Seeing Death Clearly

Seeing Death Clearly

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Seeing Death Clearly episodes

  • When the Funeral Is Over: Grief, Child Loss, and Showing Up for Others with Kelly Edmondson

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    What happens to someone who is grieving when the funeral is over and everyone else returns to their normal lives? Grief doesn't follow a schedule, and some of the hardest moments can come weeks or months after a death, when the support begins to fade.

    In this episode of Seeing Death Clearly, death doula and funeral celebrant Jill McClennen talks with Kelly Edmondson, a nurse and healthcare executive whose understanding of death and grief changed after the unexpected loss of her 28-year-old son, Darius. Despite spending more than 25 years working in healthcare, nothing could have prepared Kelly for losing her own child.

    Darius lived with epilepsy and died in his sleep from sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) in January 2023. Kelly shares what those first days and months were like, from managing the practical responsibilities that follow a death to facing the quieter moments when the reality of her loss began to settle in.

    She also talks about how her family found ways to continue remembering and celebrating Darius, especially around holidays and meaningful dates. Those experiences helped inspire Kelly to create Timely Presence, a grief support service designed to remind people they haven't been forgotten long after the funeral is over.

    Jill and Kelly discuss why ongoing grief support matters, how uncomfortable people can feel around someone who is grieving, and what friends, family members, and employers can do to offer meaningful support. Kelly shares her approach to showing up for grieving people, including why remembering someone's loved one and simply saying their name can make a difference.

    This conversation is a reminder that grief doesn't end when the funeral is over, and supporting someone through loss isn't just about being there in the beginning. It's about continuing to show up as they learn to live with the absence of someone they love.


    Thetimelypresence.com

    https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-edmondson/

    @the.kellyedmondson on IG


    00:00 Shock of the News

    01:13 Meet Kelly Edmondson

    02:35 A Nurse Becomes the Patient

    04:15 Remembering Darius

    05:45 Understanding SUDEP

    07:45 From Logistics to Silence

    11:47 Mother's Day Turning Point

    13:59 Gifts That Keep Showing Up

    16:03 Building Timely Presence

    17:39 How the Service Works

    21:00 Workplace Grief Support

    23:27 Arise Cohort for Purpose

    24:11 Why Grief Can't Stay Home

    25:18 Holidays and Loss

    26:13 Christmas Trip Ritual

    27:24 Grief Attack and Rescue

    28:51 Reframing Joyful Traditions

    30:14 Avoiding Grief Stagnation

    32:09 Three Rs of Support

    35:34 Learning to Show Up

    39:56 Say Their Name

    43:50 Infant Loss and Future Grief

    46:26 Love Means Loss

    47:01 Where to Find Kelly

    Support the show

    Support the show financially by doing a paid monthly subscription. https://www.buzzsprout.com/2092749/support 

    Subscribe to Seeing Death Clearly and leave a 5-star review if you are enjoying the podcast. 

    Don’t forget to check out my free workbook Living a Better Life. 

    [email protected] 

    https://www.endoflifeclarity.com/end-of-life-planning to learn more about End of Life Care planning and schedule a free 30-minute call.

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    48 min
  • Psychologist Liz Scott on Mortality, Grief, and Living Fully

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    Death is everywhere in movies, television, and the news, yet talking about our own mortality is something many people avoid. Why are we so fascinated by death while also being afraid of it? And could facing the reality of dying help us live more meaningful lives?

    In this episode of Seeing Death Clearly, death doula and funeral celebrant Jill McClennen talks with psychologist and writer Liz Scott, author of You're Going to Die But Not Me, about death anxiety, grief, end-of-life planning, and the complicated emotions that come with facing our mortality.

    Liz shares the personal experiences that shaped her relationship with death, including the loss of her husband at home with hospice care, witnessing her mother's peaceful death despite their difficult relationship, and facing her own breast cancer diagnosis. These experiences challenged her beliefs about dying, what might happen after death, and whether it is possible to move from fear toward acceptance.

    Jill and Liz explore why people often avoid conversations about death, even when they understand the importance of preparing for the end of life. They discuss living wills, the role of death doula work, and how being present with someone who is dying can change the way we think about our own lives.

    They also talk about the simple but meaningful ways we can comfort someone at the end of life, including gentle touch, familiar music, and genuine human connection. Liz shares her interest in panpsychism, the idea that consciousness may be a basic part of the universe, and research into how psychedelics may help reduce the fear of dying, particularly for people facing terminal illness.

    Throughout the conversation, Jill and Liz reflect on grief, healing, legacy, and the idea of memento mori, a reminder that life is temporary. Rather than allowing that awareness to create more fear, they explore how it can encourage conscious living, deeper relationships, and a greater appreciation for ordinary moments.

    This conversation offers an honest, thoughtful, and sometimes humorous look at death, dying, and what it means to be alive. It invites listeners to question their own beliefs, become more comfortable talking about mortality, and consider how accepting the reality of death might help them live more fully.


    00:00 Facing Mortality Fears

    01:07 Meet Liz Scott

    01:53 Obsessed Yet Avoidant

    03:10 Death as a Companion

    04:42 Memento Mori Mindset

    06:05 Death Doula Perspective

    09:40 Loss and Cancer Catalyst

    13:15 Afterlife and Being Good

    15:28 Crisis Support and Growth

    19:27 Choosing Compassion Over Rage

    21:16 Protecting the Kids

    22:06 Why Write About Death

    24:25 Humor at the Bedside

    26:43 Making Death Feel Normal

    30:39 Writing to Reach People

    32:14 Psychedelics and Panpsychism

    35:14 Psychedelic Research and Access

    37:57 Where to Find the Book



    You're Going To Die But Not Me! Book Link https://a.co/d/0e635K3P

    SUBSTACK: https://lizscottwriter.substack.com

    WEBSITE: www.lizscottwriter.com


    Support the show

    Support the show financially by doing a paid monthly subscription. https://www.buzzsprout.com/2092749/support 

    Subscribe to Seeing Death Clearly and leave a 5-star review if you are enjoying the podcast. 

    Don’t forget to check out my free workbook Living a Better Life. 

    [email protected] 

    https://www.endoflifeclarity.com/end-of-life-planning to learn more about End of Life Care planning and schedule a free 30-minute call.

    www.endoflifeclarity.com
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    39 min
  • A Death Doula's Perspective on Grief with Nikki Smith aka Nikki the Death Doula

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    Grief isn't just something we experience when someone dies. It can show up during major life changes, the end of relationships, aging, and losses we may not even recognize as grief. Learning to acknowledge these experiences can help us better understand our emotions and find ways to move through them.

    In this episode of Seeing Death Clearly, host Jill McClennen, a death doula and funeral celebrant, talks with Nikki Smith, also known as Nikki the Death Doula, a death doula and grief coach in Columbus, Ohio.

    Together, they explore the many forms of grief, including pet loss, breakups, perimenopause, empty nesting, and changes in our bodies and identities. They discuss disenfranchised grief, losses that often go unrecognized or unsupported, and the lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including missed milestones, disrupted funerals, and the experiences of healthcare workers.

    Jill and Nikki also talk about anger as a natural part of grieving, why families sometimes struggle when someone they love is dying, and how the media can create unrealistic expectations about death and grief.

    A meaningful part of their conversation focuses on the difference between accepting a loss and simply acknowledging that it is happening. They explore how recognizing the reality of a situation, even when we aren't ready to accept it, can be an important part of healing.

    They also discuss the value of end-of-life planning, how preparing ahead can ease some of the burden on loved ones, and why we can't plan for or control everything that happens at the end of life.


    00:00 Acknowledge Not Accept

    00:16 Meet The Host

    01:21 Introducing Nikki Smith

    02:33 Grief Coaching Training

    03:38 Grief Beyond Death

    04:36 Perimenopause Body Changes

    08:19 Aging And Identity Shifts

    11:25 Disenfranchised Life Grief

    12:45 COVID Assumptive World Loss

    17:00 Anger In Grief

    18:26 Move Anger Through Body

    19:59 Family Conflict And Denial

    22:04 Saying Death Out Loud

    23:40 Denial and Euphemisms

    25:10 Movies vs Real Dying

    26:31 Funerals and Real Grief

    27:49 Good Grief Podcast

    30:16 Fears Dementia and ALS

    31:28 Losing Mom Suddenly

    34:00 Death Planning Limits

    36:39 Talk It Through Family

    39:16 Resources and Wrap Up


    www.nikkithedeathdoula.com

    https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/nikkideathdoula/

    https://www.facebook.com/NikkitheDeathDoula

    My episode with Nikki on her podcast Good Grief https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/nikkideathdoula/episodes/177--Death-Doula-Showdown--My-conversation-with-Jill-of-End-of-Life-Clarity-e3ppe9u/a-acu2iiu

    Support the show

    Support the show financially by doing a paid monthly subscription. https://www.buzzsprout.com/2092749/support 

    Subscribe to Seeing Death Clearly and leave a 5-star review if you are enjoying the podcast. 

    Don’t forget to check out my free workbook Living a Better Life. 

    [email protected] 

    https://www.endoflifeclarity.com/end-of-life-planning to learn more about End of Life Care planning and schedule a free 30-minute call.

    www.endoflifeclarity.com
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    Facebook group End of Life Clarity Circle
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    41 min
  • Caregiving Is an Amateur Business with Sarah Vosburgh

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    In this episode of Seeing Death Clearly, Sarah Vosburg shares the complicated reality of caregiving, grief, memory care, and learning to give herself grace for decisions made during an incredibly difficult time. Caring for a parent with dementia can mean making difficult choices without knowing whether there is a “right” answer.


    Host Jill McClennen, a death doula and funeral celebrant, talks with Sarah, a retired school psychologist and author of Who Will Name the Bees? Sarah cared for her mother as dementia changed their relationship and eventually led to nine difficult months in memory care before her mother died in 2008.


    Sarah shares some of the choices she faced as her mother’s needs changed, including concerns about unsafe driving, questions about her mother’s marriage, hospitalization, medication, and the challenges of navigating memory care. She describes caregiving as an “amateur business,” because families are often expected to make life-changing decisions without training or a clear roadmap.


    After her mother died, Sarah began writing down memories that came to her during the night. Those memories eventually became a memoir weaving together caregiving, family history, poetry, grief, and the unusual conversation that inspired the book’s title.


    Jill and Sarah also talk about caregiver burnout, loneliness, healing after caregiving ends, and the role writing can play in preserving a person’s legacy. Their conversation connects with many of the questions found in death doula work and end-of-life planning: how families care for one another through dying and loss, how grief changes over time, and how facing mortality can become part of conscious living.


    Sarah’s story is a reminder that caregiving rarely comes with perfect answers—and sometimes healing begins with looking back at what happened with a little more grace.



    00:00 Feeling Less Alone

    00:17 Meet the Host and Guest

    01:46 Sarah’s Background

    02:36 Why Name the Bees

    06:22 Beekeeping Lore and Loss

    08:43 Turning Grief Into a Memoir

    11:34 Writing Process and Structure

    15:54 Publishing and Timeline

    16:19 Cancer, Chemo, and Dementia

    18:24 Memory Care and Hard Decisions

    23:35 Caregiving Frustrations

    24:59 Memory Care Failures

    26:33 Grace and Hindsight

    27:33 Audiobook Family Voices

    28:21 Taking Away the Keys

    31:11 Stop Arguing Dementia

    33:28 Panini Generation Pressure

    36:37 Caregiver Burnout and Loneliness

    38:44 Finding Yourself Again

    41:22 Book Links and Bee Names

    43:07 Closing Thanks and Time


    https://www.sarahvosburgh.com

    whowillnamethebees.com



    Support the show

    Support the show financially by doing a paid monthly subscription. https://www.buzzsprout.com/2092749/support 

    Subscribe to Seeing Death Clearly and leave a 5-star review if you are enjoying the podcast. 

    Don’t forget to check out my free workbook Living a Better Life. 

    [email protected] 

    https://www.endoflifeclarity.com/end-of-life-planning to learn more about End of Life Care planning and schedule a free 30-minute call.

    www.endoflifeclarity.com
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    45 min
  • Bringing Dying Back Into the Community with Hannah Fowler

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    What could end-of-life care look like if caring for people who are dying became more of a community responsibility?


    In this episode, Jill talks with nurse Hannah Fowler about small, community-based homes for people at the end of life and the role these spaces can play for people who may not have family, caregivers, or a safe place to die.


    Hannah shares how her work in nursing and hospice eventually brought her to the Center for Conscious Living & Dying in Asheville, now called Emberlight. She and Jill talk about the value of keeping these homes small and rooted in their communities, as well as Jill’s involvement in creating a similar three-bed home in Philadelphia.


    They also get into some of the harder questions surrounding this work. How do death doulas charge for care when so much of what they provide is presence, time, reassurance, and education? 


    Why are some hospice organizations hesitant to work alongside doulas, while others are finding ways to collaborate?


    Hannah shares some of what she learned from being part of a community caring for people who were dying, including how the model supported not only residents, but volunteers, caregivers, and hospice professionals.


    The conversation also explores the personal side of doing this work—trauma, triggers, boundaries, shadow work, and the ways being close to death can bring us face-to-face with parts of ourselves we may otherwise avoid.


    Hannah now brings these experiences into her work through the School of the Red Skywalker, where she offers community circles, mentorship, education, and leadership support focused on creating healthier ways of caring for ourselves and one another.



    00:00 Letting Go of Perfection

    01:26 Meet Hannah Faller

    02:47 Starting a Community Home

    04:33 Charging for Presence

    08:28 Emberlight Model

    10:13 Hospice and Doula Bridge

    11:59 Volunteer Firekeeping Care

    16:25 Overnight Staffing Reality

    18:57 Building Volunteer Community

    20:09 Finding Connection and Belonging

    22:13 Separation and Meaning

    23:58 Shadow Work at Bedside

    25:08 Death as Catalyst

    27:39 Triggers and Limits

    29:29 Loving Activation

    31:11 Bridging Spirit and Shadow

    33:29 Choosing Hard Experiences

    37:06 Adaptations and Integration

    38:34 Witnessing Without Judgment

    39:35 Numbing and Forgiveness

    41:49 Red Skywalker Offerings

    44:16 Ripple Effects and Rebuilding

    46:53 Ways to Work Together

    48:00 Closing Thanks and Ripples


     https://www.redskywalker.school

    [email protected]



    Support the show

    Support the show financially by doing a paid monthly subscription. https://www.buzzsprout.com/2092749/support 

    Subscribe to Seeing Death Clearly and leave a 5-star review if you are enjoying the podcast. 

    Don’t forget to check out my free workbook Living a Better Life. 

    [email protected] 

    https://www.endoflifeclarity.com/end-of-life-planning to learn more about End of Life Care planning and schedule a free 30-minute call.

    www.endoflifeclarity.com
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    Facebook group End of Life Clarity Circle
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    49 min
  • The Psychology of Dying with Dr. Anya Schultz

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    In this episode of Seeing Death Clearly, I talk with psychology professor Dr. Anya Schultz, who teaches a course on the Psychology of Death and Dying. Her classroom gives students permission to explore subjects many of us are taught to avoid, often leading them to question their assumptions about death, grief, funerals, and what it means to say goodbye.

    Anya shares some of the exercises she uses with her students, including writing goodbye letters, imagining their own deaths, creating funeral programs and eulogies, and using the Go Wish card game to think about what matters most at the end of life.

    We also talk about the expectations we place on grief and how easily those expectations can make someone wonder whether they are grieving “correctly.” Our conversation expands beyond death to the many other losses we experience throughout life—changes in relationships, identity, health, roles, and the future we thought we would have.

    We explore why children benefit from honest, age-appropriate conversations about death rather than being completely shielded from it, and how the language adults use can shape a child’s understanding of loss.

    Anya also shares how her own experiences with caregiving, motherhood, illness, and having a daughter with cystic fibrosis have influenced the way she approaches death and uncertainty.

    Throughout our conversation, we come back to something at the heart of Seeing Death Clearly: talking openly about death isn’t only about preparing for the end of life. It can help us better understand loss and change, show up for the people we love, and think more intentionally about how we want to live while we’re here.

    00:00 Societal Grief Scripts

    00:18 Podcast Setup and Guest

    02:26 Inside the Death and Dying Class

    03:57 Aha Moments and Goodbye Letters

    07:12 Real Feelings Versus Expectations

    12:18 Grief Beyond Death

    14:18 Talking to Kids About Death

    17:52 Parenting With Illness Reality

    22:15 Avoidance Religion and Meaning

    26:39 Celebrating Life at Funerals

    27:44 Why Rituals Matter

    28:46 Funerals Are Evolving

    29:38 Living Wakes and Parties

    31:17 Grief Before Death

    34:12 Caregiving Reality Check

    35:55 Finding Beauty in Death

    37:57 Life Cycles and Seasons

    39:39 Students Plan Their Funerals

    42:46 Death and Rebirth Meditation

    45:38 Fears About the Process

    46:43 Caregiver Worries and Illness

    48:02 Closing and Contact Info


    [email protected]

    Support the show

    Support the show financially by doing a paid monthly subscription. https://www.buzzsprout.com/2092749/support 

    Subscribe to Seeing Death Clearly and leave a 5-star review if you are enjoying the podcast. 

    Don’t forget to check out my free workbook Living a Better Life. 

    [email protected] 

    https://www.endoflifeclarity.com/end-of-life-planning to learn more about End of Life Care planning and schedule a free 30-minute call.

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    50 min
  • The Stories We Carry After Someone Dies with Steve Beal Sr.

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    In this episode of Seeing Death Clearly, I’m joined by writer and father of six Steve Beal Sr. for a conversation about family stories, grief, faith, and what we can learn when we take the time to really listen to the people who came before us.

    Steve shares how traveling with his mother to New Brunswick, Canada, to visit aging relatives eventually led him to begin recording the stories and experiences that would become a book about family, memory, and what he calls “generation jumping”, intentionally connecting with older generations and preserving their stories before they are lost.

    We talk about what happened when Steve brought his aunt back to the family farm and how being in that familiar place brought memories and stories back to the surface. We also talk about the stories our relatives tell over and over, why those repetitions can mean something different after someone dies, and how laughter and grief can exist right alongside each other.

    Steve and I also discuss what our children learn by watching us care for aging family members, the importance of making room for deeper conversations, and the awareness that we don’t always have as much time with the people we love as we think we do.

    Faith is also an important part of Steve’s story. He shares how Christian hope has shaped the way he understands death and grief, including his experiences with family funerals, while still leaving room for the sadness and mourning that come with losing someone we love.

    At the heart of our conversation is something simple: ask the questions, listen to the stories, spend the time, and pay attention to the people you love while they are still here.


    00:00 Intentionality Matters

    00:15 Meet Jill and Steve

    02:52 How the Book Began

    05:39 New Brunswick Roots

    06:46 From Sports to Spirit

    10:43 Publishing and Purpose

    14:04 Taking Elders Home

    19:13 Hope and Grief

    22:20 Grandmother Funeral Memory

    23:34 Hymns and Poetry

    24:23 Celebration Amid Loss

    25:23 Laughs at Funerals

    26:04 Bible on Grief

    28:05 Dad’s Wake Stories

    31:34 Record Family History

    33:21 Modeling Care for Elders

    36:26 Questions for Grammy

    41:07 Nature and God Connection

    44:25 Where to Find Steve



    Blog: 1inawesomewonder.com

    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SteveBealSr

    Substack: https://substack.com/@inhumbleadoration

    Generation Jumping on Amazon: https://a.co/d/09QBc3on



    Support the show

    Support the show financially by doing a paid monthly subscription. https://www.buzzsprout.com/2092749/support 

    Subscribe to Seeing Death Clearly and leave a 5-star review if you are enjoying the podcast. 

    Don’t forget to check out my free workbook Living a Better Life. 

    [email protected] 

    https://www.endoflifeclarity.com/end-of-life-planning to learn more about End of Life Care planning and schedule a free 30-minute call.

    www.endoflifeclarity.com
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    46 min
  • Losing a Sister and Learning to Live With Loss with Lila Glasoe Francese

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    When Lila Glasoe Francese’s sister Carolyn was diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2015, life changed quickly. Carolyn underwent surgeries and a trial treatment before dying 13 months later at just 46 years old, leaving behind a seven-year-old son and a family learning how to live with an enormous loss.

    In this episode of Seeing Death Clearly, Lila joins death doula and funeral celebrant Jill McClennen for a conversation about what grief actually looks like over time, not as something we simply move through and leave behind, but as something that continues to become part of our lives.

    Lila shares what it was like to lose her sister, help raise Carolyn’s son, and redefine what family looked like alongside her husband and brother-in-law. Now, a decade after Carolyn’s death, grief can still appear unexpectedly through milestones, memories, scents, songs, and other reminders that bring the past immediately into the present.

    Jill and Lila also talk about our culture’s discomfort with sadness and the pressure people can feel to be “okay” after loss. They explore why we need more honest conversations about illness, dying, caregiving, and grief and the importance of finding the people who are willing to show up and help when life becomes overwhelming.

    Writing became one of the ways Lila processed her own experience. What began with journaling eventually grew into her books, The Situation: A Radical Journey Through Sisterhood and Life Amplified: The Search for Resilience After Loss. Sharing her story also opened the door for other people to share losses they had been carrying, demonstrating how storytelling can create connections around experiences that are often kept private.

    The conversation also explores legacy, community, family, and what loss can teach us about the things we spend our lives accumulating compared with the people and relationships that ultimately matter most.

    At the heart of this episode is something Jill has learned through many conversations with guests over the years: grief doesn’t simply end. We learn how to carry what we’ve lost while continuing to live, love, connect, and make meaning in the life that is still here.


    00:00 Grief Changes You

    01:51 Meet Lila and Her Story

    02:27 Glioblastoma and Writing Through Loss

    06:44 Sharing Stories Heals

    11:00 Triggers and Sense Memories

    15:17 Milestones Without Her

    19:21 Redefining Family After Loss

    23:05 Find the Helpers

    26:58 Honest End of Life Talk

    36:49 Living Fully and Letting Go

    37:22 Stuff vs People

    42:51 Books and Closing Thoughts



    https://www.amazon.com/Situation-Radical-Journey-Thru-Sisterhood

    https://www.instagram.com/lifeamplifiedbook/

    https://lifeamplifiedbook.com/the-situation-a-radical-journey-thru-sisterhood/

    Support the show

    Support the show financially by doing a paid monthly subscription. https://www.buzzsprout.com/2092749/support 

    Subscribe to Seeing Death Clearly and leave a 5-star review if you are enjoying the podcast. 

    Don’t forget to check out my free workbook Living a Better Life. 

    [email protected] 

    https://www.endoflifeclarity.com/end-of-life-planning to learn more about End of Life Care planning and schedule a free 30-minute call.

    www.endoflifeclarity.com
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    Facebook group End of Life Clarity Circle
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    46 min
  • Death Doulas and Hospice Nurses Talk Caregiving Community and Conscious Dying with Trish Rux and Jan Booth

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    In this episode of Seeing Death Clearly, I’m joined by hospice nurses and end-of-life doulas Jan Booth and Trish Rux, authors of Dying Matters: Eight Conversations That Can Change Your Life.

    We talk about why conversations about serious illness, caregiving, and end-of-life wishes need to begin long before a crisis. Through their years of hospice and palliative care experience, Jan and Trish have seen how often families find themselves making difficult decisions without having talked about what matters most to the person they love.

    We explore why end-of-life planning is about much more than completing an advance directive. It’s also about understanding our values, thinking about who will care for us, talking honestly with the people in our lives, and building the support we may need as circumstances change.

    Jan and Trish also share how their experiences as nurses led them into death doula work and why doulas can be valuable guides during serious illness, not only during the final days of life. We talk about the continued confusion surrounding hospice and death doula care and why, even after decades of hospice, our culture still struggles to talk openly about dying.

    A big part of our conversation centers on community and caregiving. We discuss how isolated caregiving can become and what it might look like to rebuild circles of support around people who are seriously ill and their caregivers. We talk about practical approaches such as Share the Care, along with my own experience helping organize around-the-clock community support for someone who was dying.

    And, as so often happens on this podcast, a conversation about death becomes a conversation about life. Jan, Trish, and I talk about how facing our mortality can help us become clearer about what matters, strengthen our relationships, express gratitude and forgiveness, and have important conversations while we still have the opportunity to have them.

    Their book, Dying Matters, offers eight practical, heart-centered conversations designed to help individuals, families, caregivers, and communities begin talking about serious illness, caregiving, grief, loss, legacy, and the end of life before a crisis forces those conversations to happen.



    00:00 Life Skills for Dying

    00:19 Meet the Guests

    01:39 Jan’s Hospice Journey

    03:38 Trish’s Parallel Path

    04:17 Why Change Is Slow

    08:28 Beyond Advance Directives

    10:26 Serious Illness Doula Role

    14:01 Rebuilding Care Communities

    16:30 Care Circle in Practice

    23:35 Share the Care Model

    25:10 Why Community Is Hard

    32:13 Book and Discussion Guide

    34:47 Mortality as Motivation

    39:01 Resources and Where to Find

    41:25 Closing and Next Steps



    [email protected]

    deathdoulas.com

    https://bookshop.org/p/books/dying-matters-8-conversations-that-can-change-your-life/cf554f4ee1eb868f

    Support the show

    Support the show financially by doing a paid monthly subscription. https://www.buzzsprout.com/2092749/support 

    Subscribe to Seeing Death Clearly and leave a 5-star review if you are enjoying the podcast. 

    Don’t forget to check out my free workbook Living a Better Life. 

    [email protected] 

    https://www.endoflifeclarity.com/end-of-life-planning to learn more about End of Life Care planning and schedule a free 30-minute call.

    www.endoflifeclarity.com
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    43 min
  • The Real Cost of Care: Planning for Long-Term Care and Caregiving with Raymond Lavine

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    Today, I’m joined by long-term care specialist Raymond Lavine for a conversation about something many of us don’t think about until we’re already in the middle of it: how we’re going to manage and pay for care as we get older.

    Raymond and I talk about what long-term care actually means. It isn’t necessarily medical care. It can be help with bathing, dressing, eating, getting to appointments, moving safely through your home, or managing the everyday tasks that allow you to continue living your life.

    We also talk about what happens when there hasn’t been a plan in place and family members suddenly become caregivers. Caregiving can have an emotional, physical, and financial impact, especially when everyone is trying to make decisions in the middle of a crisis.

    Raymond shares three important questions he believes we should all consider when thinking about our future care: Where do you want to receive care? Who do you want to provide it? And how will you pay for it?

    We talk about why those questions are much easier to answer before care is actually needed, as well as some of the assumptions people make about what Medicare, Medicaid, or other programs will cover.

    Raymond also explains long-term care insurance, how it differs from disability insurance, what typically qualifies someone to begin receiving benefits, and why waiting until you need care can mean you've waited too long to explore some of your options.

    But preparing for long-term care isn't only about buying insurance. It can also mean looking at whether your home will work for you as you age, organizing important documents, sharing passwords and account information with someone you trust, talking with the people who may eventually be involved in your care, and making your wishes known.

    Raymond also shares some of his own family's experiences with long-term care and how those experiences have shaped the work he does today.

    This conversation is ultimately about giving ourselves and the people we love more choices. We can't predict exactly what our later years will look like, but we can think ahead about what matters to us and make a plan before a crisis makes those decisions for us.

    If this episode has you thinking about your own future care, I offer end-of-life care planning sessions to help you think through your wishes, organize the practical pieces, and have these conversations with the people who matter to you. You can visit my website to learn more or schedule a complimentary call.


    00:00 Why Plan Ahead

    00:22 Meet The Host

    01:55 Raymond’s Backstory

    03:56 Why Long Term Care

    08:07 Insure Yourself First

    09:58 What Caregiving Means

    11:13 Three Key Questions

    17:15 Planning Beyond Insurance

    21:02 Government Isn’t Guaranteed

    22:39 When To Buy Coverage

    27:31 Real Costs And Family Stories

    30:06 How Policies Pay Out

    33:07 Disability Vs Long Term Care

    36:23 Where Raymond Works

    38:48 Tools And Life Skills

    41:04 Closing And Next Steps



    Raymond's web portal:  www.lavineltcins.com

    Social Media: 

    a. https://www.youtube.com/@RaymondLavine

    b. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ltc-benefits

    c. https://substack.com/@raymondlavine1

    Raymond Lavine

    Lavine: LTC Benefits

    Telephone or Text message: 253.275.6091

    www.lavineltcins.com

    Video: https://raymondlavineofficial.com



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    Support the show financially by doing a paid monthly subscription. https://www.buzzsprout.com/2092749/support 

    Subscribe to Seeing Death Clearly and leave a 5-star review if you are enjoying the podcast. 

    Don’t forget to check out my free workbook Living a Better Life. 

    [email protected] 

    https://www.endoflifeclarity.com/end-of-life-planning to learn more about End of Life Care planning and schedule a free 30-minute call.

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    43 min

About Seeing Death Clearly

From the publisher's feed

Seeing Death Clearly is a show that challenges you to think about your beliefs about death, dying, grief, and living life. I am your host, Jill McClennen, a death doula and end-of-life coach. As a…

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