The Caring Death Doula
In a world that rushes past death and ignores grief, The Caring Death Doula stops to listen with tenderness, truth, and time. Whether you are grieving right now or here to learn how to help those grieving, join your host, Frances, a certified grief educator on the journey of finding connection, conversations, and comfort. Let's make grief and death a natural part of our conversations.
Episodes
56 episodes
Grief Mind, The Call You Can’t Make
Your hand reaches for the phone before your brain catches up. For a split second, it feels perfectly natural to call your dad, your mom, your person and then reality hits, and the grief rushes in.I share a moment that happened to me thi...
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Season 2
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Episode 56
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8:41
What If Silence Is The Real Mistake
In this episode, we talk about why so many of us hesitate to reach out after someone grieves the death of a loved one and how that silence can grow when weeks turn into months. Frances makes the case that it is not too late, that yo...
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Season 2
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Episode 55
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8:09
When Grief On The Page Feels Too Real
In this episode, I discuss how a book can be something we look forward to until it suddenly feels like a mirror. I sit down ready to gather grief resources and instead I’m stopped cold by a story that’s too close to home. With my brother-...
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Season 2
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Episode 54
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9:39
Grief and a Birthday
A birthday can be a celebration and a gut punch at the same time, especially when it arrives only weeks after a funeral. Today I’m holding space for my brother in law’s family and anyone staring down a hard date: your loved one’s bi...
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Season 2
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Episode 53
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9:14
Grace In Grief: Choosing Rest, Choosing Connection
Ever have a day where your heart says not tonight and the world keeps asking anyway? We start right there—at the honest edge of not wanting to show up—and talk about how grief reshapes energy, attention, and appetite for connection. Frances, th...
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Season 2
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Episode 52
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6:30
When Grief Knocks You Sideways
Grief doesn’t ask if you’re ready. It arrives and sometimes it knocks you flat. In this episode, I open up about the death of my brother‑in‑law and how the shock unsettled not just my thoughts but my body, even with years of trainin...
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Season 2
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Episode 51
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9:04
Fifty Episodes, Zero Rules For Grief
Plans unraveled, but the heart of our work held steady. We set out to share the origin story behind “the caring death doula” for a milestone 50th episode and ran into tech roadblocks—so we did what grief teaches best: we stayed present. This co...
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Season 2
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Episode 50
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7:42
Why “I’m Sorry For Your Loss” Still Matters
In this episode, Frances, The Caring Death Doula, pushes back on grief-shaming and makes the case that a simple “I’m sorry for your loss” is better than nothing.Frances shares how to move from polite words to real presence, and how to in...
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Season 2
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Episode 49
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16:31
The Numbness of Grief
In this episode, your host, Frances, shares raw moments after two funerals and the quiet that followed. She names the numbness of early grief and the strength in saying “I’m not okay.” She offers encouragement to rest or to re...
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Season 2
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Episode 48
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10:41
Grief of Two Funerals in Four Days
Grief doesn’t follow rules, and it may sometimes not even arrive one loss at a time. This week, your host, Frances, shares a raw, intimate account of attending two funerals in four days while holding the quieter ache of a father who...
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Season 2
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Episode 47
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13:27
Holding Space for Grief
Grief doesn’t wait for the calendar to clear, and it rarely gives a warning. After an unexpected death in our family, we sit with the shock, the numbness, and the way priorities snap into focus. In this episode Frances discusses wha...
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Season 2
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Episode 46
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12:35
Grief In Real Time
In this episode, we move through a week of shock after a sudden family death, a second funeral in town, and the strange mix of a full house and private numbness. We explore how small rituals, better listening, and humane workplaces can hold gri...
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Season 2
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Episode 45
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11:46
Raw Numbing Grief
The phone rings, life splits, and the air goes thin. A moment you won’t forget. That’s the feeling we step into in this episode: raw, sudden grief after an unexpected death in the family, the kind that makes time wobble and or...
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Season 2
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Episode 44
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12:21
Are We Ever Prepared for Grief
A massive winter storm sets the stage for a conversation we’ve needed to have: you can plan, but you can’t schedule your heart. In this episode, I look at how grief behaves more like weather than a checklist—surprising, shifting, sometimes quie...
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Season 2
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Episode 43
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10:25
Gentle Joy in Grief
Grief can feel endless until, suddenly, it doesn’t—for a moment.In this episode I share a tender look at how relief sometimes arrives unannounced: a letter from a transplant recipient whose life was saved, a beloved house passing to some...
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Season 2
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Episode 42
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9:08
Grief can’t be scheduled or planned
In this episode I ask whether grief feels heavier during the week or on the weekend, then unpack why sorrow refuses schedules. A planned Monday–Thursday structure gives way to presence, flexibility, and care after life delivers unexpected...
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Season 2
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Episode 41
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9:25
You Don’t Need A Casserole To Show Up for Grief
In this episode, I share the news of a dear friend losing her son arriving like a punch to the chest, and how it raised a question many of us carry: how do you show up when the worst happens and you’re not even sure you’re “close enough” anymor...
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Season 2
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Episode 40
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7:06
Grief In A New Year
In this episode, Frances, The Caring Death Doula, speaks to those entering a new year with fresh grief and no desire to plan beyond today. She offers permission to slow down, ignore unhelpful comments, and focus on small steps.• naming ...
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Season 2
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Episode 39
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4:20
Every Grief is Valid and No One Can Set Your Timeline
Here in the first episode of our second year, we restate this as a safe space to come if you are grieving. We name losses that don’t fit tidy boxes and reject rigid rules about how grief should look. We affirm that grief is love we carry forwar...
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Season 2
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Episode 38
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8:29
Holding Space: Ending A Season, Carrying Love Forward
We close a season and a year by naming a simple truth: grief has no rules, and love doesn’t end. We offer permission to feel, encouragement to say their names, and practical ways to show up for one another.• ending the season with grati...
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Season 1
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Episode 37
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7:40
Holding Space for Grief On A Holiday
Christmas morning can hurt when grief is close. I speak softly to anyone carrying loss today, offering permission to feel, simple ways to cope, and the steady reminder that being seen can help you get through the hours.• holding space f...
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Season 1
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Episode 36
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4:57
Gentle Grace in Grief
A birthday arrives, the phone stays silent, and what lingers is not just absence but the weight of everything left unsaid. In this episode I share a personal story about my birthdays and my dad. We didn’t have the closest relationsh...
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Season 1
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Episode 35
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6:04
Holding On Through Holiday Grief
Today, in this episode, I speak to those carrying fresh or long-held grief during this season. I offer calm words, gentle practices, and a reminder that one step; one breath at a time is all you need to focus on today. • simple ...
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Season 1
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Episode 34
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4:53
Standing Strong In Your Grief
In this episode, we reaffirm this podcast as a space for people who are grieving and affirm that there is no right or wrong way to mourn. You are other to stand firm against shame, hold to your pace, and see tears as proof of love, not fa...
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Season 1
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Episode 33
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6:19
Missing Someone After Ten Plus Years
In this episode, I share with you how grief can resurface after a decade and why that does not mean we failed to heal. A small moment online triggers a wave of memory, and we choose compassion over judgment while inviting space to speak names o...
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Season 1
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Episode 32
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8:57