Ep. 455 Briefly Perfectly Human with Alua Arthur
05/13/24 • 55 min
Learn about a powerful NY Times bestselling memoir that teaches how acknowledging our mortality helps us live a more authentic life.
My guest Alua Arthur is the founder of Going With Grace, a death doula training and end-of-life planning organization. She is a frequent guest on television and radio and has been featured on CBS’s The Doctors and in Disney’s Limitless docu-series with Chris Hemsworth. Alua is the author of the recently published NY Times bestseller Briefly Perfectly Human: Making an Authentic Life by Getting Real About the End. She shares her story of how she was inspired to learn more about death and teach others how to live fully in the face of our mortality. Learn more at Alua’s website:
This episode includes:
- The value of authenticity in memoir-writing
- How life prepares us for the work we are meant to do
- How a single conversation shifted the path of Alua’s life
- What inspired Alua to get training as a death doula
- Creating better boundaries as we do this work with people at the end of life
- Compassion allows us to honor another person’s journey without trying to control it
- How death doula work can be financially viable
- Why education of the public is an essential foundation for the work we are doing
- How the “death-space” is welcoming to diverse people with a wide variety of skills
Links mentioned in this episode:
- Register for Foundations of Compassionate Communities Course (Free)
- Previous interview with Olivia Bareham
- Limitless with Chris Hemsworth on Disney +
- NEW Gift Guides for Caregivers, People Receiving Care, and People Who are Grieving
- Get my two new 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: [email protected], 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
- Subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Stitcher Radio
- Check out the Series I’ve recorded in the past here
- Join 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 ...
Learn about a powerful NY Times bestselling memoir that teaches how acknowledging our mortality helps us live a more authentic life.
My guest Alua Arthur is the founder of Going With Grace, a death doula training and end-of-life planning organization. She is a frequent guest on television and radio and has been featured on CBS’s The Doctors and in Disney’s Limitless docu-series with Chris Hemsworth. Alua is the author of the recently published NY Times bestseller Briefly Perfectly Human: Making an Authentic Life by Getting Real About the End. She shares her story of how she was inspired to learn more about death and teach others how to live fully in the face of our mortality. Learn more at Alua’s website:
This episode includes:
- The value of authenticity in memoir-writing
- How life prepares us for the work we are meant to do
- How a single conversation shifted the path of Alua’s life
- What inspired Alua to get training as a death doula
- Creating better boundaries as we do this work with people at the end of life
- Compassion allows us to honor another person’s journey without trying to control it
- How death doula work can be financially viable
- Why education of the public is an essential foundation for the work we are doing
- How the “death-space” is welcoming to diverse people with a wide variety of skills
Links mentioned in this episode:
- Register for Foundations of Compassionate Communities Course (Free)
- Previous interview with Olivia Bareham
- Limitless with Chris Hemsworth on Disney +
- NEW Gift Guides for Caregivers, People Receiving Care, and People Who are Grieving
- Get my two new 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: [email protected], 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
- Subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Stitcher Radio
- Check out the Series I’ve recorded in the past here
- Join 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 ...
Previous Episode
Ep. 454 Empowered Endings: Changing the Landscape of End-of-Life Care with Bob Uslander MD
Learn about an innovative model for compassionate end-of-life care that meets the needs of individuals and communities.
My guest Dr. Bob Uslander is the co-founder, with his wife Elizabeth, of Empowered Endings, a unique palliative and end-of-life care model addressing the physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual needs of patients and families. He discusses the flexible model of care he created and how it functions to assist people who don’t qualify for hospice as well as those who are receiving hospice care but need additional services. Learn more at his website:
This episode includes:
- Dr. Bob’s journey from emergency medicine to hospice and palliative care
- How recognizing gaps in the healthcare system inspired the work Dr. Bob is doing today
- The importance of end-of-life doulas for restoring balance to the care that is offered to people
- The types of patients served by Empowered Endings
- How his team supports patients utilizing medical aid in dying
- The lack of home-based palliative care is an issue in most communities
- Concerns that some doctors may not offer adequate support to patients and families choosing medical aid in dying
- How his foundation offers free bereavement support to families of loved ones who have utilized medical aid in dying
Links mentioned in this episode:
- NEW Gift Guides for Caregivers, People Receiving Care, and People Who are Grieving
- Get my two new 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: [email protected], 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
- Subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Stitcher Radio
- Check out the Series I’ve recorded in the past here
- Join 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
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Next Episode
Ep. 456 Passages: An EOL Program for a Senior Living Community with Tom Waknitz
Learn about a senior living community that is bringing end-of-life doula training to residents, thanks to the efforts of its chaplain.
My guest Tom Waknitz is a chaplain and end-of-life doula who is working with Walker Methodist Senior Living Community to establish a unique end-of-life program for residents called Passages. He is certified by INELDA and is currently earning a Master of Divinity Degree. After serving his first year as an end-of-life doula, Tom shares his innovative ideas for serving people and their families in transition at the end of life. Learn more about Passages and Tom’s coaching services at these websites:
This episode includes:
- Tom’s journey from a career in technology to becoming a chaplain and end-of-life doula
- Tom’s role as a chaplain and doula in a senior living community
- Why Tom decided to bring INELDA training to the residents of this community and how it can serve as a model for others
- The power of guided imagery and “familial stories”
- Facilitating end-of-life conversations with residents and family members
- What Tom learned in his first year as an end-of-life doula
- The power of the intentional pause
- Why changes in the end-of-life field must be sustainable
Links mentioned in this episode:
- Register for Foundations of Compassionate Communities Course (Free)
- Tom’s blog post: “Reflections on my First Year as a Spiritual Care Provider & End-of-Life Doula”
- Learn more about INELDA
- NEW Gift Guides for Caregivers, People Receiving Care, and People Who are Grieving
- Get my two new 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: [email protected], 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
- Subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Stitcher Radio
- Check out the Series I’ve recorded in the past here
- Join 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 S...
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