Seeing Death Clearly

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In this episode of Seeing Death Clearly, I’m joined by end-of-life doula Sonja Koenig for a conversation about grief, family, advocacy, and what it really means to prepare for the end of life.

Much of Sonja’s perspective has been shaped by the death of her brother Juan, a Marine who lived with serious health challenges for 16 years, including kidney failure, dialysis, COPD, and heart problems. During his final hospitalization, Sonja and her mother found themselves advocating for his care while also trying to make important decisions and complete documents that should ideally have been addressed long before a crisis.

After Juan died, Sonja was confronted with another difficult reality: how much had been left unfinished. Important paperwork, personal wishes, financial matters, and other details still needed attention at a time when the family was already grieving.

That experience reinforced something Sonja now emphasizes in her work: end-of-life planning isn’t only for people who are elderly, seriously ill, or actively dying. Preparing ahead of time can make an enormous difference for the people we leave behind.

We talk about practical steps such as organizing important documents, discussing healthcare wishes, completing advance directives, and making sure the people you trust know where to find the information they may someday need. Sonja also shares ideas for legacy planning, including writing letters or creating videos that allow loved ones to hold onto stories, memories, and messages long after someone is gone.

Our conversation also explores Sonja’s changing relationship with death and grief, including how the death of a close friend helped her begin seeing death as a natural part of life rather than something to avoid talking about.

We discuss how children experience grief, including Sonja’s experience supporting her young nephew after Juan’s death, and why honest, age-appropriate conversations can help children understand loss rather than leaving them to make sense of it on their own.

Sonja also shares the work behind her “R U Ready? Prepare With Purpose” program, which encourages individuals and families to begin these conversations and organize their affairs before an emergency forces them to.

Ultimately, this episode is a reminder that preparing for death isn’t about expecting the worst. It’s about making our wishes known, reducing uncertainty, preserving what matters to us, and making things a little easier for the people we love when the time comes.

00:00 Facing Death Honestly

00:18 Meet the Host and Guest

01:32 Sonja’s Life and Family

03:13 Gardening as Healing

03:53 From Fear to Calling

10:17 Bugs Boundaries and Nature

17:44 Juan’s Illness Story

19:10 Getting Affairs in Order

22:30 Advocacy at the Hospital

25:29 Aftermath and R U Ready

26:36 Purpose Through Loss

29:28 Missing the Family Chef

32:52 Helping a Child Grieve

38:33 Legacy Beyond Money

40:45 Normalize End of Life Planning

43:54 Premarital Planning Gap

45:42 Book and Course Details

50:31 Final Resources and Farewell

eolcareinstitute.org

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Amazon END OF LIFE PEACE OF MIND FOR YOUR FAMILY: LEAVE A LEGACY YOUR FAMILY WILL REMEMBER https://a.co/d/00YVI7rD

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

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In this episode of Seeing Death Clearly, death doula and funeral celebrant Jill McClennen talks with life coach, author, and publisher Mia Godfrey about what it means to rebuild your life after profound loss. Mia's story is one of resilience, but it isn't a story of "getting over" grief. Instead, it's about learning to carry loss while continuing to move forward.

Mia shares what it was like growing up in communist Romania, losing her father as a young adult, and struggling with alcohol and prescription pills as she tried to cope with overwhelming grief. She reflects on meeting her late husband during a mission trip, moving to the United States, and the devastating shock of becoming a widow at just 35 years old when he died unexpectedly from heat stroke at the age of 42.

The conversation also explores Mia's experience caring for her sister during an 11-month battle with ovarian cancer before her death in 2023. That loss eventually led Mia to begin therapy, opening another chapter in her own healing journey. Together, Jill and Mia discuss how grief changes throughout our lives, why every loss is different, and how support can come from unexpected places.

Throughout the episode, they explore the importance of community, the courage it takes to ask for help, and why comparing grief only creates more suffering. Mia shares how writing became part of her healing process, eventually leading her and her husband to start Scribble Pages Publishing, where they help others tell their own stories and preserve their legacies.

Jill and Mia also talk about caregiving, self-care, holding space for someone who is grieving without trying to fix their pain, and why conversations about death and end-of-life planning are ultimately conversations about love. They discuss the value of legacy work, preparing loved ones for the future, and creating meaning even after life's most difficult experiences.

Whether you've experienced the death of a spouse, parent, sibling, or another significant loss—or you're supporting someone who has—this episode offers compassionate insights into grief, resilience, healing, and finding hope after unimaginable change.

00:00 Grief Is Personal

01:30 Meet Jill And Mia

02:13 Sudden Loss Of Husband

04:57 Faith And Community Support

06:39 Starting Over Alone

13:19 Father Loss And Addiction

18:34 Orphanage Work And Education

19:28 New Life In America

21:33 Caring For Sister

23:37 Remarriage And Blended Family

26:10 Sister Loss Grief

27:29 Therapy To Book

28:52 Self Publishing Journey

29:53 Writing Routine Evolution

30:15 Books Two And Three

31:51 Lessons From Grief

35:05 Holding Space Better

38:42 Wellness Coaching Focus

42:02 Retreats And Courses

43:18 Where To Find Mia

44:08 Publishing Others Next

46:01 Unexpected Global Readers

47:21 Caregiver Self-Care

48:47 Podcast Closing Call

https://www.instagram.com/miagodfreyauthor/

https://www.amazon.com/Buried-Not-Broken-Survival-Sisterhood/dp/B0G6Y12J29

miagodfrey.com

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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. 

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When someone dies, the grief is only part of what families are carrying. Along with the emotional pain often comes a long list of decisions, paperwork, phone calls, family dynamics, and practical tasks that can feel impossible to manage while you're mourning. 

In this episode of Seeing Death Clearly, death doula and funeral celebrant Jill McClennen talks with Sarah Baldwin, founder of Restfully, about why navigating loss shouldn't have to be so overwhelming and how better support can help people focus on what matters most.

Sarah shares the deeply personal experience that inspired Restfully. After her mother died from lung cancer, she found herself facing the same confusing and fragmented system that so many families encounter after a death. Although her mother's death had been expected, nothing truly prepared her for the emotional weight or the practical responsibilities that followed. Drawing on her background in finance and operations, Sarah realized there had to be a better way to connect people with trustworthy resources during one of the most difficult times of their lives.

Together, Jill and Sarah explore the reality that grief doesn't begin only after someone dies. 

Anticipatory grief can be just as profound, and even when families know a death is coming, they often feel unprepared for everything that follows. They discuss how logistical demands—finding hospice, planning a funeral, cleaning out a home, managing paperwork, or coordinating services—can leave little room to simply grieve.

A major focus of the conversation is the importance of personalized grief support. Sarah explains Restfully's four grief personas—Open Heart, Quiet Anchor, Steady Hand, and Seeker—and how each reflects a different way people process loss and seek help. Rather than assuming everyone grieves the same way, these personas encourage a more compassionate, individualized approach to communication and support.

Sarah also shares how Restfully is expanding beyond educational resources into practical tools designed to make help easier to find. The platform is developing a vetted vendor directory and a "solution database" that allows people to search by the problem they're trying to solve—whether they need a funeral home, hospice provider, death doula, estate attorney, home cleanout service, grief counselor, or another type of support. They also discuss scholarship opportunities and other efforts to make these services more accessible to people who might otherwise struggle to afford them.

The conversation touches on the challenges of building a mission-driven business in the end-of-life space. Sarah talks openly about balancing the desire to provide meaningful support with the realities of sustaining an organization financially. Jill and Sarah also discuss how grief often shows up in unexpected ways, including anger expressed online, family conflict, or emotional reactions that may not immediately be recognized as grief at all.

Throughout the episode, both emphasize that there is no single "right" way to grieve. People need different kinds of information, different kinds of support, and different timing. Meeting people where they are—with practical resources, compassion, and without judgment—can make an enormous difference during one of life's hardest experiences.

Whether you're planning ahead, supporting someone who is seriously ill, grieving the loss of a loved one, or simply interested in improving end-of-life care, this conversation offers thoughtful insights into making death and grief a little less overwhelming and a lot more human.

00:00 Death Connects Us

01:21 Meet Sarah Baldwin

02:15 What Is Restfully

02:49 Why She Started

05:55 Losing Her Mom

08:43 Clearing Space To Grieve

09:36 Unexpected Logistics Stress

12:27 Building The Team

13:21 Four Grief Personas

17:14 How The Personas Formed

20:37 Sitting With Unknowns

22:55 Death Work And Cultural Shift

25:27 Evolving Doula Roles

26:59 Grief Fuels Online Anger

31:40 Personal Grief and Triggers

34:05 Breaking Comment Loops

37:14 Rounding Up on People

39:15 Charging for Care Work

42:17 Restfully Solution Database

48:32 Where to Find Sarah

49:24 End of Life Planning Offer

https://www.restfullycare.com/

https://www.restfullycare.com/grief-personas

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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. 

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Death doesn't have to be a taboo topic. In this episode of Seeing Death Clearly, death doula and funeral celebrant Jill McClennen is joined by Annalouiza Armendariz and Wakil  David Matthews, interfaith ordained ministers and co-hosts of the End of Life Conversations podcast.

Together, they explore how talking openly about death, dying, and grief can reduce fear, strengthen communities, and help people make more informed decisions about the end of life. Drawing from their work in funeral service, spiritual care, education, and end-of-life support, Annalouiza and Wakil  share practical insights into preparing for death while also reflecting on the emotional, spiritual, and social aspects of living well.

The conversation covers a wide range of topics, including advance care planning, hospice, advance directives, medical aid in dying (MAID), voluntarily stopping eating and drinking (VSED), grief, caregiving, and the growing need for stronger community support. They also discuss the unique challenges faced by people who are aging or dying without close family, why affordable end-of-life support is often difficult to access, and how mutual aid and neighborhood connections can help fill those gaps.

Jill, Annalouiza, and Wakil also talk about teaching children to speak honestly about death, the importance of using clear language instead of euphemisms, and why normalizing these conversations benefits people of every age. They don't shy away from subjects that are often avoided, including the physical realities of dying, mental health, caregiver burnout, and the ways fear and silence can make the dying process more difficult for everyone involved.

Whether you're planning ahead, supporting someone who is seriously ill, working in healthcare, or simply curious about how we can approach death with greater openness and compassion, this episode offers thoughtful perspectives and practical ideas that can help make these conversations feel less overwhelming.

Talking about death won't make it happen sooner—but avoiding the conversation can leave families unprepared. By planning ahead, building community, and learning to have honest conversations, we can reduce anxiety, support one another more effectively, and ultimately live with greater intention.

00:00 Compassionate Caregiving

00:15 Meet the Hosts

01:57 How Their Podcast Began

03:35 Podcasting Lessons Learned

05:13 The Many Hats They Wear

07:07 Planning Class and Nonprofit

08:44 Aging Alone and Affordability

11:30 Rebuilding Community Support

13:23 What to Say in Grief

15:14 Saying Death Out Loud

19:53 Raising Death Literate Kids

23:17 Narcan and Hard Talks

24:44 Mental Health and MAID

28:18 Disability and MAID Ethics

30:55 Dying as Sacred Process

31:55 Caregiving Over Numbing

34:32 Hospice Story and Anxiety

38:29 Shame and Everybody Poops

43:54 Facilities and Community Options

47:29 Legal Risks and Compassion

49:01 Wrap Up and Resources

50:19 End of Life Planning CTA

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https://endoflifeconvos.substack.com/

https://www.jaguar-journey.com/

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

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Host Jill McClennen, a death doula and funeral celebrant, speaks with Northern California end-of-life doula Lori Goldwyn about death doula work, grief, and end-of-life planning. Lori explains how childhood fear of death, her background in women’s health, and her mother’s death in 2010 moved her from birth doula work into hospice volunteering and then end-of-life doula care after training with INELDA in 2016. 

They discuss parallels between birth and dying, how advance directives can be hard to follow during medical crises, and the emotional weight of decisions like intubation and life support. 

Lori shares her first experience supporting a medical aid in dying (MAID) client, including the complex medication process and her initial guilt, and both emphasize informed choice, compassionate support, and the need to relieve families from managing these intense moments alone.

00:00 Families Shouldn’t Carry This

00:12 Meet Your Host and Guest

01:33 Lori’s Path to Doula Work

04:39 Birth and Death Parallels

08:09 When Plans Meet Reality

12:17 God’s Will and Medical Choices

15:49 VSED and Family Conflict

18:30 First MAID Client Story

22:05 MAID Protocols and Stress

24:10 Why Families Hire Support

25:23 Reaching Prescribing Doctors

26:00 Doula Credibility Gap

28:32 Questions Patients Should Ask

29:57 Why Doulas Fill Gaps

31:58 MAID Timing Pressures

33:17 First MAID Case Lessons

35:26 Aftercare and Adrenaline

38:02 Teamwork and Pricing

40:22 Making Doula Work Sustainable

47:45 Wrap Up and Resources

48:34 Vacation and Planning Offer

https://MorituriDoulaServices.com 

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61567692093960 

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Death doula and funeral celebrant Jill McClennen hosts Philadelphia-based medical historian Brandon Zimmerman to discuss his 2024 book, “Dissection Photography: Cadavers, Abjection, and the Formation of Identity,” about medical students (1880–1930) taking souvenir photos with cadavers and what the images reveal about coping with death through humor, ritual, and discomfort. 

Brandon describes modern cadaver lab realities, including fainting, vomiting, sensory reactions, and students naming cadavers, and contrasts today’s mostly donation-based system with past body procurement through grave robbing and unclaimed bodies. 

They explore ethical issues raised by a recent Pennsylvania grave robbing case tied to the oddities market, cemetery neglect, and stewardship, including how criminalizing ownership of human remains may drive the trade underground. 

00:00 Faith Meets Dissection

02:24 Meet Brandon Zimmerman

03:56 Why Cadaver Photos Existed

04:57 Modern Lab Coping

07:30 Uncanny Dead Body Reactions

10:59 Preservation Changes Anatomy

13:47 Donations Versus Unclaimed

14:53 Naming the Cadavers

17:31 Recognizing Someone You Knew

19:57 Where Bodies Come From

20:59 Unclaimed Lives Honored

24:23 Cremains Lost in Neglect

28:01 Grave Robbing Returns

29:21 Student Dream Photos

32:17 Oddities Market Economics

35:20 Inside the Storage Locker

38:19 Can You Spot Stolen Bones

42:10 Cemetery Laws and Security

45:59 Wrap Up and Book Info

46:57 Grave Robbing History Deep Dive

https://www.instagram.com/brandozim/

https://www.amazon.com/Dissection-Photography-Cadavers-Abjection-Formation/dp/1529222184

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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. 

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Jill McClennen, a death doula and funeral celebrant, hosts Seeing Death Clearly and talks with Ralf Ellervee about preserving life stories as a lasting legacy that supports grief, healing, and conscious living. Ralph shares how interviewing his grandfather—an Estonian surgeon deported to Siberia at age nine—showed him how easily memories can be lost, especially with dementia, serious illness, or unexpected death. 

He explains why long audio recordings often go unused, while a printed book with photos becomes a timeless keepsake families reread and pass down. Ralph describes how his company, Ethos Books (ethosbook.co), evolved from in-person interviews and writers into an app that guides storytelling, lets users skip or edit answers, and can use AI to identify old photos and add context. 

Jill also connects this work to her funeral and end-of-life planning conversations, and offers a complimentary 30-minute call for support.

00:00 You Die Twice

01:56 Meet Ralph Ellervee

03:34 Grandfather’s Siberia Story

04:59 School Project Spark

07:20 Why Books Beat Audio

09:23 Hard Memories Matter

12:28 From Service to App

15:06 Don’t Wait for Dementia

18:00 Family Voices Together

21:43 Photos and AI Context

24:59 Timeless Power of Books

29:05 Every Life Matters

32:19 Stories at End of Life

37:20 Legacy and Second Death

41:16 Where to Find Ethos

42:03 Closing and Next Steps

 Homepage: http://ethoslifestories.com/

 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theethosbook

 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ethos.book/

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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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On Seeing Death Clearly, death doula and funeral celebrant Jill McClennen speaks with transpersonal psychologist Dr. Irene Blinston about her research on grief healing, consciousness, and paranormal encounter experiences. Blinston explains the psychomanteum—an environment of darkness, quiet, sensory reduction, and angled mirror gazing originally developed by Dr. Raymond Moody—where grieving participants try to connect with deceased loved ones and become their own medium. 

She outlines the three-phase, single-session process (preparation with mementos, up to 60 minutes mirror gazing, and debrief), eligibility screening to avoid harm, and reports that 92% of 100 analyzed participants had reduced grief symptoms that lasted over time. Participants described voices, touch, smells, and rare apparitions, including a major transformation in a mother with prolonged grief. 

Blinston also discusses her research on childhood religious apparitions, parallels with near-death and UFO encounter themes, and shares where to find her book and resources.

00:00 Grief Contact Breakthrough

00:16 Show Intro and Guest

01:37 What Is a Psychomanteum

03:55 Who Can Participate

06:36 Three Phase Session

09:02 Debrief and Results

11:17 Apparitions Voices and Senses

15:30 Life Changing Case Stories

18:26 Access and Availability Today

20:23 Certification and Wider Uses

22:24 Consciousness Beyond Death

23:40 Mediumship and Timelines

25:03 Grid of Collective Mind

27:01 Doctoral Apparition Research

30:09 Fatima and UFO Parallels

34:39 Which Religions Appear

37:26 End of Life Visions

39:36 Where to Find Irene

41:46 End of Life Planning Help

https://www.youtube.com/@insearchofgnosis

https://portaltohealinggrief.com

https://freebook.portaltohealinggrief.com/

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In this episode of Seeing Death Clearly, I speak with Lori Rizzo, a death doula in the Philadelphia area, about her transition from corporate leadership and training into end-of-life care. Lori shares how her personal experiences led her to this work and why she has become especially passionate about supporting individuals living with dementia and the people who care for them.

We discuss the challenges many families face after a dementia diagnosis, including stigma, isolation, and the overwhelming amount of information that can be difficult to navigate. Lori explains why education, community support, and early planning can make a meaningful difference for both the person living with dementia and their care partners.

Our conversation also explores common misconceptions about hospice care, including the belief that hospice provides around-the-clock caregiving. Lori emphasizes the importance of having conversations about end-of-life wishes long before a crisis occurs and shares her approach of "hope for the best, plan for the rest" when discussing advance care planning.

We talk about the role of death doulas in supporting individuals and families through serious illness, the dying process, and grief. Lori shares how doulas can help create comforting bedside environments through music, reading, ritual, and meaningful connection, while also offering a calm and steady presence when circumstances don't unfold as expected.

In addition, Lori highlights valuable community resources, including Dementia Friendly Pennsylvania, memory cafés, and support groups that help reduce isolation and build connection for families affected by dementia.

Whether you are caring for someone with dementia, planning ahead for the future, or simply curious about the role of a death doula, this conversation offers practical insights, compassionate guidance, and a reminder that no one has to navigate these experiences alone.

In This Episode We Discuss:

• Lori's journey from corporate leadership to death doula work
• Dementia, stigma, and caregiver isolation
• The importance of early end-of-life conversations
• Common misconceptions about hospice care
• Advance directives and end-of-life planning
• Vigil planning and creating meaningful bedside experiences
• The role of death doulas during serious illness and dying
• Dementia Friendly Pennsylvania, memory cafés, and support groups
• Supporting families through uncertainty, grief, and change

www.compassionatecrossingsdoula.com

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https://www.dementiafriendlypa.org/

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Death doula and funeral celebrant Jill McClennen hosts clinical psychologist Batya Ludman and Jewish educator Gina Junger to discuss their book, The Jewish Journey Through Loss: From Death to Healing, and how Jewish mourning traditions support grief and healing. 

They explain active rituals like shoveling dirt at burial, tearing a ribbon or garment, and sitting shiva as a week-long “permission to grieve,” with visitors bringing food, stories, and support while mourners set the tone. 

They describe stages after shiva, including shloshim and year-long practices, memorial prayers like Mourner’s Kaddish, and customs such as covering mirrors and placing stones on graves. 

They also discuss Chevra Kadisha body preparation, simple burial practices, quick burial, differences between Israel and the diaspora, COVID-era online shiva, and the book’s use for mourners, clinicians, and end-of-life decision-making.

00:00 Shiva Permission to Grieve

00:17 Podcast and Guests Intro

02:52 Why They Wrote the Book

04:10 Jewish Funeral Participation

08:41 Sitting Shiva Explained

11:47 Beyond Shiva Ritual Stages

14:07 Chevra Kadisha and Tahara

18:14 Burying Quickly and Memorials

21:14 Differences by Death and Place

25:40 COVID and Zoom Shiva Etiquette

28:34 Covering Mirrors Meaning

31:33 Who the Book Helps

38:19 End of Life and Children

41:18 Where to Find the Book

44:00 Host Closing and Call to Action

The Jewish Journey Through Loss: From Death to Healing

https://a.co/d/03VvOz5E

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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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