Peaceful Exit

Alua Arthur is a death doula and a New York Times bestselling author, most recently for her book "Briefly Perfectly Human." In this episode from 2024, Alua shares with Sarah what it was like fleeing Ghana as a child, and how she found her calling in an unexpected conversation on a bus. They also discuss the transformative nature of confronting mortality, why it's important to set boundaries in grief, and how to address people's natural fears during the dying process.

For more information about Alua's work, please visit www.aluaarthur.com, and follow her on social media @alualoveslife. 

At the end of every episode of Peaceful Exit, Sarah asks her guests the same question: what does a peaceful exit mean to you? There have been many overlapping themes in people's responses, but so far no two replies have been exactly the same. In this compilation episode, we revisit the answers from our amazing season 6 guests: Dr. BJ Miller; Dr. Lucy Hone; Lisa Keefauver; Mary Roach; Jenny George; Kaleel Sakakeeny; Jessica Correnti; Carla Fernandez; Suzanne O'Brien; James Crews; and Dr. Deborah Kado. If you've ever considered how you might answer this question - what does a peaceful exit mean to you - please share your response with us! You can send an email to [email protected].

As co-director of the Stanford Center on Longevity at Stanford University, geriatrician Dr. Deborah Kado helps patients live not just longer, but better. In this thoughtful interview, she  shares what her earliest patients taught her about the end of life, and what any of us can do - starting now - to age with dignity and purpose. Dr. Kado also explains why, despite what you might think, older people are some of the happiest folks around, and why a baby born today could reasonably expect to live to 100 years old.

For more information on Dr. Kado's work and the Stanford Center on Longevity, please visit https://longevity.stanford.edu/

Poet James Crews lost his father when he was just 20 years old, and then, decades later, his mother and both grandmothers died in the same year. In this episode, he talks to Sarah about the different experiences he had with grief across these major losses, and how they've inspired his work, including a number of poems in his latest collection, "Turning Toward Grief." James also explains why even messy, imperfect writing can help carry us forward when we’re grieving. He invites us to ponder two questions in this interview: what do we lose when we turn away from grief, and what do we gain when we lean in?

For more about James's work, please visit his website: https://www.jamescrews.net/

Suzanne O’Brien is founder and CEO of the Doulagivers Institute and author of the book “The Good Death.” She has trained thousands of people around the world in end-of-life care, with a mission to make death literacy accessible to all. She tells Sarah why she believes that dying is not just a medical event, but a sacred transition — one that can be met with preparation, presence, and even peace. In this conversation, Suzanne also shares what she has learned from decades at the bedside of dying people, how to diminish fear of the natural dying process, and why granny pods matter now more than ever.

For more information on Suzanne's work and The Doulagivers Institute, please visit https://doulagivers.com/

Carla Fernandez, author of the book "Renegade Grief," was just 21 years old when her father José died. She felt ill-equipped to handle her grief alone, so she started reaching out to friends. What began as a simple potluck dinner with other young adults who'd also lost parents grew into The Dinner Party, a nationwide movement with tables in over a hundred cities. At these gatherings, grievers share food, stories, and the complicated reality of loss. In this episode, Carla talks to Sarah about the power of normalizing these conversations, the rituals that help us continue bonds with those we love, and why tending to our grief can be a renegade act.

For more information on The Dinner Party and Carla's work, please visit www.thedinnerparty.org or www.carlafernandez.co

Child life specialist Jessica Correnti helps kids and families navigate loss, change, and big life transitions. In this episode, she tells Sarah why children often experience grief in short emotional "bursts"; why they process grief best through play; and why it's best to talk to kids honestly about death and dying. Jessica also shares  her deeply personal story of pregnancy loss, and how that experience inspired her books, "Forever Connected" and "The ABCs of Grief" series.

To learn more about Jessica's work, please visit https://www.kidsgriefsupport.com/

Animal chaplain Kaleel Sakakeeny was overwhelmed by grief after the death of his cat Kyro. And even though pet loss is an incredibly common experience, Kaleel felt like he had nowhere to turn. So, he took matters into his own hands: Kaleel became an animal chaplain, an ordained pastor, and a pet loss and bereavement counselor. He also founded the nonprofit Animal Talks, which supports people who've lost a pet, and helps others become certified to provide counseling. Kaleel tells Sarah why the death of a pet can cut so deeply, and what we really grieve when we mourn our animal companions.

For more information about Kaleel's work, please visit www.animaltalksinc.com

Poet Jenny George was always drawn to writing about death and dying, even before she lost her wife to ovarian cancer. In her latest collection of poems, "After Image," Jenny uses the lens of grief to describe caring for and losing her sweetheart, and to explore what it means to live in the shadow of her death. Jenny tells Sarah about the challenges of writing about dying, and also why her grief sometimes makes her feel like "an old baby."

Mary Roach is a New York Times bestselling author and acclaimed science writer who once thought science was boring. She has traveled the world and written fascinating, humorous books about the human body and its curiosities. Today she discusses three of them with Sarah: "Stiff," "Six Feet Over," and her latest, "Replaceable You." They also talk about how our culture got so squeamish about dead bodies, and where we might go after we die.

Learn more about Mary Roach and her wonderful books at https://www.maryroach.net/

For more information and to become an organ donor, please visit https://www.organdonor.gov/