People working as Death Doulas, Death Companions, Death Midwives, etc. are far more common now than even just a few years ago.

The reality is that this role in society is nothing new, and that’s because there have always been people in our communities that know what to do when it comes to death, dying, grief, and loss. These titles (Death Doula, Death Companion, Death Midwife, etc.) tend be associated with secular and community-independent individuals serving in these roles, and that is the part that is new. Otherwise, the people that carried on these traditions of care would function beneath other titles you are probably also familiar with, title like Clergy, Bereavement Committee, Chevra Kadisha member, Healer, Curandeiro/a, Bruja or even just….Grandma. This type of care has traditionally been housed within our communities of origin and many times those communities have been deeply enmeshed with religious traditions. As America becomes less and less religious, so too are we becoming less and less connected to robust communities.

I am so grateful that this interview feature happened many years ago (December of 2018!), mostly because one of the issues plaguing the burgeoning Death Doula training world today is that a lot of people offering and charging for these trainings do not have experience that can be verified. If you happen to find this post and are considering taking training in this area, please make sure your program is offering training from real humans that have actually served in this role.

I’m grateful to have had my work separately vetted and verified, and I continue to feel immense gratitude to the families I get to work with.

You can read the full article and watch a companion video here.