After college, I started my career as a counselor at a suicide hotline. Actually, I did sell a few Fuller Brushes and process quite a few PAP smears in a lab on my journey to talking people out of killing themselves. It is my hope to do hospice for the rest of my life. I love the process of helping people die...comfortably.
I have discovered that humor is a vital part of this dying process. It is my hope to bring humor to the bedside of as many people as possible in my lifetime. That is not a very large number, because it usually takes time to get to know someone well enough to help with the dying process. The purpose of this blog is to share with my readers the wisdom I have learned over the past 40 years from those who have been open enough to share with me their processes of both living and dying. There will be stories of sadness, poignancy, tragedy, as well as a healthy helping of humor along the way.
I will always change names and perhaps genders in stories I share to protect the anonymity of the patient. Sometimes if caregivers of my patients read this blog, they may see that I am writing about their loved one. It is my intention to offend no one with this blog. I understand that some are offended with the very idea of mixing humor with something as serious as dying. I have not come to the decision to do this work lightly. I have seen that humor is healing. A healthy dying process is also healing.
I identify myself as an end-of-life tour guide. It is a journey we are all going to take in our lifetimes. My intent is to give my readers some things to think about before they make their reservations for the journey. Let me be clear--I'm talking about the journey from this life to the next. I have no better idea of what happens after we die than anyone else. I originally considered the most apt descriptive term for me to be "death coach" although when I checked on the internet, I found that the term was already being used. The death coach I read about tells people what he thinks happens when you die, because he died and came back. I don't do that. I simply offer my experience in helping my readers get from now to your death with as much living as possible in the meantime.
As Spock would say, "Live long and prosper." and I might add "Bon Voyage"!
Your End-of-Life Tour Guide
I have discovered that humor is a vital part of this dying process. It is my hope to bring humor to the bedside of as many people as possible in my lifetime. That is not a very large number, because it usually takes time to get to know someone well enough to help with the dying process. The purpose of this blog is to share with my readers the wisdom I have learned over the past 40 years from those who have been open enough to share with me their processes of both living and dying. There will be stories of sadness, poignancy, tragedy, as well as a healthy helping of humor along the way.
I will always change names and perhaps genders in stories I share to protect the anonymity of the patient. Sometimes if caregivers of my patients read this blog, they may see that I am writing about their loved one. It is my intention to offend no one with this blog. I understand that some are offended with the very idea of mixing humor with something as serious as dying. I have not come to the decision to do this work lightly. I have seen that humor is healing. A healthy dying process is also healing.
I identify myself as an end-of-life tour guide. It is a journey we are all going to take in our lifetimes. My intent is to give my readers some things to think about before they make their reservations for the journey. Let me be clear--I'm talking about the journey from this life to the next. I have no better idea of what happens after we die than anyone else. I originally considered the most apt descriptive term for me to be "death coach" although when I checked on the internet, I found that the term was already being used. The death coach I read about tells people what he thinks happens when you die, because he died and came back. I don't do that. I simply offer my experience in helping my readers get from now to your death with as much living as possible in the meantime.
As Spock would say, "Live long and prosper." and I might add "Bon Voyage"!
Your End-of-Life Tour Guide