A Path Home

On this first episode of Season 6, Sarah talks with Csenge Kolozsvari who, along with her four year old daughter, traveled from Montreal to her home village in Hungary to accompany her father on his dying journey. She shares the intimate and personal details of being present to her father's needs during his final weeks. Csenge is an artist and bodyworker. You can reach her here:https://www.thebreathing-room.com/en/homeAnd she mentions this book, Die Wise, by Stephen Jenkinson in our conversation:https://orphanwisdom.com/shop/die-wise/Support the show

On this episode Sarah has a conversation with Ed Nelson and his son, Erick Nelson. In February of 2023 Ed's brother Brent died from throat cancer. He had mentioned to Ed that he wanted a natural burial. Erick arrived in Kansas a couple of days before the scheduled burial and participated in an anointing ceremony with his dad, honoring his uncle. Support the Show.

Naomi Worob and Tina Zuccarello share the story of bringing Jeff to the ashram he loved to spend his final weeks surrounded by people who loved him and bury him on the property. Support the show

On today's episode, Carolyn Dehnbostel describes the home funeral she and her family provided for her mom, Betty, at their cabin in Minnesota, followed by a natural burial on their own land and the logistics involved in getting it all arranged.Support the show

Today, Sarah has a conversation with Leslie Stager about the after-death care she and a small circle of friends provided to her mom at her home in Maine. Leslie's mom died unexpectedly which made keeping her home a little challenging.Support the show

Today, Sarah speaks with Krista Marshall in upstate NY who shares  the story of the after-death care provided to an elder in the community she lived in for a time in Vermont. Grandfather Hank was beloved in the area for his presence and helpful spirit from his work with teens to his active pursuit of making life better for the people in his ever-widening circles.https://www.nancyjewelpoer.com/product-page/living-into-dyinghttps://malidoma.com/main/Support the show

For today's bonus Winter Solstice episode, Sarah has a conversation about grief with Colorado-based Deathwives, Lauren Carroll and Erin Merelli.  To listen to Erin's Tedx Talk click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryIS6RdU5KI  And to peruse all the amazing courses and content the Deathwives have to offer check out their website here: https://deathwives.org/Support the show

On today's episode Sarah has a conversation with three members of the Ottawa Death Care Collective in Ottawa, Canada. Kelly Butler, Heather Martel and Deb Charbonneau share with us the personal paths that led each of them to engage in the important work of community death care. You'll find their website here:https://communitydeathcareottawa.com/And read about the wind phone here:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_phoneSupport the show

Glenda Villegas is the funeral director at Thresholds, Home and Family-Directed Funerals, LLC.  based in San Diego, California. Glenda represents a growing group of progressive funeral professionals who recognize the value of supporting families who choose to do most of the after-death care themselves.https://thresholdsfamilydirectedfunerals.com/Support the show

Sarah has a conversation with Anne Archbold and Paul Sommers about the plan Paul's mom, Sally made to donate her body to the medical school at the University of Minnesota after she died. Sally also requested a natural burial. Everything aligned in order for Sally to accomplish both.Support the show

On this first episode of Season 5, Sarah sits down with three brothers, Zach, Kevin and Sky Weaver, who share the story of preparing their dad, Phil for a natural burial.To check out the music of The Gravy Ladles here is the link to their YouTube page. https://www.youtube.com/@thegravyladlesmusicYou can also find them on Facebook and InstagramSupport the show

On today's episode Sarah has a conversation with David Schinsing about his wife Sue's experience with ovarian cancer and the home funeral they planned together. Sue was a nurse, a birth doula and home-schooled their children.  Support the show

Today I have a conversation with Lauren Sample about the home funeral and natural burial her family held for her daughter Nora, nicknamed "Bird," and the many final acts of love provided to Bird in her last hours of living and following her death.Support the show

On today's episode I have a conversation with Dr. Annetta Mallon, founder of Gentle Death Education and Planning, in Tasmania. We talk about her work in the community and the state of green burial in Australia. For more information on Annetta's work, click here:  https://www.gdep.com.au/Support the show

On this episode I talk with Margaret Henderson and Robin Cottrell in Ukiah, California. The two serve as death midwives and home funeral guides in their community.  They are also singers and members of a Threshold Choir who bring songs to the bedside of terminally ill people. For more information on Threshold Choir see here: https://thresholdchoir.org/Margy mentions Redwing Keyssar's book called Last Acts of Kindness. Find it here: https://redwingkeyssar.com/book/Support the show

A call to listeners to reach out and share their stories, followed by Sarah's original song, Precious Bird, in honor of her friend Puja.Precious Bird is Sarah Crews on guitar and vocals.Tim Crews on mandolin.Support the show

On this episode, Sarah has a conversation with sisters, Lucinda, Maud and Cecily in Ashland, Oregon. The three of them share the story of creating a home funeral for their mother, former Civil Rights attorney turned Oracle, Ann Macrory. Watch the video of Ann's home funeral here: https://vimeo.com/399209253Forest Conservation Burial Ground: https://theforestconservationburial.org/Support the show

Today I have a conversation with Donna Vidam about a home funeral she created for her mom, Janet. In 2020, Janet was hospitalized when it became clear that she wouldn't recover, so Donna made the choice to bring her home to die there. Following Janet's death, Donna with the help of Janet's best friends, cared for her body at home and invited friends and neighbors over to pay their respects.Support the show

Today I have a conversation about grief with Sarah Hines. Based in Canada, Sarah has founded The Lodge Project where she and her team, coach the leadership of organizations and corporations to respond to grief compassionately and include grief support and awareness in the culture of their companies. Sarah acknowledges that a well lived life must include grief. https://www.thelodgeproject.com/Support the show

On this episode Sarah has a conversation with Walt Patrick, the steward of Herland Forest in Washington State, a natural burial ground and licensed human composting facility, (also called natural organic reduction) and Elizabeth Fournier, a progressive funeral director and author of the The Green Burial Guidebook, who often works with Walt. Today they share with us what a “laying in” ceremony for a natural organic reduction entails at Herland Forest. “Laying in” is the first part of the process, literally placing the body in the composting cradle.https://www.herlandforest.org/Support the show

Today I have a conversation with Karry Sawatsky. She shares with us the story of her grandfather's death and how she supported her grandmother throughout the process. Karry is a full-time death doula and founder of Modern Deathcare. She works with adult-children and spouses supporting a dear one with a life limiting illness and is launching The Life and Death Academy death doula training program in January.  Karry's own challenging experiences with the death of several loved ones called her to this vocation.  Here is the link to Karry's website:  http://moderndeathcare.com and follow her on Instagram @moderndeathcare Support the show

Today I have a conversation with Karen van Vuuren, founder of the educational non-profit, Natural Transitions, a founding member of the NHFA, and co-founder of The Natural Funeral in Lafayette, Colorado. Karen has been an integral part of the natural death care movement for more than 20 years. She is also an award-winning documentary film maker of two movies, Dying Wish and Go In Peace (links below). In this episode we discuss the unexpected way that she got started on this path.https://www.thenaturalfuneral.com/https://www.dyingwishmedia.com/https://goinpeacefilm.org/Support the show

Today I have a conversation with Darshan Stevens on Cortes Island in British Columbia. Darshan and her mother, Jennifer, lived on the same property when Jen was diagnosed with cancer. For two years they navigated her cancer treatments. In the end, Jen chose MAID, Medical Assistance In Dying. Darshan shares the story of her mum's dying, death, the after-death care and the natural burial that they and the family co-created along with the help of the community-led death care collective on the island.https://cortescurrents.ca/darshan-stevens-her-mothers-life-death-and-afterward/Support the show

In early December, 2021, Adrienne Parker discovered that her oldest child, Brandyn, had died in his car.  Brandyn's life had been caught in a cycle of mental illness and incarceration, resulting in his being homeless and living in his car.  His body needed to be examined by the coroner before Adrienne, with the help of her friend, Rebecca, had him brought back home to be cared for there by his loving family.Support the show

Today we hear from two members of the Arizona Community Death Care collective, Dani LaVoire and Jade Sherer. This is another episode that will be of interest to those listeners who are either already engaged in or just beginning to form community groups. If you have any questions for the AZ collective you can reach out to them here: https://www.azcommunitydeathcare.org/missionThe website for White Eagle Memorial Preserve is here:https://www.naturalburialground.org/And to learn more about Jade's offerings check out these beautiful pages:https://www.itsournature.net/https://www.patreon.com/jadeshererhttp://insig.ht/jadeshererSupport the show

Sarah is joined by Angela and Michael Franklin, founders of Crossroads Community DeathCare, for an in-depth conversation on how engaging in community led death care has the potential to shift the culture around dying and death. To find out more about what they offer, find them on Facebook:https://m.facebook.com/crossroadsdeathcare and Instagram:https://instagram.com/crossroads_deathcareSupport the show (https://www.homefuneralalliance.org/donate.html)

Tim Johnson shares the story of choosing to care for his dad at home, and his journey getting there through the stories of two other significant deaths in the family. To see Debbie Wagner's art work click here: http://www.debbiewagnerart.com/Support the show (https://www.homefuneralalliance.org/donate.html)

On this episode Sarah has a conversation with three members of a community led death care group in Canada. They share the touching story of bringing Gypsy's son, Andrew, home to the island to care for his body and lay him to rest in a natural burial.Here is the link to the article: https://news.yahoo.com/grassy-green-future-composting-human-095323526.htmlAnd the Community-Led Death Care group:https://communityleddeathcare.ca/Support the show (https://www.homefuneralalliance.org/donate.html)

Sarah has a conversation with North Carolina based singer songwriter Laurelyn Dossett who shares the story of the burial she and her brothers provided for their mother in a hand crafted wooden box in Laurelyn's garden.Here's the link to her piece,  A Family Project, in The Bitter Southerner:https://bittersoutherner.com/feature/2022/a-family-projectFind out more about Laurelyn and her music here:https://www.laurelyndossett.com/ Support the show (https://www.homefuneralalliance.org/donate.html)

Today I have a conversation with Kelly Parker. Kelly's husband Rick Robson died in late January and was buried at Heart Land Prairie Cemetery earlier this month. Rick had determined that he wanted to have a green burial and sent an email to me through the cemetery website inquiring about building his own casket. Over the course of the next few months, Kelly and Rick, educated themselves about the logistics and legalities of home funeral practice. They ultimately decided that not only would he have a natural burial in a homemade casket, but that Kelly, along with their family and the support of their community of friends and hospice would make all the arrangements, care for his body themselves, and keep him in the home he designed and built with Kelly until it was time for the burial.Support the show (https://www.homefuneralalliance.org/donate.html)

Today I have a conversation with four members of the Threshold Care Circle in Viroqua, Wisconsin; Charlene Elderkin, Susan Nesbitt, Kelly Whited-Ford, and Tracy Mangold. Threshold Care Circle began as a community death care collective in 2006. On this episode, we'll hear how they got started and eventually evolved into an educational 501c3 providing workshops, death care support and advocating for green burial.https://www.thresholdcarecircle.org/Support the show (https://www.homefuneralalliance.org/donate.html)

Emily Miller shares her experience of opening Colorado's first dedicated green burial ground, Colorado Burial Preserve. https://www.coloradoburialpreserve.com/https://www.greenburialcouncil.org/so_you_want_to_start_a_green_burial_cemetery.htmlSupport the show (https://www.homefuneralalliance.org/donate.html)

Today Sarah is joined by Deborah Thornton and Angela Franklin. Deborah's daughter, Scout, died in a car accident in the summer of 2019. With the help of Angela and her husband, Michael, both death midwives and home funeral guides in the rural Oregon town where Scout was living with her partner, Travis, and their dog, Mowgli, Scout was given a natural burial on the farm she called home.watch Scout's performance at the 2019 Kate Wolf Festival here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYpIV7By9BE contact Angela here:https://www.facebook.com/crossroadsdeathcare/Scout's mother, Deborah Thornton, is a transformational life coach based in Maryland. The story of her emotional journey following Scout's death will appear in a forthcoming collaborative book on cultivating emotional resiliency.Learn more about Deborah's work here:https://prismatic-coaching.com/Support the show (https://www.homefuneralalliance.org/donate.html)

Today Sarah reposts an episode from our first season in 2019 called Grief and the Holidays with a couple of changes. Several people have asked about the song at the beginning and end of A Path Home. The title of the song is The Next Step.  At the end of this episode you will hear a rough recording, made outdoors on a cellphone,  of the whole song. Here are the links for the resources used in the original episode.https://www.refugeingrief.com/https://johnpavlovitz.com/2015/12/18/blue-christmas-what-to-do-when-the-holidays-hurt/https://www.centerforloss.com/https://www.griefhealingblog.com/Support the show (https://www.homefuneralalliance.org/donate.html)

On this episode we hear from Jonel Kiesau, who shares the tender, sorrowful, yet somehow joyful experience of caring for her beloved husband, Andy, at home along with their two young daughters, family and community. Andy was buried in a hand-crafted wooden box on their farm in Wisconsin. You can find Jonel's essay, Fifty Acres, in the book Contours: A Literary Landscape here: https://www.driftlesswritingcenter.org/product-page/contours-a-literary-landscapeAnd read more about their story along with photographs on her blogspot: https://possuminthecompost.blogspot.com/2018/07/the-beauty-of-loss.htmlSupport the show (https://www.homefuneralalliance.org/donate.html)

Today Susan Mackey shares her creative solution for providing after-death care when a home funeral wasn't possible, home funeral care just not in a home. To learn more about Sue and her work see her website here: https://www.outoftheboxfuneralplanning.com/Susan serves on the board of the Funeral Consumers Society of Colorado, an affiliate of the national Funeral Consumers Alliance. Here are those links: https://www.funeralconsumercolorado.org/https://funerals.org/Support the show (https://www.homefuneralalliance.org/donate.html)

On today's episode I speak with three members of the Pomerantz family, sisters Jennifer and Katie and their father, Sanford. It was almost exactly one year ago, November 13th, 2020,  that I met the family at Heart Land Prairie Cemetery where they buried Francine, the girls' mother and Sanford's wife of 51 years. To find out more about HLPC, check out the website:http://www.heartlandprairiecemetery.org/Support the show (https://www.homefuneralalliance.org/donate.html)

Bonni Goldberg shares the story of reckoning a complicated relationship with her mother by caring for her at the end of her life and after her death. The women in Bonni's family performed the taharah, a final act of great kindness in Jewish tradition, for Bonni's mother when she died. What followed was an Aquamation, also known as "water-cremation."Bonni is an author of several books for young people and adults. To see her titles and read about her work visit her webpage at: https://bonnigoldberg.com/She has written several essays on death under the pen name Batya, that you can read at the following links: https://medium.com/take-too/the-real-reason-i-wash-the-dead-63b0269edee8https://psiloveyou.xyz/searching-through-my-fathers-ashes-70d5dad2f453https://medium.com/take-too/meet-me-at-the-death-cafe-90280eb5b4c3More on Aquamation here: https://aquamationinfo.com/Support the show (https://www.homefuneralalliance.org/donate.html)

Writer Maggie Jones shares with Sarah the after death care her family provided for both of her parents some 18 years apart. The experience of remaining with her father's body for a full night after his death, stayed with her and ultimately inspired her to write a story for the New York Times Magazine called The Movement to Bring Death Closer. To learn more about Maggie's work visit her website, here: https://bymaggiejones.com/You can find the NYT story here: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/19/magazine/home-funeral.htmlAnd listen to the piece on The Daily, Sunday Read edition here: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/20/podcasts/the-daily/home-funeral-guides.htmlSupport the show (https://www.homefuneralalliance.org/donate.html)

Diana Lindsay and her friend, home funeral guide Lucinda Herring, share the story of Kelly Lindsay's dying process and the family who gathered to accompany him on his final journey with brain cancer. Here are the links to Healing Circles, the support organization founded by Diana and Kelly: https://healingcircleslangley.org/ and https://healingcirclesglobal.org/#topI mention in the introduction just a few of the things Healing Circles offers, but there is SO much more. It is really worth taking a look!If you're interested in reading Diana and Kelly's book on caregiving and grappling with cancer or any other life-limiting illness you can find it on Amazon. Amazon Smiles will donate to the National Home Funeral Alliance if you select it when ordering. https://smile.amazon.com/Something-More-Than-Hope-Everything/dp/099124270X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=something+more+than+hope+diana&qid=1623966311&s=books&sr=1-1Support the show (https://www.homefuneralalliance.org/donate.html)

Lauren Carroll is a funeral director based in Colorado Springs. After finding out about home-based, family-centered after death care, Lauren devoted her practice to helping families create home funerals. On this episode we discuss everything from filing a death certificate to rigor mortis and body care. She is a co-founder of Deathwives, a non-profit death education and advocacy collective. Find out about the courses they offer here: https://deathwives.org/Support the show (https://www.homefuneralalliance.org/donate.html)

Aubrey Brinneman and her friend, home funeral guide Lauren Richwine recall the dying, death, home funeral and natural burial of Aubrey's husband, Tyler. Ty faced his diagnosis with a rare, aggressive cancer by being actively involved in preparing his young family for what was to come. If you are in Indiana and would like some support or have questions regarding holding a home funeral or natural burial, you can contact Lauren through her website: http://deathdonedifferently.com/ The shroud the couple ordered for Ty's natural burial came from Kinkaraco, Green Funeral Products.  https://kinkaraco.com/Support the show (https://www.homefuneralalliance.org/donate.html)

In this episode Ray Mulvey and his daughter Laurie describe the home funeral they arranged for Ray's wife of 58 years, Judy. Ray lives in New Jersey, one of the states that requires hiring a funeral director to oversee certain aspects of the funeral. Laurie is a resident of Pennsylvania and a member of her local chapter of the Funeral Consumers Alliance. To learn more about this important organization see their website here:  https://funerals.org/The movie Laurie mentions watching is the 2003 PBS documentary called, A Family Undertaking.  It is available to order on DVD from Netflix.Support the show (https://www.homefuneralalliance.org/donate.html)

Gabrielle Walters shares the arduous journey she made alongside her husband, Billy, when he was struck with a devastating illness at the end of May 2020. Determined that he would not die in the hospital, Gabrielle brought him home on the day of their 30th wedding anniversary. Back at home, with his children and grandchildren present, Billy died the next day. Following her heart and with a little bit of knowledge about after-death care, Gabrielle tended to his body at home where he spent two nights before being cremated.Support the show (https://www.homefuneralalliance.org/donate.html)

This episode offers ideas for people interested in raising the awareness of alternative death care practices in their communities, as well as helpful things to consider when planning a home funeral. Rebecca Senoglu, chaplain and longtime member of the NHFA, shares her path working to raise the awareness of family centered after-death care through meetings with the hospital, forming relationships with locally owned funeral homes and creating public programs in Chico, California.  She also shares the details of a home funeral for a beloved member of her community. To listen to archived episodes of Rebecca's radio program go here: https://soundcloud.com/rebecca-senogluor here: https://www.facebook.com/The-Wheel-Mysteries-547640429035576To learn more about hosting a Death Cafe: https://deathcafe.com/Support the show (https://www.homefuneralalliance.org/donate.html)

Adrienne Parker describes bringing her mother home where she died surrounded by three generations of family members.  After her death they spent time with her body in the parlor of the old Victorian house where Adrienne was living. The grandchildren filled their days decorating the cardboard coffin their great grandmother would be cremated in.Support the show (https://www.homefuneralalliance.org/donate.html)

On this episode we hear from Alexa Sunshine Rose who shares the story of her husband, Warren, a father, activist, environmentalist, educator and EMT who died right before the New Year of 2020. Warren had been diagnosed with a brain tumor, however his death was sudden and unexpected. Alexa shares details of the autopsy on Warren's body that some listeners may find disturbing. To read more about Alexa's experience, the loving help she received from the community and her grief journey, see her blog at: https://alexasunshinerose.wordpress.com/Support the show (https://www.homefuneralalliance.org/donate.html)

Along with her family and guest host, Dani LaVoire, Sarah Crews, shares the story of the home funeral and green burial that the family arranged for their father and grandfather, Ed Hawley. Here is the link to Heart Land Prairie Cemetery: http://www.heartlandprairiecemetery.org/ Bedside Blessing when Someone has Diedby Ellen HufschmidtThank you for your mind and all the thoughts and dreams you had.Thank you for your eyes for all the beauty and ugliness you witnessed.Thank you for your ears and all you have heard, the peaceful and the harsh.Thank you for the words you spoke and those you couldn't speak but wanted to.Thank you for the breath that gave you life.Thank you for your heart that bore your sweetness.Thank you for your back and shoulders for bearing the responsibilities you accepted.Thank you for the love you shared.Thank you for your hands, for all they held.Thank you for your legs that carried your humanness.Thank you for your feet that stood you on the ground.Thank you for your life that touched us deeply.You are blessed. You will be missed.Support the show (https://www.homefuneralalliance.org/donate.html)

13 years ago, on New Year's eve, Anne Jungerman's husband, Ed, died suddenly and unexpectedly while out on his bike. In the hours that followed, Anne's close knit community came together to support her and her boys, who were deep in the shock of assimilating the unfathomable news that came to them on that otherwise ordinary morning. You can connect with Anne on Facebook by joining her community page on "all things new and not-so-new about death and dying" @OmaiGrace.Support the show (https://www.homefuneralalliance.org/donate.html)

On today's episode Anne-Marie Keppel shares the extraordinary life of her father-in-law Marcelo, a refugee from Chile who settled in New York City. Marcelo died in a hospital ICU in 2019. Anne-Marie made arrangements to bring his body to their home for an intimate home funeral with the family.Anne-Marie is the author of a book called Death Nesting: Ancient and Modern Death Doula Techniques, Mindfulness Practices and Herbal Care. You can find out more about her work here: https://stardustmeadow.com/Support the show (https://www.homefuneralalliance.org/donate.html)

Final Passages founder, Jerrigrace Lyons, shares the story of attending to her dear friend, Deana, who chose the option of medical aid in dying to end her long journey through cancer. Hawaii's Our Care, Our Choice Act was passed in January of 2019. Jerrigrace joined her friend on Maui in January of 2020 and was present for her death and instrumental in carrying out her after-death care along with Deana's closest friends. To learn more about Hawaii's OCOC legislation see: https://health.hawaii.gov/opppd/ococ/ Final Passages is a tremendous resource for community-centered after-death care. To find out more about them and the workshops Jerrigrace provides see: https://finalpassages.org/Support the show (https://www.homefuneralalliance.org/donate.html)