Alua Arthur is an entrepreneur, death doula, and New York Times bestselling author, who recently published her book, 'Briefly Perfectly Human.' Alua shares her life story from fleeing Ghana as a child to finding her calling after an unexpected conversation on a bus. In this episode, Alua discusses the transformative nature of starting conversations about mortality, the universal wisdom found in the process of dying, and the need for cultural and racial awareness in end-of-life care.

Alua also talks about the importance of setting boundaries, the many emotions of grief, and the importance of humor and compassion in dealing with loss.

Alua’s book, “Briefly Perfectly Human” is available for purchase: https://www.aluaarthur.com/. You can learn more about her work by following her on social media @alualoveslife.

This podcast is produced by Larj Media.

From growing up in Apartheid South Africa to helping write the country's constitution, Louisa Zondo's life story is nothing short of extraordinary. We talk about her experiences as a young mother, her high-profile career, and the heartbreaking loss of her son Rikhado to suicide in 2022. Louisa shares openly about her grief and how she’s finding healing.

You can learn more about Louisa’s amazing life and follow her on Instagram @louisazondo.

Her book, “Dearest MaRiky: A Mother’s Journey through Grief, Trauma and Healing,” can be purchased on Amazon, here: https://www.amazon.com/Dearest-MaRiky-Mothers-Journey-through-ebook/dp/B0C81LH954

This podcast is produced by Larj Media.

Mary-Frances O’Connor is a neuroscientist at the University of Arizona where she studies the impact of grief on the brain. Her work helps explain things like why we still expect our dead loved one to walk into the living room and why grief can feel so disorienting. As Mary-Frances explains, grief is a hormonal event, and understanding how it shows up in our brains can help us make sense of our own grief experience. In this episode, we cover how grief is really the brain learning to imagine a life with the absence of a loved one. Our brains know how to grieve. In fact, resilience is the most typical brain pattern of grieving.

You can learn more about Mary-Frances’ work and find her book, “The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss,” at https://maryfrancesoconnor.org/

This podcast is produced by Larj Media.

After a terminal brain cancer diagnosis, Cynthia Clark’s husband chose to have a medically assisted death when his treatment stopped working. Cynthia shares all about the grief of losing your partner while being his primary caregiver, how she parented young children who were also grieving and the nuance that comes with scheduling your death. In our last episode, we talked to Dr. Stefanie Green about her work as a MAID practitioner. My conversation with Cynthia is about what it’s like to experience MAID as a family member. She’s an advocate for families going through the MAID process and has a blueprint for how you can show up for a loved one who’s dying.

You can Cynthia’s advocacy work and find her book, “The Many Faces of MAID: What to Expect When Someone You Know Chooses Medical Assistance in Dying” here: https://www.dyingwithdignity.ca/blog/the-many-faces-of-maid/

This podcast is produced by Larj Media.

Stefanie Green, MD, was one of the first providers of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) in Canada, when it became legal in 2016. Her book, This Is Assisted Dying: A Doctor's Story of Empowering Patients at the End of Life, chronicles her first year working in the field of MAID. In our conversation, Stefanie reflects on what has changed in her work in the past eight years, the people she’s met and how she created a national organization for physicians working in this field. She also shares how this work has shaped her own life and thoughts about death.

You can learn more about Stefanie’s work and her book at https://www.stefaniegreen.com/

Claire Bidwell Smith knows grief well. When she was 14, both of her parents were diagnosed with cancer at the same time. Her mom died when Claire was only 18, and her dad died when she was 25. After getting her master's degree in clinical psychology and becoming a therapist, she worked with hospice. She's also written five books about grief, including her latest, Conscious Grieving: A Transformative Approach to Healing from Loss. In a culture that avoids sad feelings at all costs and where bereavement leave is severely inadequate, Claire gives us the tools and a map for embracing grief and incorporating it into life.

You can learn more about Claire’s work and her books at https://clairebidwellsmith.com/

Julie Metzger has been teaching families about puberty for over 30 years. Her book, “Will Puberty Last My Whole Life?” and her course, Great Conversations, are amazing resources to help teens and families recognize and navigate the important transition to adulthood. In conversation, Julie and I draw parallels between puberty and death. Both are sacred experiences and periods of great transformation for our bodies and communities. We dig into the use of ritual, the importance of language when it comes to talking about the sacred, and a really fascinating thought exercise about what it means to be an adult.

You can learn more about Julie’s work at https://greatconversations.com/

ALS is a heartbreaking disease. Just ask my guest Rachael King. Her husband, health care activist Ady Barkan, recently died from complications of ALS at age 39. They have two young children. Despite all that ALS took from Rachael and her family, they navigated the constant change and setbacks and found a way to live and be together for the six years that Ady lived with ALS. Rachael’s grief is still really fresh, yet she’s telling her story to carry on Ady’s legacy. She hopes to help other caregivers who are feeling overwhelmed and facing the impossible.

You can learn more about Rachael’s work and her forthcoming book at: https://rachaelsking.com/