End-of-Life University

Ep. 493 The Good Death: An End-of-Life Guide with Suzanne B. O’Brien RN

Listen Later

Learn what it means to have a “good death” and how and why we all need to prepare for the end of life to benefit ourselves, our loved ones and our planet.

My guest Suzanne B. O’Brien RN is the founder and CEO of Doulagivers Institute and a “pioneer” in the global death doula movement. She has trained hundreds of thousands of people from all around the world to care those at the end of life. Most recently Suzanne is the author of The Good Death: A Guide for Supporting Your Loved One Through the End of Life. She discusses the book and why it’s so important that we facilitate a shift in how we experience death at this time in our world. Learn more at her websites:

Doulagivers.com

TheGoodDeathBook.com

Get the book here

Watch on YouTube

Listen here:

This episode includes:
  • How Suzanne first got started offering free end-of-life trainings to lay people as a hospice nurse
  • Why hospice care alone can’t fix all the problems with how we approach the end of life
  • How as a society we lost generational knowledge about caring for the sick, dying and dead at home
  • Why allowing natural death can be a better choice than aggressive life-prolonging treatment
  • Most family members lack the skills and training to care for their dying loved ones at home
  • As the physical body goes through the dying process the spiritual aspect of life becomes more apparent
  • Contemplating mortality helps us shift our mindset about death and changes how we live our lives
  • How rituals help us cope with the losses we experience in life and death
    • Links mentioned in this episode:
    • Register for Caritas Consciousness Project event on March 28th (I will be presenting) https://tinyurl.com/WyattCaritas
    • Access to Competent Caregiver Course with Suzanne (Buy 3 books and get the course for free)
    • NEW Gift Guides for Caregivers, People Receiving Care, and People Who are Grieving
    • Get my two newest books!! Stories from the Dark Night and The Tao of Death
    • Get EOLU Podcast Merch here
    • Conversations on Death with ChatGPT – Audiobook here; Print Book here
    • Leave me a message by email: [email protected], Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
    • Support your local bookstore by buying my books on Bookshop and Indiebound: 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying and The Journey from Ego to Soul
    • Subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Stitcher Radio
    • Check out the Series I’ve recorded in the past here
    • Join the team at Patreon.com/eolu and receive free gifts like the “Mind if we talk about death?” mini-poster or Love Your Life sticker or coffee mug. PLUS get our regular bonuses: the monthly EOL News Update, monthly What to Watch recommendations, Behind the Scenes Bonus content, and automatic access to A Year of Reading Dangerously!
    • Buy me a coffee
    • Donate on Paypal

      • If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu, especially my newest donor Connie WS and to John Wadsworth for renewing your pledge. Also thanks to Someone who became a monthly member of Buy Me a Coffee! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

      ...more
      View all episodesView all episodes
      Download on the App Store
      End-of-Life UniversityBy Karen Wyatt MD
      • 4.8
      • 4.8
      • 4.8
      • 4.8
      • 4.8

      4.8

      155 ratings

      More shows like End-of-Life University

      View all
      On Being with Krista Tippett by On Being Studios

      On Being with Krista Tippett

      10,371 Listeners

      The Moth by The Moth

      The Moth

      27,296 Listeners

      Sounds True: Insights at the Edge by Tami Simon

      Sounds True: Insights at the Edge

      1,834 Listeners

      Buddha at the Gas Pump by Rick Archer

      Buddha at the Gas Pump

      622 Listeners

      The One You Feed by iHeartPodcasts

      The One You Feed

      2,511 Listeners

      Grief Out Loud by The Dougy Center

      Grief Out Loud

      314 Listeners

      Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

      Hidden Brain

      43,466 Listeners

      Untangle by Untangle

      Untangle

      829 Listeners

      10% Happier with Dan Harris by 10% Happier

      10% Happier with Dan Harris

      12,532 Listeners

      Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson by Rick Hanson, Ph.D., Forrest Hanson

      Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson

      2,419 Listeners

      Thanks For Asking by Feelings & Co.

      Thanks For Asking

      13,274 Listeners

      Life, Death & The Space Between with Dr. Amy Robbins by Dr. Amy Robbins |Psychology | Spirituality | Grief | Life After Death

      Life, Death & The Space Between with Dr. Amy Robbins

      36 Listeners

      Grief is a Sneaky Bitch by Lisa Keefauver, MSW

      Grief is a Sneaky Bitch

      309 Listeners

      We Can Do Hard Things by Glennon Doyle and Audacy

      We Can Do Hard Things

      41,381 Listeners

      Evidence-Based: A New Harbinger Psychology Podcast by New Harbinger Publications

      Evidence-Based: A New Harbinger Psychology Podcast

      52 Listeners