Tag: death awareness

Interview with Laura Starkey and Freddie Johnson Download

In this episode:

What is a conservation burial ground
The difference between conservation burial and green burial
How conservation burial can help preserve or restore an ecosystem
How this land is legally protected from development in the future
Obstacles to becoming a conservation burial ground
How both natural and conservation cemeteries minimize impact to the land
Other options for disposition that are less harmful than flame cremation
How each conservation area has its own requirements and restrictions for supporting the health of the ecosystem
Conservation burial grounds allow for recreational uses like hiking, biking, picnics, star-gazing, and numerous other options
How nature helps us reconnect our relationship with death and process grief
The steps to take to ensure you can have a green burial when you die
Why each area needs a unique model of conservation burial to meet the needs of the people and the land

Links for this episode:

Resources

Green Burial Council
How to Plan a Green Burial (From GBC)

Related episodes

Transcript

Ep. 573 Coffin-Building: The Intersection of Art and Conscious Dying with Tamara MacIntyre

November 2, 2026November 1, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn how hand-weaving coffins from willow branches can create a container for grief and increase awareness of conscious dying.

A woman with long hair smiles while sitting beside a woven coffin in a natural setting, surrounded by grass and flowers. The text says 'Coffin Building: The Intersection of Art and Conscious Dying with Tamara Macintyre'.

About the guest:

My guest Dr. Tamara MacIntyre is a death doula, death educator, and community coffin builder based in Canada. She is a retired Doctor of Natural Medicine, chiropractor, and former Dean of Clinical Education who now through Conscious Death.org offers end-of-life education, Living Funeral Ceremonies, individualized care planning, and advocacy in addition to her artistic pursuit of coffin-building. We discuss how she serves as a guide for others so that they can choose an end-of-life passage that is in alignment with how they lived their life. Learn more at her website:

consciousdeath.org

Tamara MacIntyre Interview Download

Included in this episode:

How she came to this work as both a death doula and a coffin-builder
Why coffin-building is often a doorway for people who aren’t ready yet to talk about death
Why each coffin she builds is unique to the individual including the size
How designing a coffin can take into account a person’s ancestry, culture, and personal legacy
Who chooses to help make their own coffin and what that’s like
How a handmade coffin can add meaning to a funeral and help with grief, especially as part of a community ritual
How hands-on work like coffin-building helps slow down the process of acknowledging death and creates a deep container for grief
The importance of death education and why we all should be teaching in our communities
Why advance care planning doesn’t always prepare people for what they will actually face at the end of life
Conscious dying asks us to be present for whatever is happening and leads us to find our own balance between pain and comfort
How coffin-building contributes to mindfulness and the full experience of conscious dying

Links for this episode:

Resources

Learn about Willow Weaving from Tamara
Blog Post: The Coffin No One Keeps by Tamara MacIntyre

Related episodes

Transcript

Ep. 571 Treulogy: A Tool for Writing Our Stories While Grieving with Sasha Stricker

October 19, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn about an AI tool that helps with writing eulogies, obituaries, and memorial cards using only the stories you choose to input.

A smiling woman with long brown hair stands in front of green plants, promoting a podcast episode titled 'Treulogy: A Tool for Writing Our Stories While Grieving' with Sasha Stricker.

About the guest:

My guest Sasha Stricker is an entrepreneur, creative thinker and problem-solver who is also the founder of TreulogyAI, a tool built around the simple truth that only the people who loved someone can tell their real stories. She shares what inspired her to develop Treulogy and how she designed it to be helpful to families by creating a safe space to share their stories and thoughts. Learn more at the website:

treulogy.com

Sasha Stricker Interview Download

In this episode:

How Sasha got interested in creating a tool to help people write eulogies
The power of storytelling after a loved one has died
The challenge of writing a eulogy while deeply grieving and why eulogies are sometimes overlooked
How AI can create a safe space for telling tender and sensitive stories with no judgment
Why there is stigma and fear around using AI
How Treulogy differs from generic chatbots that may write incorrect information in a eulogy
Treulogy has strict privacy guardrails and is a closed system that does not use the internet
How to use Treulogy to write a eulogy (and make a donation to EOLU at the same time)
How to utilize stories from multiple people in writing the eulogy
Treulogy can also be used to generate an obituary, a memorial card, a social post. or a living tribute
Why I think it’s okay to use whatever tools we need to help us tell and share the stories of our loved ones

Links for this episode:

Resources

Affiliate account with Treulogy: https://treulogy.com/eolu
What to Include in a Eulogy – Blog post
How to Write a Funeral Program – Blog post
How to Write an Obituary – Blog post

Related episodes

Transcript

Ep. 570 Death’s Guide to Life in Art and Popular Culture with Dr. Dean Cantù PhD

October 12, 2026October 11, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn how death has been personified throughout history in culture, society, and the arts and what that says about our fear of death and desire to control it.

Promotional image for the podcast episode titled 'Death's Guide to Life in Art and Popular Culture' featuring Dean Cantù, PhD.

About the guest:

My guest today is Dr. D. Antonio “Dean” Cantù who is Dean of the College of Health, Education, and Human Sciences at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith. He has conducted research on the Personification of Death throughout history in art, music, literature, television, film, and popular culture. He has authored numerous publications and presented 3 TedX talks on this subject and today discusses how death is depicted in various societies and how it provides a better understanding of life. Learn more about his work at his website:

deancantu.com

Dean Cantu Interview Download

This episode includes:

How our society could be both fearful of death and obsessed with it at the same time
Some people delay completing advance directives because they cannot conceive of the idea that they will actually die
There four major types of personification of Death
The figure of the Grim Reaper came about during the Black Plague and was an attempt to get some control over the concept of death
Death is sometimes portrayed as a romantic, seductive figure, which reflects the delicate balance between life and death
Death can also be portrayed as a friend or comforter, especially in art work, film
In graphic novels and film death is sometimes portrayed as a superhero
COVID-19 helped break down some of the walls of our death denial
How the pendulum swings back and forth between death awareness and avoidance
There seems to be greater interest in death and dying among college students now
Death as a teacher for life

Links for this episode:

Resources

Related Episodes

Transcript

Ep. 569 Living and Dying Without Fear with RamDev Dale Borglum

October 5, 2026October 4, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn from one of the founders of the conscious dying movement how to live with awareness so that fear doesn’t interfere with spiritual growth.

A portrait of an older man with glasses and white hair, smiling while standing outdoors with greenery in the background. Text on the right side reads 'Living and Dying Without Fear' with 'with Ramdev Dale Borglum' beneath it.

About the guest:

My guest RamDev Dale Borglum is the executive director of the Living/Dying Project and a pioneer in the conscious dying movement. As a devoted practitioner of both Eastern and Western healing traditions he has spent decades helping individuals face death and life with greater awareness while collaborating with leaders in the field like Ram Dass, Stephen Levine, and Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. He is the author of the book How to Live So You Can Die Without Fear, which we will discuss today. Learn more at his website:

livingdying.org

RamDev Dale Borglum Interview Download

This episode includes:

How RamDev Dale became acquainted with Ram Dass and Stephen Levine and started the first center for conscious dying in the late 1970’s
The hospice movement has sadly strayed from its spiritual roots to become more of a business
Why deep inner transformation on the individual level is necessary for the societal change we need
Our fear of death shows us where we are not enlightened
There’s a balance between caring for the physical aspect of dying and the spiritual reality of death
In Tibetan Buddhism compassion is a mixture of sadness and joy
Fatigue comes from experiencing the sadness of suffering but not the joy
His map of spiritual growth has 5 aspects: Motivation, Invocation, Devotion, Empowerment, Wholeness
How our society can distract us from doing the inner work
How to help someone else with their fear of death
Where to start on a path toward greater consciousness
The best spiritual practice is to combine deep inner work with an outer relationship with death and dying

Links for this episode:

Resources

On Death and Dying by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
Who Dies by Stephen Levine
Living/Dying Project Upcoming Events

Related Episodes

Transcript

Ep. 563 Death Wings Project: Art and Storytelling for Loss and Grief with Bess Welden and Laura Cleminson

August 31, 2026September 3, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn how a creative art project can help foster conversations about loss and grief and how a playwright and an end-of-life doula collaborated to develop it.

About the guests:

My guests this week are Bess Welden a playwright who wrote the play Death Wings and Laura Cleminson an end-of-life doula and the founder of Pre-Dead Social Club. Together they have developed the Death Wings Project and Toolkit to invite people to come together in community and foster open conversations about loss and grief. They share how art-making and storytelling are used in their workshops to help people navigate loss together through creativity. Learn more at the following websites:

deathwingsproject.org

predeadsocialclub.com

Laura Cleminson and Bess Welden Interview Download

besswelden.com/death-wings

In this episode:

How Laura was inspired to become an end-of-life doula
What inspired Bess to create the play Death Wings and to make her first pair of Death Wings
How Laura and Bess were inspired to work together on this project
What Death Wings are and how they are constructed
How the creation of Death Wings help people create meaning and memories of their loved ones
Why “putting our hands into grief” allows us to open to it
How Death Wings might be used in schools to help children with grief
The value of rituals for grief
You don’t have to be an artist or crafter to participate in this project
Creativity as an opportunity to open conversation about the end of life
Using Death Wings as a gift for someone experiencing grief
How to host a Death Wings workshop in your own community

Links for this episode:

Resources

Order the Death Wings Toolkit here
Learn about Workshops here
Soulcode Post: Grief, Creativity, and Growing the Soul

Related episodes

Transcript

Ep. 562 Reimagining What it Means to Die Well with Christin Ament

August 24, 2026August 20, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn how a former ICU nurse is transforming the end of life for the people she serves by creating a home for the dying, honoring grief with sacred tea ceremonies, and hosting Death Cafés.

About the guest:

My guest Christin Ament DNP is a hospice and palliative care provider with over 15 years at the beside. She is also a death doula and integrative medicine practitioner who hosts Death Cafés in the Twin Cities. Christin is the founder and executive director of The Bardo–a residence for people at the end of life that follows the Omega Home model. She discusses what is missing in general healthcare and in hospice care when it comes to the end of life and what it takes to make changes in the system. Learn more about her work at the website:

thebardo.com

Christin Ament Interview Download

In this episode:

Christin’s early clinical experiences with death in the ICU
Her travels to learn about the culture of death in other countries
Flaws within the hospice model
Why we need more advocacy for end-of-life issues that is mainstream and market-savvy
To change the mind of the medical system we have to speak the language of medical providers
How and why Christin started The Bardo – a social model hospice
The challenges she met trying to create The Bardo
The need for creativity to find solutions to bureaucratic issues and why we have to start with the systems we have in place
Helping the public overcome the fear of death through Death Cafes
How she uses tea ceremonies as rituals for grief

Links for this episode:

Resources

Related episodes

Transcript

Ep. 558 Filling the Gaps in End-of-Life Education, Support, and Community with Suzanne B. O’Brien RN

August 3, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn about the need for more education around death, dying, and grief to help us create more compassionate communities that are better prepared for the end of life.

About the guest:

My return guest Suzanne O’Brien is the founder and CEO of Doulagivers Institute and a pioneer in the global Death Doula movement. She is the recipient of numerous awards for her contribution to end-of-life care around the world and the author of the book The Good Death: A Guide for Supporting Your Loved Ones Through the End of Life. She discusses why this moment is right for expanding community education and awareness about end-of-life issues and how learning about death can help us fully live. In addition she describes her upcoming free webinar on “Death Doula Secrets” to mentor doulas on Suzanne’s framework for successful death doula business development. Learn more at her website:

doulagivers.com

Register for Death Doula Secrets Webinar:

August 5th August 13th

Get the book here.

Suzanne O’Brien Interview Download

In this episode:

The evolution of end-of-life care and education over the past 15 years
How COVID 19 awakened many people to the reality of mortality and exposed gaps in care
Families are still largely overwhelmed and uneducated about providing care for their loved ones at end of life
How political and healthcare decision-makers remain poorly informed about end of life issues
Suzanne’s experience of community death care while traveling in Zimbabwe many years ago and how it informed her current work
Why broader cultural change around death and dying requires mass education in our communities
We need to help people with their fear of death through education if we want to see more change
Options for the management of suffering at the end of life, including terminal sedation, are not fully understood by most people
Death is the greatest teacher about how to live
The importance of gratitude and presence for bringing meaning to life

Links mentioned in this episode:

Resources:

The Good Death by Suzanne O’Brien RN
Doulagivers FREE Level 1 Training
The Journey from Ego to Soul by Karen Wyatt MD
The Ego and It’s Immortality Projects – What Really Matters Podcast
The Path of Presence from the Field Guide to What Really Matters

Related episodes:

Transcript:

Ep. 557 The Grieving Body: Loss as a Healing Opportunity with Mary-Frances O’Connor PhD

July 27, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn about the impact of grief on the physical body and how the stress of grief and loss can lead to healing.

About the guest:

My special guest Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor is a professor of psychology at the University of Arizona, where she directs the Grief, Loss and Social Stress (GLASS) Lab, investigating the effects of grief on the brain and the body. Her book The Grieving Brain was included on Oprah’s list of Best Books to Comfort a Grieving Friend and was the subject of a previous interview on this podcast. Today she discusses her latest book The Grieving Body: How the Stress of Loss Can Be an Opportunity for Healing, which is being released in paperback format on August 1, 2026. Learn more at her website:

maryfrancesoconnor.org

Mary-Frances O’Connor Interview Download

In this episode:

How Mary-Frances was inspired to do research on grief
As a society we tend to ignore the body and grief can push us further in that direction
Why we need to pay attention to the messages from our bodies, particularly when we are grieving
The importances of social connectedness during grief and all of life
Sitting with someone who is calm can help us co-regulate when we are stressed in our grief
Why bereavement should be a public health issue
How we gradually build capacity to carry our grief
Why every experience of grief is different for us – and that’s natural and normal
How there is a lack of studies on crying in bereavement even though it has multiple functions
Emotional tears contain different hormones than irritant tears
Cardiovascular events related to acute grief
Strategies for managing grief holistically and growing through the process

Links mentioned in this episode:

Resources

Upaya Zen Center: Death / Dying / Grief
Upaya Zen Center: Compassion and Love
Key Research Publications by Mary-Frances O’Connor PhD

Related episodes

Transcript

Ep. 554 After-Death Communication and Developing Intuition with Purnima Sinha

July 6, 2026July 4, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn how a near-death experience and after-death communication with her mother led to increased spiritual awareness and intuition for Purnima.

About my guest:

My guest Purnima Sinha has certificates in LifeStyle Medicine and Meditation & Psychotherapy for the Harvard School of Medicine. She taught meditation to patients for many years and has been researching consciousness for over three decades. Today she discusses the mystical experiences she has had throughout her life including after-death communication with her mother following her death. She has assisted many people at the end of life and has taught many others how to access and utilize intuition.

Purnima Sinha Interview Download

In this episode:

How her mother’s death and after-death communication was a catalyst for her spiritual growth
How her parents early teaching about karma and seva have influenced her life
Why forgiveness played an important role in her spiritual transformation
The nature of her near-death experience
How she started receiving messages from her mother
Why fear makes it impossible to receive after-death or intuitive communication
Why love and gratitude are the best practices to cultivate in your life
How the mind and the ego can interfere with receiving guidance

Links mentioned in this episode:

Resources:

International Association for Near Death Studies – IANDS.org
Hello from Heaven
Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
Surviving Death – Netflix Series

Related episodes:

Transcript:

Ep. 553 Compassionate Schools: Education on Illness, Dying, and Grief for Children with Dr. Sally Paul and Bert Quintiens

June 29, 2026June 28, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn how the Compassionate Schools model can foster better support for children and young people experiencing grief, illness and loss..

About the guests:

My guests Dr. Sally Paul and Bert Quintiens have developed a how-to guide for Compassionate Schools that we discuss in today’s conversation. Sally is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland where she teaches and researches in the areas of bereavement, death education, and public health approaches to palliative care. Bert is a researcher at the End-of-Life Care Research Group at Vrije Universiteit in Brussels, Belgium. He focuses on Compassionate Communities and Compassionate Cities and how initiatives like Compassionate Schools can help normalize conversations about death and caregiving. Get the Compassionate Schools How to Guide at the link below:

Compassionate Schools How-To Guide

Sally Paul and Bert Quintiens Interview Download

In this episode:

What is a Compassionate School
Why is it important for schools to address the existence of death and grief for students and staff
Children can cope with difficult situations when given age-appropriate information
Why culture change can happen faster with a “bottom up” approach
How each compassionate school is unique and meets the particular needs of a community
Tips for introducing Compassionate Schools to your community
Obstacles and resistance to this work
Why it’s important to start with small goals like placing books on death and grief in the school library
How to support teachers in having conversations with grieving children

Links mentioned in this episode:

Resources:

The Resilience Project | Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief
Bereavement Charter Mark for primary schools | Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief
Compassionate Schools: A How-to Guide – The European Learning Network, Compassionate Schools – University of Strathclyde (Guide available in multiple languages on this page)

Related Episodes:

Transcript:

Ep. 552 Drummer Girl: How a Child’s Near-Death Experience Changed Her Life

June 22, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn how a childhood near-death experience sparked a lifelong search for spiritual meaning in life and death.

Portrait of a woman with short blond hair smiling, wearing a yellow shirt, next to the cover of the book 'Drummer Girl' by Sally Dukes, with text about a child's NDE.

About the guest:

My guest Sally Dukes has been a small business owner, psychotherapist, editor, and middle school teacher and she is also the author of a newly published memoir titled drummer girl: A Story of Life After Death. The book tells the story of Sally’s near-death experience as a child and how it changed her thoughts on life and death and inspired a lifelong spiritual journey. She discusses the book and the travel stories that are highlighted within it while expressing her hope that readers will come away with less fear of death. Learn more at her website:

sallydukes.com

In this episode:

The story of Sally’s NDE at age 3
How wanting to understand that experience fueled her search throughout life
The isolation experienced after such an extraordinary event that others don’t understand
Why she views it as a sacred experience
How medicine can pathologize occurrences that can’t be explained rationally
Sally’s travels in India and Burma
Why she no longer fears death

Links for this episode:

Resources:

What Really Matters episode: My View of the Afterlife
Proof of Heaven and the Afterlife with Dr. Eben Alexander
EOLU recording: Supernatural Stories from the Dreams of a Hospice Physician

Related Episodes:

Near-Death Experiences and Healthcare with Heidi Walsh and Lilia Samoilo
NDE’s and After-Death Communication in Hospice Work with Scott Janssen

Ep. 551 Spiritual Bypassing and Complicated Grief with Dr. Terri Daniel

June 15, 2026June 14, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn about a symposium on spiritual bypassing in situations of grief and bereavement and why it’s important to look at this.

Portrait of Dr. Terri Daniel discussing spiritual bypassing and complicated grief, with a microphone and colorful background.

About the guest:

My return guest this week is Dr. Terri Daniel who is an end-of-life educator, inter-spiritual hospice chaplain, and grief counselor. She is the founder of the Conference on Death, Grief and Belief and the Ask Doctor Death podcast. Over the years she has helped thousands of people learn to live, die and grieve more consciously while exploring the intersection of psychology and spirituality, and the influence of toxic theology on the experience of dying and grieving. She is the author of four books on death and grief. Today we discuss spiritual bypassing which is the focus of Terri’s upcoming online Symposium on July 25th. Learn more about the Symposium and Terri’s work at the website:

deathgriefandbelief.com

Terri Daniel Interview Download

In this episode:

What is spiritual bypassing?
There is both positive and negative religious coping
Positive coping involves taking action toward restoration
When spiritual bypassing may serve a positive purpose
Bereavement assessment tools and their usefulness
Characteristics of various types of spiritual struggle
Prolonged grief vs complicated grief
The importance of community and ritual for addressing grief
Instrumental vs intuitive grieving
Some questions like “Why did God let this happen” can never be answered

Links for this episode:

Resources:

Register for the Symposium here
Book: Wild and Holy – A Journey Through Grief, Guilt, and Grace in Italy
Substack Post: How the Fear of Death Makes Us Easier to Manipulate
What Really Matters Podcast: What’s the Difference Between Belief and Faith?
What Really Matters Podcast: What is Toxic Positivity?

Related Episodes:

How Religion Can Harm the Grief Process with Terri Daniel
Understanding the Fear of Death with Kelvin Chin

Transcript:

https://playing-god.transistor.fm/s2/1

Ep. 548 Choice at the End of Life: A Bioethics Conversation on MAID with Jeffrey Kahn PhD in collaboration with the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics

May 25, 2026May 31, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn about facts and misconceptions around medical aid in dying and the ethical tensions that exist in medicine and society.

Image of Jeffrey Kahn, a bioethics expert, alongside text promoting a podcast episode titled 'Choice at the End of Life' discussing medical assistance in dying (MAID).

My guest Professor Jeffrey Kahn is a bioethicist, researcher, author, and Director of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. The institute’s award-winning podcast, playing god? explores ethics dilemmas that arise in medicine, science, law, and health policy. Today we discuss with Dr. Kahn the most recent episode of playing god?: I Need you to Help Me Die – an exploration of Medical Aid in Dying through first-person storytelling and expert analysis. This episode includes a clip from I Need You to Help Me Die and listeners are invited to listen to the full episode at the following link:

Jeffrey Kahn Interview Download

This episode includes:

Why the Berman Institute chose to address medical aid in dying in their latest episode
The story of journalist Esmé Deprez and her father’s choice to use MAID
Why medical aid in dying is not the same as suicide
The difference between medically-assisted dying and euthanasia
The protections built into MAID laws that can also become obstacles
Ethical dilemma’s for healthcare providers
Why improved access to MAID is needed in states where it is legal

Links mentioned in this episode:

playing god? podcast
Esmé Deprez’ Essay: “Death With Dignity: How I Helped My Dad Die”
Related episodes:
- Compassion and Choices at the End-of-Life with Arline Hinckley
- Dignity Day: A Guidebook for Medical Aid in Dying with Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
- Medical Aid in Dying: A Physician’s Perspective with Dr. Bob Uslander
- Medical Aid in Dying: A Chaplain’s Perspective with Rev. Dr. Terri Daniel
Books:
- Dignity Day by Gabrielle Elise Jimenez
- 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying by Karen Wyatt MD
- Wild and Holy: A Journey Through Grief, Guilt, and Grace in Italy by Karen Wyatt MD

Latest post on Substack: What I Didn’t Understand About Medical Aid in Dying
What Really Matters Podcast
Leave me a message by email: kwyattmd@comcast.net, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
Support your local bookstore by buying my books on Bookshop and Indiebound: 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying and The Journey from Ego to Soul
Join the team at Patreon.com/eolu
Buy me a coffee
Donate on Paypal

Ep. 547 When We Die Talks: Facing the Fear of Death with Zach Ancell

May 18, 2026May 19, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn how asking “What do you think happens when we die?” helped this podcast host deal with death anxiety.

My guest Zach Ancell is the creator of When We Die Talks, a project around one question asked to anonymous callers: “What do you believe happens when we die?” He airs these fascinating conversations as a podcast that explores death, meaning, fear, grief, and how mortality shapes the way we live. Zach invites people to “leave a voicemail and share a belief, a question, or a moment you can’t shake about death: 971-328-0864.” Learn more at the website:

whenwedietalks.com

This episode includes:

What motivated Zach to start When We Die Talks
The courage it takes to face the fear of death
The benefits of anonymity in conversations about death
How Zach approaches these discussions with curiosity and no agenda
What has changed about his acceptance of death has increased from these conversations
How asking “What do you believe happens when we die?” unlocks other layers of meaning
The ultimate benefit of the project is learning to live more intentionally and authentically
How mortality awareness helps us re-prioritize life

Links mentioned in this episode:

Leave a voice mail for Zach at 971-328-0864
Apply here to be an anonymous guest on When We Die Talks podcast
Register for Q&A Session with Shelby Forsythia about Of Course I’m Here Right Now
A Year of Reading Dangerously reading group
Get Wild and Holy on Amazon or Bookshop
Latest post on Substack: Rethinking the Bucket List
What Really Matters Podcast
View my Patreon tier for Soul Supporters and receive extra reflections as a special bonus
NEW Gift Guides for Caregivers, People Receiving Care, and People Who are Grieving
Get my two newest books!! Stories from the Dark Night and The Tao of Death
Get EOLU Podcast Merch here
Conversations on Death with ChatGPT – Audiobook here; Print Book here
Leave me a message by email: kwyattmd@comcast.net, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
Support your local bookstore by buying my books on Bookshop and Indiebound: 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying and The Journey from Ego to Souloin the team at Patreon.com/eolu and receive free gifts like the “Mind if we talk about death?” mini-poster or Love Your Life sticker or coffee mug. PLUS get our regular bonuses: the monthly EOL News Update, monthly What to Watch recommendations, Behind the Scenes Bonus content, and automatic access to A Year of Reading Dangerously!
Buy me a coffee
Donate on Paypal

Ep. 546 The Love List of a Lifetime: Uplifting End-of-Life Planning with Sherry Richert Belul

May 11, 2026May 10, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn about an end-of-life planner that helps people share joy and love as they prepare for their later days.

My guest Sherry Richert Belul is the founder of Simply Celebrate and author of The Love List of a Lifetime. She helps people discover creative, heartfelt ways to celebrate life, deepen connection, and express love–while also guiding people to plan for the end-of-life. She is a workshop leader and speaker who emphasizes loving out loud and making moments that matter. Her end-of-life planner The Love List of a Lifetime helps people organize what matters most, share their love, and leave a legacy of connection and care. Learn more at her website:

simplycelebrate.net

This episode includes:

How Sherry is currently finding joy within the depths of her grief
The depth of our grief and sorrow is what allows for the breadth of kindness and joy
A love list as a gift for someone with a terminal diagnosis
Why include something “imperfect” on a love list
Why planning for the end of life is an act of great love
Start end-of-life planning by making a phone tree of contacts to be notified after your death and include a short message to each person
Sharing the stories of the things we plan to pass on to others
How sorting through items from the past with a loved one can create new special memories
People need to be seen and heard and loved for who they are
Say it now – don’t let the moment pass

Links mentioned in this episode:

Register for Q&A Session with Shelby Forsythia about Of Course I’m Here Right Now
A Year of Reading Dangerously reading group
Get Wild and Holy on Amazon or Bookshop
Latest post on Substack: Rethinking the Bucket List
What Really Matters Podcast
View my Patreon tier for Soul Supporters and receive extra reflections as a special bonus
NEW Gift Guides for Caregivers, People Receiving Care, and People Who are Grieving
Get my two newest books!! Stories from the Dark Night and The Tao of Death
Get EOLU Podcast Merch here
Conversations on Death with ChatGPT – Audiobook here; Print Book here
Leave me a message by email: kwyattmd@comcast.net, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
Support your local bookstore by buying my books on Bookshop and Indiebound: 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying and The Journey from Ego to Souloin the team at Patreon.com/eolu and receive free gifts like the “Mind if we talk about death?” mini-poster or Love Your Life sticker or coffee mug. PLUS get our regular bonuses: the monthly EOL News Update, monthly What to Watch recommendations, Behind the Scenes Bonus content, and automatic access to A Year of Reading Dangerously!
Buy me a coffee
Donate on Paypal

If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu, especially my latest donor Joy Fletcher. And thanks to everyone who bought me a coffee or made a donation on Paypal! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

Ep. 544 The Queer Grief Club and Inclusive End-of-Life Care with Jamie Thrower

April 27, 2026April 23, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn how to better serve the needs of the LGBTQ+ community in grief and at the end of life.

My guest Jamie Thrower is a queer death doula, end-of-life educator and community grief tender serving the LGBTQ+ community in life and in death. She is the founder of Queer Grief Club and the co-creator of The Dementia Deck. We discuss how to offer more inclusive services in our end-of-life care and grief support spaces. Learn more at Jamie’s website:

jamiethrower.com

This episode includes:

Jamie’s story of becoming parentless at age 28
How she discovered that grief connected her to others in a beautiful way
Why children need to be involved in death and funerals
The many layers of grief experienced by a queer person
How our systems need to change to become more inclusive
What we can do as individuals to make our care more welcoming to the queer community
Hidden bias in our paperwork and forms for people in the LGBTQ+ community
The importance of advance directives for queer people

Links mentioned in this episode:

Jamie’s Etsy shop (support her work!)
A Year of Reading Dangerously reading group
Get Wild and Holy on Amazon or Bookshop
Latest post on Substack: Rethinking the Bucket List
What Really Matters Podcast
View my Patreon tier for Soul Supporters and receive extra reflections as a special bonus
NEW Gift Guides for Caregivers, People Receiving Care, and People Who are Grieving
Get my two newest books!! Stories from the Dark Night and The Tao of Death
Get EOLU Podcast Merch here
Conversations on Death with ChatGPT – Audiobook here; Print Book here
Leave me a message by email: kwyattmd@comcast.net, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
Support your local bookstore by buying my books on Bookshop and Indiebound: 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying and The Journey from Ego to Souloin the team at Patreon.com/eolu and receive free gifts like the “Mind if we talk about death?” mini-poster or Love Your Life sticker or coffee mug. PLUS get our regular bonuses: the monthly EOL News Update, monthly What to Watch recommendations, Behind the Scenes Bonus content, and automatic access to A Year of Reading Dangerously!
Buy me a coffee
Donate on Paypal

If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu. And thanks to Wayne for buying me a coffee and Rick DiTullio and Dawn Dayter for making a donation on Paypal! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

Kickstarter Campaign for Life Review

Ep. 543 A Hospice Musical to Teach About Life’s Grief and Joy with Benjamin Kintisch

April 13, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn how to experience and support a fantastic musical comedy about hospice care, grief, and finding meaning in life.

My return guest Benjamin Kintisch is a trained chaplain, music teacher, and Cantor in the Jewish synagogue. He is the creator, lyricist and playwright of “Life Review: The Hospice Musical,” a musical comedy that focuses on the lessons a young rabbi learns when he is assigned to be a chaplain for patients in a residential hospice. Ben discusses the upcoming full performance of the musical and album recording on May 9th and the real life origin of the stories and songs in Life Review. Visit the website and support the Kickstarter campaign at the links below:

lifereviewmusical.com

This episode includes:

What inspired Ben to write a musical about hospice
How Ben ended up creating a one-man version of the show during COVID
The story arc of the musical and what it teaches
Audience reaction to the musical and why it creates “teachable” moments
Why the arts and media are important vehicles for educating the public about death, dying, and grief
The upcoming May 9th performance of the musical and live album recording at Johns Hopkins University
How (and why) to support the Kickstarter Campaign

Links mentioned in this episode:

Get tickets for May 9th Life Review: The Hospice Musical
Support the Kickstarter Campaign
Previous interview about Life Review
A Year of Reading Dangerously reading group
Get Wild and Holy on Amazon or Bookshop
Latest post on Substack: Rethinking the Bucket List
What Really Matters Podcast
View my Patreon tier for Soul Supporters and receive extra reflections as a special bonus
NEW Gift Guides for Caregivers, People Receiving Care, and People Who are Grieving
Get my two newest books!! Stories from the Dark Night and The Tao of Death
Get EOLU Podcast Merch here
Conversations on Death with ChatGPT – Audiobook here; Print Book here
Leave me a message by email: kwyattmd@comcast.net, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
Support your local bookstore by buying my books on Bookshop and Indiebound: 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying and The Journey from Ego to Souloin the team at Patreon.com/eolu and receive free gifts like the “Mind if we talk about death?” mini-poster or Love Your Life sticker or coffee mug. PLUS get our regular bonuses: the monthly EOL News Update, monthly What to Watch recommendations, Behind the Scenes Bonus content, and automatic access to A Year of Reading Dangerously!
Buy me a coffee
Donate on Paypal

Ep. 540 Helpful Things to Say to Someone Grieving with Shelby Forsythia

March 30, 2026March 29, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn how to support a grieving person by choosing the best words to say that will actually make a difference.

My guest Shelby Forsythia is a grief coach, author, podcast host, and the founder of Life After Loss Academy, an online course and community for grievers. She is the author of Your Grief Your Way, Permission to Grieve, and her latest book Of Course I’m Here Right Now: Three Actually Helpful Things to Say to Someone Grieving. Her work has been featured in Huffington Post, Bustle, and The Oprah Magazine. Learn more at her website:

shelbyforsythia.com

This episode includes:

How Shelby became a “student of grief” who views loss as a perpetual teacher
Three common internal narratives that grieving people face
Three simple but transformative phrases to use when supporting someone
Why words are the most accessible tool for support of someone grieving
The need for grief literacy to prevent the secondary loss of friendships during times of grief
The “three Ds“ of grief
What is the “second wave of grief”
The lack of grief literacy on social media

Links mentioned in this episode:

Get Wild and Holy on Amazon or Bookshop
A Year of Reading Dangerously reading group
Of Course I’m Here Right Now Book Club with Shelby Forsythia
Shelby’s Supporting Someone Mini-series
Latest post on Substack: The Minimalist Approach to the End of Life
What Really Matters Podcast
View my Patreon tier for Soul Supporters and receive extra reflections as a special bonus
NEW Gift Guides for Caregivers, People Receiving Care, and People Who are Grieving
Get my two newest books!! Stories from the Dark Night and The Tao of Death
Get EOLU Podcast Merch here
Conversations on Death with ChatGPT – Audiobook here; Print Book here
Leave me a message by email: kwyattmd@comcast.net, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
Support your local bookstore by buying my books on Bookshop and Indiebound: 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying and The Journey from Ego to Souloin the team at Patreon.com/eolu and receive free gifts like the “Mind if we talk about death?” mini-poster or Love Your Life sticker or coffee mug. PLUS get our regular bonuses: the monthly EOL News Update, monthly What to Watch recommendations, Behind the Scenes Bonus content, and automatic access to A Year of Reading Dangerously!
Buy me a coffee
Donate on Paypal

Ep. 539 Yoga, Breath, and Death: Death Café at the Yoga Studio with Leslie Howard and Richard Rosen

March 16, 2026March 14, 2026 kwyattmd

Learn why “corpse pose” in yoga is a rehearsal for death and how yoga instructors are bringing Death Café into their studio.

My guests Leslie Howard and Richard Rosen are both yoga instructors at Nest Yoga in Oakland CA and are co-authors of a new book titled Savasana: Between Breath and Death – a how-to for the final pose. Leslie is a certified death doula and hospice volunteer. Richard is the author of five previous books about yoga. Leslie also facilitates a Death Café that meets regularly at the yoga studio. Learn more at these websites:

lesliehowardyoga.com

betweenbreathanddeath.com