Conversations on Death
Lorena Alvarez Ruiz
This podcast explores death, dying, and the afterlife from multiple perspectives - physical, psychological, spiritual, ethical, historical, societal, and more. Join me on my mission to make death less taboo by bringing forward the many lessons death can teach the living, so that we can live more intentional and purposeful lives.
Child Loss with Barb Higgins
On this episode I talked to Barb Higgins who is a mother, author, podcaster, coach, and teacher. We chat about her life story - of losing children, her grief journey and how she was able to find joy and meaning in the face of tragedy. Beautiful yet difficult story worth listening to. Enjoy!__________________________Connect with Barb!WebsiteMolly B. Foundation Instagram Podcast BookCheck out Fiama Lore, my brand & web design studio for disruptors in sex-positive and death-positive spaces 🖤
Oct 15, 2024 • 54:48
The Witch’s Door with Ryan Matthew Cohn & Regina Marie Rossi
On this episode, I chat with Ryan Matthew Cohn and Regina Marie Rossi about their upcoming book, The Witch’s Door: Oddities & Tales from the Esoteric to the Extreme, and their experience collecting oddities and curiosities. We talk about how they met, their beginnings of collecting, some of their favorite items, potentially haunted dolls they owned, Ryan’s involvement in the reality TV show Oddities, Regina’s Oddities Flea Market, and much more. This is a fun one! Enjoy!__________Connect wit
Oct 1, 2024 • 59:47
Pet Loss & Grief with Stephanie Rodriguez
Stephanie Rodriguez is a certified Grief Counselor with specializations in Child and Adolescent Grief and Animal Companion Loss Support. She has been a practicing Grief Counselor, Support Group Facilitator, Death Midwife, and End-of-Life Speaker and Educator since 2004. We chat about pet hospice, decision making process for euthanizing your pet, disenfranchised grief, rituals for honoring your pet, adapting to a new loss, and navigating your grief.Hope this episode helps you or a loved one! Enj
Sep 17, 2024 • 44:51
Modern Memorial Planning with Jennifer Muldowney
Jennifer Muldowney, also known as The Glam Reaper, is a modern memorial planner, author, and speaker dedicated to transforming the funeral industry with a focus on personalized planning, digital legacies, and environmental impact. Through her business, Muldowney Memorials, Jennifer helps families create meaningful and unique farewells for their loved ones. We chat funeral industry, her work as a celebrant, and digital legacies! She is so freaking fun - enjoy! __________________________Connect wi
Sep 3, 2024 • 53:19
18th Century Funerals with Dr. Dan O'Brien
Dr Dan O’Brien is a historian of death in eighteenth century England. His research focuses on the development of the funeral trade and the funerals which it performed. He has also focused on funerary journeys and the exciting topic of death at sea. And these are all the cool things we talk about on this episode! Enjoy!__________________________Connect with Dr. O'Brien!TwitterInstagramThreadsBlueskyCheck out Fiama Lore, my brand & web design studio for disruptors in sex-positive and death-positi
Aug 20, 2024 • 40:23
19th Century New York Witches with Marie Carter
Marie Carter is a writer, tour guide, and tour guide developer. Her Scottish upbringing is responsible for her fascination with macabre, strange, forgotten, and ghostly histories. Combining that with her passion for New York City, she became a licensed tour guide, as well as researcher and developer with Boroughs of the Dead over nine years ago.Her most recent book, Mortimer and the Witches: A History of 19th-Century Fortune Tellers, was released this year and that’s what we talk about on this e
Aug 6, 2024 • 1:00:16
Alternative Treatments for Patients with Candice Johnson
Candice Johnson is a transformational coach, but she's also an alternative cancer treatment advocate and concierge nurse and death doula. Her vision in the clinical industry is for patients and family members to understand what other options outside of the pharmaceutical fear complex are available for them and their treatments.On this episode, she shares with us her experience as a nurse and the what and how behind her advocacy towards a different way of tackling cancer and the dying process as
Jul 23, 2024 • 51:28
Anatomical Specimens with Aoife Sutton-Butler
Aoife is a doctoral researcher at the University of Bradford in archaeological and forensic sciences. Her research focuses on the display and acquisition of 18th-19th century anatomical specimens, and how they are viewed in museums today. She runs a blog called Pathological Bodies Project and an online magazine called Mortiferous Muse. She is also a trustee of the Victorian era Undercliffe Cemetery.We chatted about the history of anatomical specimens, the different types that exist, their uses o
Jul 9, 2024 • 46:18
Death in New York with K. Krombie
K. Krombie is the author of "Death in New York: History and Culture of Burials, Undertakers and Executions", a freelance writer, journalist, and founder of boutique NYC walking tour company Purefinder New York. She's a fucking blast, full of knowledge based on deep research, and gives some amazing tours! On this episode, we chat about all things NYC and death! If you love this episode and wanna go even deeper, there's thousands on things we didn't get to cover that you'll find more of in her boo
Jun 25, 2024 • 54:00
Memento Mori with Joanna Ebenstein
Joanna Ebenstein is a Mexico-based author, photographer, curator and designer. She is the founder and creative director of Morbid Anatomy, an organization that has been exploring the interstices of art and medicine, death and culture, since 2007. She traces her lineage back to Judah Loew ben Bezalel, credited with creating the Golem in 16th century Prague. She is also a proud member of The Order of the Good Death.Her books include Anatomica, Death: A Graveside Companion, The Anatomical Venus, Th
Jun 11, 2024 • 36:12
Living with Grief with Shelby Forsythia
Shelby Forsythia (she/her) is a grief coach author, and podcast host. In 2020, she founded Life After Loss Academy, an online course and community that has helped dozens of grievers grow and find their way after death, divorce, diagnosis, and other major life transitions.Following her mother’s death in 2013, Shelby began calling herself a “student of grief” and now devotes her days to reading, writing, and speaking about loss. Through a combination of mindfulness tools and intuitive, open-ended
May 28, 2024 • 1:00:48
Victorian Mourning Rituals with Chris Woodyard
Chris Woodyard is a writer and historian based in Ohio. She studies death and the supernatural. In addition to nine books on Ohio ghost-lore, as well as three volumes of historical ghost stories, she is the author of The Victorian Book of the Dead, on the popular and material culture of Victorian mourning and death, as well as A is for Arsenic: A Little Book of Victorian Death, a guide to the basics of Victorian mourning traditions and artifacts. This episode is alllll about Victorian era mourn
May 15, 2024 • 43:40
Filming the End-of-Life with Elyse Neiman Seiter
Elyse Neiman Seiter is an Emmy-Award winning TV producer/director with over 20 years experience producing shows for various networks including MTV, Food Network, HGTV, and Travel Channel. She became interested in death and dying after her own brush with cancer as a young mom, which woke her up to what was truly important in her own life. Elyse founded Mindful Films, a boutique production house dedicated to producing films/TV and digital content about stories of awakening, and is passionate about
Apr 30, 2024 • 33:17
Necrophilia Laws with Dr. John Troyer
Dr. John Troyer is the Death Studies Scholar at Large and Overlord of Death in the Centre for Death and Society at the University of Bath in the UK. He's also the co-founder of the Death Reference Desk website, the Future Cemetery Project, and a frequent commentator for the BBC. His most recent book Technologies of the Human Corpse was published by The MIT Press in May 2020. On this episode, we tackle a very controversial topic - necrophilia. We talk about famous cases, laws in the US and other
Apr 16, 2024 • 38:25
Ghosts & The Supernatural with Marc Hartzman
ABCnews.com has called Marc Hartzman "one of America's leading connoisseurs of the bizarre" and George Noory from Coast to Coast AM said he's "as bizarre as Robert Ripley." In addition to his books about UFOs, ghosts, Mars, Oliver Cromwell's embalmed head, weird things on eBay, sideshow performers, and unorthodox messages from God, Marc has written for Mental Floss, HuffPost, AOL Weird News, AllThatsInteresting.com, The Morbid Anatomy Online Journal, and Bizarre magazine. On today's podcast we c
Apr 2, 2024 • 52:29
Near Death Experience with Ray Catania
Ray is an acclaimed author, metaphysical teacher, theorist, and coach. He is a survivor of a near-death experience (NDE) and has dedicated his life to helping others achieve their full potential. Ray's unique approach combines scientific theories with his own life experiences to reveal how anyone can harness the power of the mind, create their own reality, and BE Limitless!Learn how his NDE completely shifted his life and the way he views and understands the universe as a result of this NDE!____
Mar 19, 2024 • 1:04:10
Collecting Morbid Oddities + Curiosities with Paul Gambino
Paul Gambino has been an avid collector of the bizarre for over 25 years with an extensive collection of Victorian memorial photographs, antique funeria, mug shots, and vintage religious items.Paul is the author of some absolutely gorgeous books (which I recommend you get your hands on ASAP): MORBID CURIOSITIES: Collections of the Uncommon and the Bizarre, SKULLS: Portraits of the Dead and the Stories They Tell, and KILLER COLLECTIONS: Dark Artifacts from True Crime. In July of 2024 Paul will re
Mar 5, 2024 • 1:05:34
The World of Whole Body Donation with Jackie Dent
Jackie Dent is a journalist and an author. She's been writing fiction for years, but found success with non fiction and a much more personal story about her grandparents donating their bodies to science. She's the author of "The Great Dead Body Teachers". Her journey began when she started to dive into the reasons why her paternal grandparents had donated their bodies to a university. On this episode we cover everything from whole body donation, organ donation, who the donors are, dissection, t
Feb 20, 2024 • 51:37
Victorian Surgery with Dr. Monica Walker
Today I talked to Dr. Monica Walker, the Engagement Manager at the Old Operating Theatre Museum & Herb Garret in London, which is the oldest surviving surgical theater in Europe. She sees herself as a storyteller that gets to bridge the gap between academia and the general public through the stories and collection of the museum which stands as the last remaining bastion of Old St Thomas' Hospital in its original location near London Bridge. In her spare time she is also a creative photographer a
Feb 6, 2024 • 1:35:55
Near Death Experience with Natalie Sudman
In 2006, Natalie Sudman went to Iraq, serving as a project engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. While working in Iraq, the vehicle she was riding in was hit with a roadside bomb. Her book Application of Impossible Things vividly recounts her Near Death Experience when she went out of the body to the spirit world. There it was decided that her work on Earth was not done and with the help of spirit guides, they repaired the body so she could reenter it. Before this experience, Natalie wa
Jan 23, 2024 • 1:18:16
Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy in Death with Megan Miller
Megan Miller, PhD, RN (she/they) is a Registered Nurse and a faculty member in the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Nursing. Megan’s work focuses on providing holistic, compassionate, and equitable palliative and supportive care. Her research examines the role of spirituality in supporting management of common cancer-related symptoms, and explores equitable, human-centered approaches to psilocybin-assisted therapy in the context of serious illness. She is the founder of the Creative Dyi
Jan 9, 2024 • 57:37
Our Digital Afterlife with Dr. Elaine Kasket
Dr. Elaine Kasket is an expert on technology’s role within our work, individual psychology, and relationships. In a tech-dominated world, she helps her audiences and clients centre their humanity, nurture their connections with others, and maximize mindful, values-aligned personal and relational agency. She's a leading cyberpsychologist, inspiring keynote speaker, effective psychological/transformational coach, and seasoned storyteller.On this episode we dive into what our digital footprint is,
Dec 26, 2023 • 1:18:57
Back from the dead!!!
Podcast is coming back in December looking fresh with a new branddd! Woooo! Check out the new brand: https://www.instagram.com/conversationsondeath/Check out my brand + web design stuffs: https://www.instagram.com/design.by.lorena/Alsooo say hello! Hit me up and let me know what topics or which people you wanna hear next! :)
Nov 9, 2023 • 2:13
Lil' Update
I shall return soon! Meanwhile, enjoy listening to episodes you haven't checked out yet!
Sep 8, 2021 • 0:43
Planning Your Funeral
Kathy Benjamin is the author of Funerals to Die For: The Craziest, Creepiest, and Most Bizarre Funeral Traditions and Practices Ever and, her latest book, It's Your Funeral!: Plan the Celebration of a Lifetime -- Before It's Too Late. Kathy’s writing has received more than 100 million hits across some of the most popular humor and trivia websites in the world, including Mental Floss, Cracked, Grunge, The Smoking Jacket, and Uproxx. We talked about some of the gems found in her new book
Aug 13, 2021 • 1:09:27
Being a Death Investigator
George Deliopoulos has 30 years of experience in forensic investigations. He is certified in death investigations, homicide investigations, blood splatter, and drug and narcotics investigations among other things. George served as the Chief Deputy Coroner for 17 years in Indiana. Over his lengthy career, he processed over 3,500 death cases. In today’s episode we talked about his training, a day in the life of the Chief Deputy Coroner, challenges originating from the job, cases he was involved in
Jul 28, 2021 • 1:08:51
Technologies of the Human Corpse
Dr. John Troyer is the Director of the Centre for Death and Society at the University of Bath. The Centre for Death & Society is the UK's only centre devoted to the study and research of social aspects of death, dying and bereavement. It provides a centre for the social study of death, dying and bereavement and acts as a catalyst and facilitator for research, education and training, policy development, media, and community awareness. He is a co-founder of the Death Reference Desk websit
Jul 14, 2021 • 1:19:54
Exploring Grief with The Death Empath
Jessica Reis, also known as The Death Empath, a Death Doula who specializes in grief, loss, and shadow work. Jessica received her training through INELDA and has expansions in grief recovery, pregnancy/infancy loss, pet hospice and shadow work.We talked about suicide ideation, her experience as an empath and downloads she receives, energetic and living deaths, dancing through emotions, and many different topics surrounding grief and grieving. Enjoy this delight of a human! _____________________
Jun 30, 2021 • 1:17:37
Afterlife Research
Piero Calvi-Parisetti is a medical doctor, a long-time universitylecturer, and a member of the Society for Psychical Research and the InternationalAssociation for Near-Death Studies. His particular area of interest is appliedpsychical research, that is the practical application of research findings, inparticular for the benefit of the bereaved and the dying. He has written fourbooks on these subjects, his latest being Step into the Light: Transform Your Fear of Death by Learning About Life After
Jun 16, 2021 • 1:08:35
Home Funerals & Death Midwifery
Olivia Bareham, is a Death Midwife, Energy Healer, Ordained Interfaith Minister, Master Teacher and Founder of Sacred Crossings -The Institute for Conscious Dying and Alternative Funeral Home in Los Angeles. She holds a BA in Education from the University of London and a Bachelors in Natural Theology and Sacred Healing from the Healing Light Seminary in California. We talked about her long career as a death midwife, the history and implementation of current day home funerals, living funerals, an
Jun 2, 2021 • 54:16
7 Lessons for Living from the Dying
Dr. Karen Wyatt is the bestselling author of the book 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying, which contains stories of patients she cared for as a hospice doctor and the spiritual lessons she learned from them at the end of their lives. Dr. Wyatt also hosts the End-of-Life University Podcast, which features conversations with experts who work in all aspects of end-of-life care.In this episode, we talked about her journey into becoming a hospice doctor, common regrets of the dying, why she decided
May 19, 2021 • 1:07:22
Grief Dreams
Dr. Joshua Black is a grief researcher, speaker, author, consultant, online course instructor, and host of the Grief Dreams Podcast. He has focused all of his MA and PhD research (in psychology) on investigating dreams in bereavement (also known as grief dreams) and continuing bonds from many types of loss (including prenatal loss and pet loss). Most of his academic research and publications have specifically been on dreams of the deceased. Dr. Black is considered one of the world’s leading acad
May 4, 2021 • 1:09:21
Spirit Vessel
Jessica Wertz is a ceramic artist and the founder of Spirit Vessel. Spirit Vessel provides the tools to create personalized celebration of life ceremonies - whether you're pre-planning your own ceremony, having a living memorial ceremony, or a memorial service in the comfort of your home or via webcasting services. It aims to restore the use of intimate ceremony around death by creating a guideline for meaningful connection through interaction.Jessica’s intention is to help individuals and
Apr 6, 2021 • 47:55
Dreams & Visions of The Dying
In today's episode, I spoke to Dr. Christopher Kerr, who is a hospice physician and an end-of-life researcher about end-of-life dreams and visions. These dreams and visions are significant, subjective experiences within the dying process that occur while asleep or awake. They can happen hours, weeks, or even months before a person passes and may increase in frequency as patients approach death. To date, he and his research team at Hospice & Palliative Care Buffalo have published multipl
Mar 24, 2021 • 30:13
Near-Death Experiences: The Aftermath
Dr. Bruce Greyson is Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the UVA School of Medicine. He served on the medical school faculty at the Universities of Michigan, Connecticut, and Virginia. He was a co-founder and President of the International Association for Near-Death Studies, and Editor of the Journal of Near-Death Studies. Most recently, he penned AFTER based on nearly five decades of research about near-death experiences (NDEs).In this week's episode, we look a
Mar 9, 2021 • 44:21
Virtual Funerals
In this episode, I speak to Christina Andreola, founder of New Narrative Memorials, about virtual funerals - how the industry is booming, her experience as an event planner, horror stories, and about families she has helped. Christina also shares some of her favorite resources and people in the death-care space._________________________Connect with Christina!Website: https://www.newnarrative.ca/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/newnarrativememorials/__________________________Get in touch!Fac
Feb 23, 2021 • 50:09
Spiritualism's Beginnings
Tiffany Hopkins began studying mediumship after moving into her great-great grandmother's cottage in Lily Dale, which is the world's largest community of Spiritualists. Spiritualism is a religious movement that began in the 19th century based on the belief that the spirits of the dead exist and we can communicate with them. In today's episode, Tiffany takes us on a historical journey beginning with how the movement was started and ending with modern-day spiritualist churches and
Feb 10, 2021 • 58:07
Shamanism
In today's episode I speak to Christina Pratt, who is a practicing shaman. She's also the author of the two volume Encyclopedia of Shamanism, runs The Last Mask Center for Shamanic Healing, and is the host of the Why Shamanism Now Podcast. She is pioneering new shamanic techniques to deal with the illnesses of our times. Her current focus is on the healing of our ancestral lines to release the growing burden on the living of the unresolved energies of the dead and the initiation of our
Jan 26, 2021 • 1:13:02
Death Wisdom Through Ayahuasca
Tina “Kat” Courtney, The AfterLife Coach, is a traditionally trained Ayahuasquera + Huachumera and plant medicine guide. She works as a psychedelics integration coach, helping people make sense of transformative experiences such as doing Ayahuasca. Tune in and learn how Kat helps people prepare for and make sense of altered spaces, spiritual breakdowns, and even death itself (ego death). Fascinating conversation looking at death through a completely different lens! Don't miss out! _________
Jan 12, 2021 • 36:23
Bridging the Gap
Megan Carmichael is an independent funeral consultant whose main focus is building awareness around professional deathcare and encouraging others to join this line of work. She is part of the Dive Into Death collective (https://www.diveintodeath.com/) and a co-founder of DeathcareConnect (https://www.deathcareconnect.com).We spoke about her journey into the deathcare space and her solutions to finding different gaps within the industry. We also talked about her many projects to connect people to
Dec 30, 2020 • 1:02:38
Post-Mortem Photography
After a 3 month pause, I'm back with bi-weekly episodes! In this episode, Kelly and I talk about the ins & outs of post mortem photography, spirit photography & the history of spiritualism and seances, as well as photography of the dead during The Civil War.Kelly Christian is a Chicago based writer and future archivist. She is interested in the intersection of technology and systems of power in relation to death and mourning in American culture. Her graduate work explored post-morte
Dec 16, 2020 • 56:16
Did You Say Death Festivals?!
In this episode, I talk to Erica Buist, a journalist and writer from London, England. After finding her father-in-law dead after a week, she decided to visit seven death festivals - one for every day they didn't find Chris. From Mexico to Nepal, Sicily, Thailand, Madagascar, Japan and finally Indonesia, Erica chronicles her experiences in her first book, This Party's Dead, which comes out in February 2021.We discussed the lessons learned from visiting all seven death festivals, her jou
Sep 10, 2020 • 1:03:55
Messages from Dr. Wayne Dyer
On this episode, I talk to Karen McDonnell Hilligoss, author of How Dr. Wayne W. Dyer Taught Me That Life Is Worth Living. In 2015, shortly after the death of Dr. Dyer, Karen started to experience miracles surrounding him. These experiences helped Karen spiritually evolve into accepting several serious diagnoses involving her children's health that had previously caused her to lose her faith. Join me as Karen tells us about how these signs from Dr. Dyer taught her that there is no such thi
Sep 1, 2020 • 1:07:01
The Traveling Medium
On today's episode, I spoke to Marisa Meddin, who, aside from being a coach, is also a medium. A few years ago, Marisa discovered she's a psychic medium who had the gift of communicating with those who had passed on through written format. That's right - she writes letters with words and messages from those who have passed on.We really let our conversation flow on this episode. We talked about mediumship, signs, quantum physics, reincarnation, her travels, past lives, her ayahuasc
Aug 25, 2020 • 57:26
The Gift of Life Castings
On today's episode I talked to Lisa Nisleit, founder of MVP Castings. She specializes in all types of life casting including babies, couples and families and, most importantly, in end-of-life castings. We talked about her story, her passion, and the lessons learned from working closely with death. _________________________Connect with Lisa!Website: http://mvpcastings.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MVPCastings/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Mvp_life_castings __________________
Aug 18, 2020 • 52:14
When My Best Friend Died
This podcast episode is very different from others. It’s with one of my best friends, Tristan Velez, where he tells us about losing his best friend, Chris Williams, to a motorcycle accident at the age of 28. Tristan and I discuss the intricacies of handling the unimaginable, from the legal aspect, to the funeral planning, and even navigating his relationship with the parents who lost their only child. We get a glimpse into what it's like to deal with an unexpected death both physically, men
Aug 11, 2020 • 54:33
The Healing Art of Coffin Weaving
On today's episode, I talked to the lovely Shaina Garfield, founder of Leaves With You, which was founded by Shaina to help others feel more connected to one another and the Earth when they or a loved one are at the end of their life. Shaina draws on her design background and meditation practice to hold space for the families with whom she co-creates coffins and rituals. Shaina and I talked about her story, the importance of the weaving ritual, traditional coffins, rituals in other cultures
Aug 4, 2020 • 49:36
Archeology, Ancestry & Legacy
On today's episode, I talked to Vivencia's founder, Mariana Bandera. She's an Anthropologist & Archaeologist who has an affinity to the past, shaping who we are and who we want to be. She has a deep connection to the ceremony of death throughout all cultures and how memories are preserved. We discussed her Mexican culture and its relationship to death, her work with archeology, and the importance of connecting to our ancestors through ritual. We also talked about her amazing c
Jul 28, 2020 • 49:29
BONUS: Death Deck Game Night
This one's a little different! Here I present to you guys a recording of my event with 'Reimagine: Life, Loss & Love', where a group of us played The Death Deck and got into some interesting conversations surrounding death, dying, and the afterlife. Reimagine Festival is going on until September 1st and they have a packed schedule with amazing speakers and workshops. To access the schedule of events, check out the link below. Enjoy!_________________________Reimagine: https://l
Jul 21, 2020 • 1:22:34
'Mom, I was Lou Gehrig'
Today I talked to Cathy Byrd, author of 'The Boy Who Knew Too Much: An Astounding True Story of a Young Boy's Past Life Memories'.At the age of two, Cathy's son, Christian, began sharing vivid memories of being a baseball player in the 1920s and ’30s. From riding cross-country on trains, to his rivalry with Babe Ruth, Christian described historical facts about the life of baseball legend Lou Gehrig that he could not have possibly known at the time.Join me as Cathy recounts h
Jul 14, 2020 • 51:59
Virtual Living Funerals
Emily Cross is an end-of-life doula, musician, and artist. She's also the founder of Steady Waves Living Funeral Ceremonies, a transformative, immersive experience intended to spur serious reflection about mortality and life priorities. On today's episode, Emily talks to us about a virtual living funeral ceremony, which is an experiential meditation on mortality. The ceremony is an invitation to connect deeply with the mystery and richness of one’s life as well as an opportunity to ref
Jul 7, 2020 • 35:26
Past Life Regressions
Wendy Rose Williams is a Certified Spiritual Teacher, a hypnotherapist specializing in past-life regression, a Reiki Master Energy Healer, author, and speaker. She helps people release energy that no longer serves them so that they can lead a happier, healthier life filled with purpose.On this episode we talk about so much juicy stuff! We get into her near-death experience (NDE), recall of her past lives, life between lives, past life regressions, and even soulmates and soul contracts. I wouldn&
Jun 30, 2020 • 1:07:25
Once I've Gone
Ian’s life was dramatically changed when both his sister aged 28 and his mother aged 57 passed away in the space of two years. Neither his sister or mother had spoken with the family about what they would like to happen in the event of their deaths, so the family was left asking questions during a time when they were struggling with the grief of losing a loved one.This is what led Ian to found Once I’ve Gone, an industry leading platform that makes it easy for you to record details of your impor
Jun 23, 2020 • 34:01
The Death Deck
On this super fun episode, I spoke to Lori LoCicero, a freelance writer, and Lisa Pahl, a Hospice Social Worker and ER Crisis Interventionist. They're both the creators of The Death Deck, a game and tool that allows friends and family members to open up and share thoughts, stories and preferences about life and death in a non-threatening and surprisingly fun way. We talked about the birth of their friendship, what went into The Death Deck's creation, some of our favorite cards, and how
Jun 16, 2020 • 53:35
Advance Care Planning
Corey L. Kennard is a Pastor of Amplify Christian Church and also serves as an activist in the field of healthcare with over a decade of experience in the areas of Palliative Care and Hospice. On today's episode we discuss advance care planning which is a process that enables individuals to make plans about their future health care, particularly at the end of life, in the event that they're not able to communicate those decisions themselves. We discuss:Faith and spirituality at the end
Jun 9, 2020 • 56:06
My Dance with Death: Howard Storm
On June of 1985 while dying in a hospital in Paris, Howard Storm had a near-death experience. On this episode, he tells us about his 'descent into death' - how he was tormented by beings in hell, saved and taken to heaven after having called out to Jesus, given a life review and had all of his questions answered by God. Despite having been an atheist his entire life, his NDE changed his perspective and he is now a Christian pastor. Join me as Howard tells us about his fascinating journ
Jun 2, 2020 • 1:16:15
The Dead Moms Club
Alica Forneret is a writer and facilitator creating spaces for people to explore their grief. She's committed to making sure there's more conversation around grief, death, and dying - whether that’s at home, at work, or with strangers on the bus. She's the founder and host of the Dead Moms Club, a space where those who have lost their mom can connect in-person and virtually through events, storytelling, and more. On this episode, we talk about: Her storyMisconceptions around stage
May 26, 2020 • 45:58
The Deeper Dimensions of Death
Bre Martel is a Death Doula, Death Educator & Holistic Living Advocate bringing the Revolution of Death to the forefront of people’s minds. With a background in Mental Health, Mindfulness and a passion for bridging international cultures, she binds wisdom and knowledge to deepen the doors of perception around Death Culture. She views herself as an energetic gatekeeper between the human realm and the beyond - opening people to the deeper dimensions of death, and bringing light to how that act
May 19, 2020 • 52:39
Jewish Death & Mourning Rituals
On today's episode I talk to Arielle Friedtanzer, an end-of-life consultant, about Jewish customs and rituals surrounding death and mourning. We talk about:The impact of her grandparents' deaths on her family Value-based end of life workJewish customs around death, funerals & mourning Jewish law & suicide Judaism & grief __________________________Connect with Arielle!Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EndofLifeQuestions/LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/ariellefriedtanze
May 12, 2020 • 1:10:26
My Dance with Death: David Ditchfield
Welcome to the first episode of My Dance with Death series! On this episode, I talk to David Ditchfield, who is a near-death experience (NDE)-inspired artist, composer, and author. In 2006, he was dragged under a speeding train in a freak accident. As the surgeons fought to save him, he had a profound NDE. When he woke up in the hospital, he had acquired astonishing new abilities. He found he could paint dramatic paintings of what he had seen in the Afterlife, far beyond any artistic ability he
May 5, 2020 • 52:58
Living Life to the Fullest
On today's episode, I speak to Dawn Whelan, an end-of-life doula. We talk about: What an end-of-life doula isWhy death is considered taboo How to combat the fear of deathThe importance of a 'bucket list' aka Dawn's Dash List Dash Parties The Unspoken Project Unspoken Project http://its-your-dash.com/index.php/unspoken-project/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/768553413672930/Websites: www.mylastgift.com and www.its-your-dash.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/MyLastGiftLLC/
Apr 28, 2020 • 41:36