My path to death work was neither linear nor planned
For nearly 20 years I lived with a death phobia that devastated my mental health
After decades of anxiety diagnoses and treatment attempts, I felt wrung out and hollow. Despite every intervention imaginable, I remained haunted by impermanence and my inability to control it.
A breakthrough arrived as quietly as it did unexpectedly. Desperate to process the grief of the pandemic, I began mindfully wandering in the woods behind my house.
Season after season, I witnessed cycles of decay and regeneration with awe and childlike wonder: mushrooms sprouting from last autumn’s leaves; scavengers feasting on animal remains; moss unfurling over fallen trees; deer bones softening into soil. Slowly, in the company of juniper and birdsong, something whole and wild started to supplant my fear of death.
Through this subtle worship, I came to realize that death was not a rupture to be feared, but a rhythm to be remembered. The more deeply I listened, the clearer it became that it wasn’t dying I was afraid of—it was forgetting that I was a part of something larger all along.
Earthbound Endings was born from this journey of revelation and remembering.
What began as a quiet connection with the forest grew into a calling to accompany others in meeting mortality with reverence and connection. My doula practice is guided by the belief that turning toward death can deepen intimacy with life and reawaken a felt sense of belonging to the natural world.
With over a decade of experience in healthcare, my educational background includes a Master of Public Health from Dartmouth College and an End-of-Life Doula Certification from the University of Vermont. A longtime Colorado resident, I proudly serve as a hospice volunteer and contribute to healthcare initiatives statewide.
My work is informed by years of meditation practice and ongoing Dharma study, with a focus on restoring enchantment with the unknown through the lens of Buddhist teachings.