We all have something in common: we’re going to die one day. It’s a scary thing to think about, much less talk about.

But Alua Arthur thinks about and talks about death a lot. She is an end-of-life doula, helping people find some semblance of peace as they go through the dying process.

Years ago, when Arthur was deeply depressed, she met a woman on a bus in Cuba who had cancer and was traveling the world before she died. Their personal conversations helped bring Alua back to life and set her on this career path.

Her book, Briefly Perfectly Human: Making an Authentic Life by Getting Real About the End, is part memoir, and full of moving stories about what people want when they are dying. The organization she founded, Going with Grace, provides end of life planning, training, and support.