diane’s end-of-life playlist?

Description:This podcast is jampacked with content, including a discussion of advance directives for dementia, Voluntary Stopping of Eating and Drinking, and a deep dive into decision making. In this week’s conversation, Chaplain Hank Dunn suggests a framework for thinking things through, including asking:

1) What’s the goal that you are trying to accomplish?

2) What would the patient want, and what does the patient think about their current and probable future condition?

3) What is in the best interest of the patient? and

4) What is the prognosis and probable consequences if a certain treatment plan is followed? Join us for all this good thinking and more!

Visit website: https://hankdunn.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hospicechaplainhank/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Hard-Choices-for-Loving-People-191343157564700

Join us for all this good thinking and more!

When difficult choices arise around healthcare and the nearing end of life, Hank Dunn has some ideas to help us decide what to do. In his book, Hard Choices for Loving People, he suggests that families consider asking themselves and each other: What are we trying to accomplish? What’s the goal? Are we trying to cure? Are we looking to stabilize functioning? Or are we preparing for a comfortable and dignified death? This podcast is full-full-full of thoughtful content that is important for all of us to consider. 

What an honor to chat with three leading doulas and teachers, Diane Button, Gabby Jimenez and Angela Shook. Their new book combines the best of all that they know – over 30 years of experience with death and dying. The Doula Tool Kit: The Complete Practical Guide for End-of-Life Doulas and Caregivers provides “the guidance and tangible tools that people need to actually feel comfortable to sit with the dying.”

Learn more and get the book here -

https://www.thehospiceheart.net/

https://www.dianebutton.com/

https://angelashook.com/

For more information on Best Life Best Death please visit our website at ⁠⁠www.bestlifebestdeath.com⁠⁠

Follow us on our social channels to receive pertinent and helpful resources on death, grieving, and more at:

Facebook: ⁠⁠www.facebook.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠

Instagram: ⁠⁠www.instagram.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠

Eric Rooney and I talk about what it might mean to have a “greener” mindset about death, and how “natural burial” is not new at all, in the Big Scheme of human existence. We talk about 5 ways we can care for bodies in Colorado: burial (buried traditionally in a casket, embalmed or not); flame cremation (the body is burned at high temperature, returning “ashes” to the family); water cremation (dissolving in alkaline hydrolysis, returning fluid to the earth in chosen locations); Natural Organic Reduction/Composting (the body decomposes in a specially designed vessel, ending up as nutrient dense soil); and natural burial (shroud or biodegradable casket, buried without embalming or cement encasement of the casket). What's your plan for after death care?

More about Eric and Regeneration Earth here - https://www.regenerationearth.org/

For more information on Best Life Best Death please visit our website at ⁠⁠www.bestlifebestdeath.com⁠⁠

Follow us on our social channels to receive pertinent and helpful resources on death, grieving, and more at:

Facebook: ⁠⁠www.facebook.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠

Instagram: ⁠⁠www.instagram.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠

This week, in honor of Thanksgiving here in the US, I share a brief conversation with Hospice Chaplain Hank Dunn. He reads two moving pieces from his book, Light in the Shadows: Meditations While Living with a Serious Illness, and we talk about “letting go” versus “letting be.”

For more information on Best Life Best Death please visit our website at ⁠⁠www.bestlifebestdeath.com⁠⁠

Follow us on our social channels to receive pertinent and helpful resources on death, grieving, and more at:

Facebook: ⁠⁠www.facebook.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠

Instagram: ⁠⁠www.instagram.com/bestlifebestdeath⁠⁠