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Funeral director and celebrant Allyse Worland shares how her lifelong passion for funeral service began with a personal tragedy and grew into a calling to help others through death, grief, and healing. With sixteen years of experience, she offers a unique look at what it means to care for both the living and the dead—bringing compassion, artistry, and education to end-of-life care. Her story sheds light on how funeral professionals are embracing change, from eco-friendly green burials to more meaningful, personalized celebrations of life.

Allyse has worked in funeral service since she was fifteen, growing up in a small town in Indiana where community and ritual shaped her values. Today, she is a licensed funeral director, embalmer, restorative artist, and educator who trains others in ethics, compliance, and compassion. She also serves as a funeral celebrant, helping families create personalized ceremonies that honor their loved ones without relying solely on traditional religion.

Her interest in restorative art began when, at nine years old, she saw a family member who had died by suicide and felt deep sadness at how unnatural he looked. That moment inspired her to learn the science and art of restoration, helping families remember their loved ones with dignity.

Allyse also advocates for green burial options and helps families explore “shades of green”—from natural cemeteries and biodegradable caskets to eco-friendly embalming fluids approved by the Green Burial Council. She believes education empowers families to make conscious, sustainable choices about death care.

As a mentor, Allyse encourages new funeral professionals to adapt to changing values around death, dying, and legacy. She teaches that understanding grief, reducing stigma around death by suicide, and celebrating life are essential to modern death care.

After years of nonstop dedication, Allyse now embraces self-care and balance, recognizing that caring for others begins with caring for herself. Her story reflects a powerful truth at the heart of death work: by facing death with love, we learn how to live more consciously.

https://www.rememberingalife.com NFDA's Remembering A Life Website

Have License Will Travel | Continuing Education 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/allyse-worland-cfsp-818109326/

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Funerals in the United States have become unaffordable for many families, often forcing them into debt, fundraising, or unwanted cremations. This episode features Cheri Wallace, who shares a powerful grassroots solution: cemetery societies. By returning to community-based traditions of shared land and collective care, she believes people can reclaim death care in a way that is affordable, sustainable, and rooted in dignity. The conversation highlights how death doulas, grief awareness, and green burial practices are reshaping how we plan for the end of life.

Cheri explains how personal loss and her sister’s struggles inspired her mission. After seeing her sister forced to turn to GoFundMe for burial expenses, Cheri began searching for a solution. Through prayer and research, she realized that communities once managed death care by pooling small contributions to purchase land and create burial grounds. Today, she is reviving this model through nonprofit cemetery societies. These groups form boards, adopt bylaws, and provide affordable burial options without the financial burden of traditional funeral homes.

Her work emphasizes conscious living and dying, as well as legacy planning. Each member can join with as little as $100, ensuring that no one is excluded from having a burial. The societies also embrace ecological responsibility by avoiding embalming, concrete vaults, and costly caskets. Families may choose self-directed funerals or bring in professionals, giving them freedom and flexibility.

Education plays a key role in Cheri’s vision. With support from the Green Burial Council and guidance from death doulas, societies learn how to operate responsibly and sustainably. Grants and petitions are helping expand the effort nationwide, to create 100 cemetery societies in 100 counties led by trained doulas.

This vision challenges the current funeral industry, which often prioritizes profit over people. By encouraging community, creativity, and healing, Cheri offers a way to honor loved ones while reducing financial strain. Instead of debt and stress, families can invest in meaningful memorials, gardens, or community spaces. It is a return to simple, compassionate death care that empowers individuals to reclaim their right to die with dignity.

https://letsbetrees.org

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In this special episode of Seeing Death Clearly, Jill reflects on three years of deep conversations about death, dying, grief, and living fully. As the podcast enters its fourth year, Jill shares what she’s learned from her incredible guests — from Holocaust survivors to hospice workers, death doulas, authors, and more.

She talks about how the podcast has evolved, the lessons it’s taught her, and the moments that have touched her deeply. Jill shares stories that moved her, guests who changed her perspective, and the surprising ways this work has impacted her life.

This episode is a heartfelt thank-you to listeners and guests, and an invitation to be part of the journey ahead. Jill also shares ways you can support the podcast and invites you to connect, share ideas, and even suggest guests you’d love to hear again.

Whether you’ve been with the podcast since the beginning or are just discovering it now, this episode is a celebration of connection, curiosity, and courage.

Email: [email protected]

Facebook: End of Life Clarity

Join the End of Life Clarity Circle Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/16utkrMass/

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Grief can change the course of a life, and for Jason Tuttle, it became both a personal journey and a calling to help others. As a father and caregiver, he lived through the daily realities of hospital stays, medical decisions, and profound loss. After the death of his son in January 2022, Jason began to share his experiences with grief, end-of-life planning, and conscious living as a way to heal and to guide others through their own journeys.

Jason and his wife were in their twenties when their first son was born with Eagle-Barrett syndrome, a rare condition that required weeks in the NICU. Over time, both of their children developed severe developmental delays and epilepsy, and Jason became the full-time medical caregiver. He spent nearly every hospital day at their sides, balancing hope with the hard truths of illness. When his son died, grief came in waves of anger, isolation, and heartbreak. Therapy and journaling offered a way to process, and writing publicly helped him connect with others who felt the same.

Today Jason continues this work by creating resources, speaking about grief and dying, and sharing his perspective on legacy and healing. His journey shows how end-of-life care and death doula work are not only about preparing for death, but also about living with purpose and love. This conversation is an honest reflection on caregiving, conscious living, and the ways grief can shape a meaningful path forward.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552174684952

https://www.instagram.com/letterstozachary2022

https://letterstozachary.com

https://www.tiktok.com/@letterstozachary2022

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End-of-life doula Kasey March shares how personal loss and a background in guiding people through complex systems led her to death work. After experiencing the painful absence of support when her grandmother died in the ICU, she realized the importance of conscious planning, education, and compassionate guidance for both the dying and their loved ones. Her work centers on having conversations before a crisis arises, empowering families to make decisions grounded in values, legacy, and healing.

Kasey helps families navigate end-of-life care, plan legacy projects, and prepare for difficult decisions with compassion and clarity. She often supports clients through advance directives, hospice options, and even medical aid in dying, always centering the client’s wishes. Beyond one-on-one work, she educates communities about grief, dying, and medical decision-making, reminding people that preparation can prevent confusion and guilt later.

 For Kasey, a “well-supported death” means reducing burdens, opening space for connection, and helping families integrate grief without judgment. Through advocacy, education, and compassionate presence, she works to ensure that death, like birth, can be approached with dignity, choice, and love.

Links: Website www.doulacarefordying.com 

October 27, 2025 at noon Kasey will be appearing on EXIT MATTERS, a live online series hosted by Patient Choices Vermont (PCV). How our final chapter unfolds depends upon the people, support, and choices that surround us.  Kasey's session will cover "What is a Death Doula?"

IG: @doulacarefordying | w: doulacarefordying.com

on death & dying: the role of an end of life doula  quick watch

a good death or a well-supported death? quick watch

resources and motivation to help you and your loved ones have a well-supported death. Click here!

No visitors please, a free PDF template for when you need to tell friends and family your loved one isn't accepting visitors, click here!

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In this episode, the guest shares her journey of living with Lewy body dementia, exploring how grief, acceptance, and conscious planning shape her approach to life and death. She reflects on the challenges of diagnosis, the impact on her independence, and the ways she finds healing while preparing her legacy for her family.

Growing up in Texas, she experienced loss early when her mother passed away right after high school, which eventually led her to move across the country before settling in Indiana. With a background in mental health and years as an EMT, she recognized the early signs of her condition and understood what the future might hold. For her, grief was not about having the disease but mourning the life she had imagined for herself, including the cultural and familial roles she hoped to embrace.

Her symptoms began subtly, with coordination and balance issues that affected walking, stairs, and driving. Initial medical visits were dismissive, attributing her symptoms to menopause or depression, until she finally found a neurologist who listened. Physical and occupational therapy helped her maintain mobility at home, while support from a Facebook community of women facing similar diagnoses provided vital emotional connection and guidance.

Therapy played a critical role in helping her re-accept her diagnosis as symptoms changed her daily life, from losing the ability to drive to needing a shower chair. Her past experiences with loss informed her approach to end-of-life planning: she has prepared documents and arrangements to reduce stress for her family. She even planned a joyful, personalized living funeral. Through this, she embraces death with humor, love, and intentionality, seeking to create healing, connection, and a lasting legacy while living consciously to the fullest.

https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1CKRK8as8Y/

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 In this episode, AJ Coleman shares his journey of losing his wife to brain cancer, raising their daughter as a single father, and finding healing through grief, storytelling, and conscious living. 

AJ Coleman, author  of Keep Those Feet Moving, became a widower at 33 when his wife died of brain cancer, leaving him to raise their 16-month-old daughter. He described those first months as a blur of grief, survival, and determination to honor his wife’s wishes while staying strong for his child. Though others expected him to fall apart, AJ chose to focus on love, healing, and creating memories that would keep his wife’s presence alive for their daughter.

As a single father, he learned the everyday struggles of parenting—figuring out how to dress his daughter, balancing work, and managing grief. Yet he discovered strength in their bond, leaning on his daughter as much as she leaned on him. Over the years, he kept her mother’s memory alive through photos, stories, and humor, recognizing that grief is not only about loss but also about preserving love and legacy.

AJ’s journey highlights the realities of anticipatory grief, the importance of end-of-life planning, and the unexpected ways healing unfolds. Writing his book became a form of therapy, helping him process loss while offering hope to others navigating death, grief, or setbacks. His story reminds us that while family and friends can support us, true healing comes from within through resilience, openness, and conscious living. For him, carrying on his wife’s legacy is not just about remembrance, but about choosing to live fully, despite loss.

https://keepthosefeetmoving.com/

Amazon book link

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This episode explores how writing, grief, and spiritual connection can help us process loss and live more consciously. Poet and author Cyra Dumitru shares her journey of losing her brother David to suicide, and how poetry became a vital tool for healing, end-of-life reflection, and honoring his legacy. Her story shows how creative expression can help us face trauma, navigate grief, and discover meaning after loss.

Cyra grew up in a family that cherished language. Her parents filled her childhood with stories, poems, and the beauty of words. She discovered early that writing could make imagination real, like the first time she wrote about a bird and felt its presence in the room. This love of language grew into a lifelong practice of poetry, journaling, and honoring the power of imagination.

When her brother David died by suicide, Cyra was only sixteen. She witnessed his final moments and carried the trauma and regret for years. Poetry became her lifeline, giving her a way to process the physical, emotional, and spiritual weight of that loss. Over time, she began to feel David’s presence in dreams and memories, not as “her brother who died,” but as a loving spirit who continued to walk beside her.

Through decades of writing, revising, and reflection, Cyra created a book that blends poetry, memory, and healing. She believes that writing allows grief to move through the body, opening space for discernment, connection, and even joy. Journaling, especially noticing small daily beauties, became a grounding practice that helped her reclaim inner balance.

Her work highlights how creative expression, end-of-life reflection, and conscious living help us carry grief, honor legacy, and move toward healing.

If you’re struggling, call 988 or visit the Suicide Prevention Resource Center.

www.cyrasweetdumitru.com

To purchase Cyra’s book, head to  Bookshop

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What happens when a childhood fear of death transforms into a lifelong calling? Funeral director Tasha Dugan, who works at the historic Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia, shares her powerful journey from being a frightened child at funerals to guiding families through grief, legacy, and healing. Her story shows how facing death directly can open doors to conscious living, spiritual growth, and death positivity.

Tasha was born in South Philadelphia and raised partly in North Carolina before returning at age seven. Inspired by her aunt, who worked for the medical examiner’s office, she grew fascinated with the stories behind every death. That curiosity led her to work as an autopsy technician at Temple Hospital and eventually to become a funeral director, a role she has embraced for more than 15 years. Today, she finds joy in helping families participate in rituals such as green burials and hands-on care, creating profound opportunities for healing and closure.

Her journey has also been deeply spiritual. Once afraid of dying, she now embraces it as part of life’s cycle and helps others do the same. She advocates for sustainable practices like aquamation and natural burial, honoring both loved ones and the earth. Her most meaningful moments come when she sees a grieving family move from pain to peace, knowing their loved one has been honored with compassion and dignity.

Laurel Hill itself has a rich history. Founded in 1836, it was a leader in America’s rural cemetery movement, designed by Scottish-born architect John Notman as both a burial ground and a landscaped arboretum along the Schuylkill River. Families once hired renowned sculptors to craft elaborate monuments, turning the site into one of Philadelphia’s first cultural attractions. Today, Laurel Hill East and West span 265 acres of gardens, art, and history, serving as both sacred ground and a public space for remembrance, reflection, and education.

https://laurelhillphl.com/

[email protected]

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Lisa Cox has spent her life as a teacher, guiding people through different stages of learning and growth. Now, as a death doula and shamanic practitioner, she helps individuals and families navigate the profound transition of dying. Her work blends practical support, like completing advance healthcare directives and organizing end-of-life documents, with emotional and spiritual guidance. Lisa emphasizes that dying is a deeply personal experience, and every doula brings unique skills, whether that’s bedside vigil, family mediation, or helping clients prepare in advance.

Through her monthly online Death Cafes with Morbid Anatomy, Lisa creates safe spaces for open conversations about death, grief, and legacy. She has seen firsthand how important it is for people to address end-of-life plans early, noting that hospice care not only improves quality of life but can also extend it when started sooner.

Lisa also speaks about the importance of conscious living, feeding the soul through meaningful experiences, nature, creativity, and connection. She challenges the idea of postponing joy until retirement, urging people to live richly now, regardless of age or health. Her message is clear: planning for death is not just about preparing for the end, it’s about learning to live more fully in the present, so that when the final transition comes, it can be met with peace, dignity, and love.

www.hjertehagen.net 

FB and IG pages/accounts and YouTube are all under @HjertehagenHealingPassages

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100095116136496

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