EOLPodcast

Ep. 528 Sharing Our Stories to Preserve Our History with Stephanie Ford

Learn how to discover and preserve our own and others’ stories to provide inspiration in challenging times.

My guest Stephanie Ford is the founder of Life Stories with Steph, a video storytelling service dedicated to preserving personal and family histories. With a background in caregiving, hospice and training as an end-of-life doula, she discusses the importance of sharing and recording stories to preserve legacies and histories of those who came before us. Learn more at her website:

lifestorieswithsteph.com

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This episode includes:

  • How Stephanie became interested in this work
  • Why storytelling is important to society and especially to those facing the end of life
  • How ordinary lives contain remarkable resilience and hope that can be shared through stories
  • How to discover stories of our ancestors
  • The value of genealogy work
  • Using photos to inspire storytelling
  • How to capture small meaningful moments of everyday life
  • What services she offers and how it works
  • Who benefits from recording and sharing life stories with Steph

Links mentioned in this episode:

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 “Someone” who bought me 5 coffees and those who made a donation on Paypal! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 494 Integrating Art and the End of Life with Rich Curtis

Learn how a hospice volunteer and doula utilizes his artistic talents to help patients and families.

My guest Rich Curtis is an artist, teacher, hospice volunteer and end-of-life doula. He currently volunteers for Archbold Hospice in Thomasville GA where he has utilized his artistic talents to help patients and their families at the end of life. Rich discusses his own path as an artist and eventually becoming a doula. He shares his drawings and tips for those considering being a hospice volunteer in this conversation. View Rich’s drawings at the link below or watch the video on YouTube to see them on screen:

View Rich’s drawings here

Watch on YouTube

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • Rich’s spiritual journey to becoming a doula
  • How Buddhism encourages contemplation of death
  • The value of teaching art students about death
  • How Rich began drawing the hands of patients
  • Why drawings of hands are a unique and powerful remembrance
  • Life stories as told through images of hands
  • Art as an opening to conversations with difficult patients
  • The power of bringing our creative talents to the bedside of hospice patients
  • Tips for hospice volunteers
  • How Rich is creating “Breath Poems” from the sounds of end stage breathing

Links mentioned in this episode:

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 supporters Tanya Archambault and Malynda Cress and thanks to Heather Jardine for buying me 3 cups of coffee! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.