Death and dying is not a popular topic to talk about for most people, yet essential if we are going to change the way we view death and prepare for it. Aside from the emotional roller coaster, tying the loose ends of the lives of loved ones can be stressful and complicated. Having someone to answer questions and support you can be incredibly invaluable. In this episode, Alua Arthur discusses how she inadvertently became a death doula in 2013 when her brother in law died. A death doula is someone that gives holistic support and care of the dying person and the person’s circle of support. Alua’s work ranges from helping people create end of life plans to helping someone create their ideal death circumstances to helping family members wrap up affairs of family members that just passed. Listen in to learn more about how a death doula can support families at any stage of death to create a more peaceful death experience.
What’s in this episode?
0:00 Better Health
1:30 Talking about death
2:55 Meet Alua Arthur
3:30 How Alua became a death doula
5:50 What is a death doula
7:02 Informal doula
8:59 Why is birth doula not a common practice
10:25 Alua’s mission
13:00 Wanting peace at the end of life
13:30 Elder law attorney vs. hospice vs. doula
15:06 Increasing demand for death doulas
16:55 Training to become a death doula
18:13 Who can fulfill the role of a death doula
19:48 Accepting death
22:13 When do people call Alua
23:55 Emotional support for families
25:25 Tying up loose ends
27:09 Recommendation for families
28:55 How can we better prepare for death?
31:40 How we can create a more peaceful death experience
What you will learn:
- What is a death doula?
- Who can fulfill the role of a death doula
- How to start an open conversation about death
- How a death doula can support families
- How to create a more peaceful death experience
